Unit 6 Novel Study Project Choices

Learning Targets

By the end of your project, you should be able to say YES to the following questions.

• Can I use a variety of comprehension strategies and thinking skills after reading, listening, or viewing to construct meaning from my novel?
• Can I respond to text in personal and creative ways?
• Can I use language in creative and playful ways to develop style?

Book Review Option

Your opinion matters! What you say about a book can make other readers want to read the book or make them avoid it!

How can you present your review?                                                                        

Books are advertised in literary magazines, on websites, on youtube, and in flyers. How do you discover new books?

Option 1: You can print or type your review in as though it would be published in a newspaper or magazine. You can do this on a computer or on paper.      

Option 2: You can be a radio or podcasting announcer and record your commercial/review.         

Option 3: You can be a TV or youtube broadcaster and record your review so it is ready for airing. You could plan this like a one person book promotion or like a talk show with an interview format. You'd need your home facilitator, sibling, or friend to help you with this. (Don't post on youtube without parent permission and guidance. You can send it to your teacher by email or in the course dropbox.)

Option 4: Create a brochure or pamphlet that could be used at a library to promote the book.

Book Review Content

Start with the title and author of your book and then let the following questions guide you as you plan.

a)  What is your book about? Make this very brief—a paragraph at the very most.

b)  Which characters do you like the most? Why?

c)  Which characters do you like the least? Why?

d) What did you like about the author’s writing? Did the author:

i.   create characters that you could relate to, were dynamically daring, tickled your funny bone, or were quirky and intriguing?

ii.  create suspense and excitement?

iii. use language to create word pictures that make the story feel real or more captivating?

d) Was there anything that you didn’t like about the author’s writing style? How would you suggest he or she improve the book?

e) Is this a book that you would recommend to other readers? Why or why not?                                                                  

Your opinion is the most important part of a book review. Be sure to make your opinion clear and to support your opinion with examples from the novel.

Book Jacket

Design a book jacket for your novel that includes a page for the front cover, front inside flap, back inside flap, and the back cover. Please do not copy the cover of the book. Be original while connecting to the novel at the same time.

Options for presentation:

• • • Powerpoint - One slide for each part. If you want to include original art on the cover, you could take a photo of either your own drawing or painting and put it on the slide or you could set up a scene or character from the novel and put the actual photo on the cover.
    • Microsoft Word (or other word processor) - One page for each part. If you want to include original art on the cover, you could take a photo of either your own drawing or painting and put it on the slide or you could set up a scene or character from the novel and put the actual photo on the cover.
    • Create by hand. You can use a separate blank paper for each part or you can use an larger paper (11 x 17) and fold it to resemble the cover and flaps, or you can create this "poster style" by folding poster-sized paper into four squares or rectangles and using a section for each item. You can even turn a thin cardboard box (cereal box, granola bar box) into a book cover with spine. Just cut out the bottom, top, and one side that you don't need.

What to include:

Front Cover:

Don’t forget to include the title, the author, illustrator (if applicable), and a picture. (see sample below)

Inside Flap:

A story summary - up to a point in the novel. Don't give away the novel. Simply introduce the key characters, the setting, and the main conflict or problem. Catch the reader's interest by writing with a strong voice and making the book sound enjoyable. (see sample below)

Back Flap:

About the author - This can be short. Include a few sentences about the author (in your own words) and highlight a few other books by this author (if there are any). This will require some online research or a trip to the library so ask your home facilitator before searching online. (see sample below)

Back Cover:

You have several options. (see sample below) Choose two of the following:

• • • • You can write a couple of reviews of the novel. (see below)
      • Present an exciting excerpt from the novel that would capture the interest of other readers.
      • Create a second illustration.

Sample Cover (from amazon.ca)

Sample About the Author (from amazon.ca)

J.K. ROWLING is the author of the record-breaking, multi-award-winning Harry Potter novels. Loved by fans around the world, the series has sold over 450 million copies, been translated into 77 languages, and made into 8 blockbuster films. She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (in aid of Comic Relief); and The Tales of Beedle the Bard (in aid of Lumos). She is writing a film script inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She has received many awards and honours, including an OBE for services to children's literature, France's Légion d'Honneur, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award. JIM KAY won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012 for his illustrations in A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. He studied illustration at the University of Westminster and since graduating has worked in the Library & Archives of Tate Britain and the Royal Botannic Gardens at Kew.

Sample Review for Harry Potter (from amazon.ca)

• "I've yet to meet a ten-year-old who hasn't been entranced by its witty, complex plot and the character of the eponymous Harry." --Independent     • "Spellbinding, enchanting, bewitching stuff." --Mirror

Sample Inside Flap (from https://hp101.weebly.com/year-1-sorcerers-stone.html)

Letter to a Character

Write a letter to one of the characters in your novel.

This letter may be to a character that you admire or a character that you dislike. Be sure to use proper letter format!

What will you write in your letter?

The following questions will help you with ideas. You can write to the character about some of these things. If you have ideas of your own to add to your letter, please include them.

            a) What did you admire or dislike about the character? Why? Cite a few examples from the novel.

            b) How are you the same as the character? How are you different from the character?

            c) What would you have done the same as the character? What would you have done differently?

            d) If you could ask the character a question, what would you like to know?

    e) Why would you want to meet the character?  

           f) If you got to meet the character and spend some time together, what would you do?

Template:

You can download and use this letter template, create your own blank document, or complete your letter on paper.

If creating your own, here are the parts:

Letter to the Author

Write a letter to the author your novel.

Be sure to use proper letter format.

What will you write in your letter?

Use the following questions as a guide but if you have ideas of your own, please include them.

            a) Tell the author which book you read that he or she wrote.

            b) Tell about your favourite part of the book. Explain why it is your favourite part

            c) Tell about any parts that you did not like. Why?

            d) Tell about your favourite character and why you chose this character.

            e) Tell about your least favourite character and why you chose this character.

            f) Explain what you like (or don't like) about the author’s writing.

            g) What changes to the story would you suggest? What would they be?

             h) If you could suggestion to the author a book idea or genre for him or her write in the future, what would you suggest?

Template:

You can download and use this letter template, create your own blank document, or complete your letter on paper.

Front Page News

Create a front page for a newspaper. 

Write a front page for a newspaper. Be sure to include:

Logo:

A logo with a newspaper name that suits the novel

Cover Story:

The leading story about an important event in the story. Give it a headline. Be sure your lead (first few sentences) tell who, what, where, when, why, and how. Then you can fill in some details in the body and be creative! Interview an eye witness or two or add an opinion. You can add a photo, too.

Teasers:

Snippets of one or two stories that would be inside the paper if you were to have created the entire thing, related to the novel, of course!

Advertisements:

This may not be directly from evidence in the text but think about what a character may benefit from or what the community in the novel may need. Create an advertisement for it to put on the front page.

Optional:

Masthead - may have the town and province, the date, a volume or issue number, and a price.

Music and Poetry Connections

Select (from an author or singer) or write six poems / songs that you feel say something about the theme, mood, characters, events, or settings of the novel.   If you are choosing music, you can provide youtube links. 

Explain why you selected or wrote each poem/song. Include how it connects to the novel. Explain each choice in a minimum of three sentences. You'll get a better mark if you cite evidence from the novel that helps to explain your choice.