This project was originally created for 9th graders, but can be adapted for any grade level. And while it is meant to be mostly independently completed outside of class, that can be adapted, too.
There are three parts to this project: (1) Reading Your Book, (2) Sell It To Me, and (3) Leaving a Review.
Reading Your Book:
- Give the students time to explore the school library and find a book that they have never read before. I require it to be a minimum of 100 pages, but the genre is totally up to them.
- Give the students a deadline for when the book needs to be read by. Help them come up with a reading schedule - how many chapters will they read each day or week?
- Chapter Summaries (Pages Doc. attached)- the students should fill out a chapter summaries sheet.
- This will help them keep track of what they've read, allow you to check that they are reading their book, and provide you with information to help them brainstorm ideas for the next part of their project.
- It also helps them practice writing brief and concise summaries.
- Pages allows you to collaborate with them in real time and give immediate feedback.
Sell It To Me:
- The purpose of this portion it to persuade classmates to read the books. The visuals are not digital, because we do a gallery walk in the library the day they are due.
- The projects are required to have a student created slogan, persuasive diction, a cited quote from the book, the title, the author, and images that will draw the students in and intrigue them enough to pick up this book and read it. (Grading sheet attached)
- The students have complete creative control. I have had students create posters and dioramas, but I've also had kids 3D print models, use unconvential materials as their backdrops, and have lighted or moving parts. As long as they have the required content listed above and it is persuasive in nature, they're good!
Leaving a Review:
- This part is to help future students. When we have our first day in the library, many students don't even know where to begin. This helps them do that.
- The students need to evaluate the book they read (Pages doc. evaluation sheet attached). I do this in Pages so I can collaborate with them as they plan.
- The students also need to come up with a teaser for the book - it should include the main characters, the setting, and the main conflict, but it shouldn't spoil anything! The purpose is to hook the listeners.
- The students should then use Garage Band to record a 2-3 minute review that includes their teaser and evaluation. I require music in the background which connects to the overall mood of the book. I used Apple's Everyone Can Create: Podcast to help my students with portion: https://education.apple.com/learning-center/T050475A?backTo=%2Flearning-center%2FT020408A-en_US
- The students should share their Garage Band file in Google Drive. Then, they create a QR code that links to their file. To help with this, I created a folder that they put their files into. That way I have it forever and it doesn't accidently get lost or broken.
- The QR codes are printed out, and the librarian puts them in the backs of the books the students read. Now, students who come in the following year can see the rating on the QR code and can hear the review to help them decide if they want to read it. (Grading sheet attached)
- If you want to hear a student's review, scan the QR code:
Attach up to 5 files which will be available for other members to download.