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Extension
Examples: More Complex Projects |
Other projects work more effectively as whole class projects since they include more components, they require more time to complete, and they often involve returning to literature circle groups to discuss how information from the book can be represented. Because of their many components, the success of these more complex projects increases with careful, deliberate teaching and the allocation of enough time to do them justice. These projects may take up to a week to complete.
ABC
Book: Create an
alphabet book that focuses on key events, characters, ideas, and
information from your book. Include an illustration on each page
as well as one to two sentences explaining each letter of the alphabet.
For a whole-class ABC book, each student can be given a letter of
the alphabet and asked to find a word using that letter that is
important in the book. CD Cover: Design the front and the back cover for a CD to capture the theme or spirit of your book. Be sure the name of the book, plus the title of the hit single, appears on the front cover along with an appealing sketch or design. On the back, list the other songs from the CD, making sure they relate to the book and to the characters' experiences. [Adaptation: Write lyrics to the hit single.] The CD covers below include students' songs based on Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George and Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell.
Commemorative Stamp: Select a key character or scene, or focus on an important theme from your book, and develop a stamp to commemorate that character, scene, or theme. Include a picture, a selected phrase, and the stamp's value. The stamp shown below was designed from Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and depicts symbols of racism, segeretation, and reconciliation.
Jackdaw: A jackdaw is a bird that scavenges material to build its nest. Collect artifacts representing ideas, events, characters, and/or themes in your book. Prepare a display of these items. Label each artifact and briefly write about its importance to the book. You may also want to include a quote from your book for each of the artifacts. The jackdaw pictured below is from an intermediate student who read Gary Paulsen's The River. The student used paper to create some of the key artifacts from the book, and included a short written explanation for each piece.
Story Quilt:
Create a quilt square featuring a chapter or significant
scene from your book. Include a border with a repeated design or
symbol that represents a key idea from your chapter or scene. Select
an important quote (or write a brief summary) from your chapter
and write it inside your quilt square. [Adaptation: Design a character
quilt featuring both protagonists and antagonists, and major and
minor characters from your book.]
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Literature
Circles Resource Center © 2002 Katherine L. Schlick Noe School of Education Seattle University 900 Broadway Seattle, WA 98122 kschlnoe@seattleu.edu |