Russell,+Lee-chapter

FINAL PROJECT FOR LEE RUSSELL

Lesson 1: Composing a Book Review for Elementary works of Fiction

Author: Lee Russell Created: February 26, 2009


 * Lesson Objectives**

· Summarize an Elementary Fiction book in appropriate sequence (beginning, middle, and end) · Analyze and identify the Literary Elements within Elementary Fiction books · Describe the connections that are created while reading Elementary works of Fiction. · Describe the process of recommending and evaluation Elementary Fiction books


 * Introduction**

When Elementary students finish a work of fiction they should be asking themselves four questions. First, am I able to summarize the story by stating a clear beginning, middle and end? Second, which Literary elements (characters, setting, plot, mood, theme) did the author use that made me form my opinion? Third, did I make any connections while reading the book? In other words, was there something in the book that reminded me of a previous experience? Lastly, did I like the book and would I recommend it to others? When students can answer these questions by citing specific examples from the text they are demonstrating progression through the stages of reading development.


 * Summarizing **

It is very important that students can learn to recall the correct sequence of events in the stories they read. All Fiction stories have a beginning, middle, and end. To begin to learn how to sequence stories in order the teacher should replace “beginning, middle and end” with “first, next, then and last.” For example, a teacher might say to the students the sequence, or order, of events of that particular school day. It might sound like this: “First I woke up. Then I made some breakfast. Next I drove to school. Last I began teaching the students in the classroom.” Mastering the summarizing skill is the first step in composing a proper Elementary Fiction book review.


 * Analyzing and Identifying the Literary Elements **

All fiction stories contain Literary Elements. Examples of these Literary Elements are: characters, plot, setting, mood, and theme. It is important that students clearly understand the role of each of these elements within the story. Most of these elements are very clear to the reader on the first reading. While other elements require a second reading and some introspective thinking on the part of the reader. This is a more detailed list of the Literary Elements found in Fiction book.

· **CHARACTERS **: these are the people in the stories. These could be men, women, boys, or girls. In some Science Fiction stories the characters could be animals, robots, or some other inhuman form. Most of the time the characters will have speaking parts. In other words, there is dialogue between the characters within the story.



· **PLOT :** the plot is the story itself. One could also describe it as the “action” in the story. When students are summarizing the story they are essentially re-telling the plot of the story.



· **SETTING **: this is where the story takes place. Often times the setting can be in multiple locations. For example, the story might begin in a school. As the story progresses the setting might change to another location like a house or a farm.



· **MOOD :** this can best be described as the emotion a reader feels after they finish the story. The mood of a story could be scary. It could be sad. It could be happy. Often time’s readers might feel a combination of feelings as they progress through the story.



· **THEME :** this can also be described as “author’s message”. In other words, why did the author decide to write this story? Often times there is a lesson or moral to be learned from the story. For example, a lesson to be taught in a story might to always treat other people like you would want to be treated. Another lesson or moral that could be taught through a story might be to always to do our best and appreciate the value of hard work. The theme is the story could be something as simple as recognizing the value of family.



Thorough comprehension of these Literary Elements is the second step in organizing and composing an Elementary Fiction Book review


 * <span style="color: rgb(0,128,0);">MAKING CONNECTIONS **

While students are reading Elementary Fiction stories they are often times reminded of previous experiences. These experiences or connection can take on multiple forms. The two connections can be text to text, and text to self. Specific examples of these connections are:

·<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;"> //<span style="color: rgb(0,128,0);">Text to text: // this connection can happen when something in the story that the student is currently reading reminds of them another story they have previously read. In other words, the text on the pages in front of them reminds them of the text on previous pages from a story in their memory. ·<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal;"> //<span style="color: rgb(0,128,0);">Text to self //<span style="color: rgb(0,128,0);">: This connection will occur when a student is reading a story and some aspect of the story reminds them of themselves or an experience that they have personally experienced. Often time’s students will relate to certain characters in the stories they read. These characters might look similar to the student or they might act the same way as the student

When students begin to analyze and interpret these connections they are beginning to think about their reading. This is a very important step in their reading development.


 * <span style="color: rgb(128,128,0);">RECOMMENDATION AND EVAULATION **

When a student finishes an Elementary fiction book they can decide for themselves whether they liked the book or did not like the book. If they enjoyed reading the book they might be willing to recommend the book to others to read. If they did not like the book they will be less likely to recommend their book to someone else. The role of the teacher is to ensure that a student’s recommendation and evaluation can be validated. The student must learn to ‘reference the text” and point to specific examples from the story that helped shape their opinion. For example, s student might have enjoyed a story based on a particular character. Specifically, this student might have thought the words the character used throughout the story to be amusing. In order to provide a thorough recommendation and evaluation based on this interest the students must be able to “reference the text”. In other words, find an example from the story that will illustrate this character using a particularly amusing word. The example the students would compose might look like this:

<span style="color: rgb(128,128,0); font-family: Chalkboard;">In the story I really liked the character Jimmy. He used a lot of funny words in the story. For example on page 8 he said “Yippy Skippy Dabby Doo”. “Referencing the text” and citing specific examples from stories can be challenging to some students. Often times it is not a skill that students will attain on the first or second attempt. This skill will require repetition and practice utilizing multiple sources. In the end, learning this referencing skill will be an invaluable tool as students’ progress through their schooling.

Mastery of these four skills (summarizing, Literary elements, making connections, and recommendation/evaluation) is paramount in composing an Elementary Book review.

The template below can provide a framework for composition of the book review.

FICTION BOOK REVIEW Name: _

Title of Book:

__Author:__ _

Number of Pages: _

1. Sequence the story describing the beginning, middle, and end. 2. Try to use the words First, Next, Then, Last __
 * <span style="color: rgb(0,0,255);">Summary: **__<span style="color: rgb(0,0,255);">

_

_

_

_

1. Describe the connection you made 2. Start with: “I was reminded of…” Then describe the part of the book that reminded you of your experience
 * <span style="color: rgb(0,128,0);">Making Connections **<span style="color: rgb(0,128,0);">

_

__**<span style="color: rgb(128,128,0);">Recommendation and Evaluation **<span style="color: rgb(128,128,0);"> 1. Be sure to answer two questions. Did you like the book? Do you recommend the book? 2. Be sure to include at least one <span style="color: rgb(128,0,0);">Literary Element (characters, plot, setting, mood, theme) in your evaluation <span style="color: rgb(128,128,0);">. Reference the text to show evidence of your thinking. It should look like this…”on page 8 the character Jimmy says Yabba Dabba Doo” __<span style="color: rgb(128,128,0);">

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