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In the beginning of the school year, my READ 180 students view themselves as neither readers nor writers. During an orientation session, a puzzled student asked, "Where are the workbooks?" (There aren't any.) My "at risk" students preferred fill-in-the-blank, true & false, or multiple-choice worksheets, which required little mental effort. In my opinion, many worksheets do not enhance learning or help students construct meaning from text. (I want my students to learn to THINK for themselves and apply their knowledge, so I am highly selective, when I do choose to assign a worksheet.)As an alternative to the overuse of worksheets, I motivate my students with hands-on activities that support different learning styles. My classroom learning experiences include writing thoughtful literature responses, creative book projects, and written compositions that help students better understand and appreciate literature. After all, we've known for a long time that the brain learns best when it is actively involved.
'I hear and I forget. I see and I believe. I do and I understand.'
~Confucius (551-479 BC)I always model, model, model the procedure before assigning any project. Directions for Book Projects are listed below. Check out photos and student samples of completed projects on the Student Work page.
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| This is a combination of two projects-Character Traits folded paper dolls and a book report recipe for “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. | Students collect items to represent the details of a dream jar for the story “The BFG”. | Students explain the significance of each item chosen for the dream jar. The typed copy is attached to the jar outline. |
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| This photo illustrates scenes from the students' Movement West journals. The cubes can also be used to demonstrate story elements or other skills. | This is an example of a Living Wax Museum biography presentation. The student chose to research the life and artistic contributions of Van Gogh. | Little booklets have many uses in both language arts and in core curricular areas. This sample depicts a student's efforts at taking notes in science. |
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| An example of the Positive Profile book project for the book “Maniac Magee” by Jerry Spinelli. | Another project for “Maniac Magee ”is this Story Collage done on a cardboard pizza round. Maniac was allergic to pizza. | Student dodecahedron (12 sided object) book report idea provided by my colleague, Dorothea Robinson. Completed projects can be hung from the ceiling for display. |
| Most files on this page are in Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF) format to maintain the look and integrity of the original documents. Click the Get Acrobat Reader icon if you need to download the free program. |
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