Alternative Book Report Assignment

Alternative Book Report Assignment 50 points

Overview of the Alternative Book Report The Alternative Book Report is a written, visual, or artistic representation of a Young Adult novel that goes beyond mere summary to represent the text in a way that is original and creative.

Purpose of the Alternative Book Report The Alternative Book Report gives you the chance to represent your reading of a Young Adult novel in a way that is different from a traditional test or academic paper.

Alternative Book Report Product Option List

a. Collage. Create a poster-board-sized collage that illustrates the salient points of a character or theme of a particular work, and make a 2-minute presentation to the class in which you explain your collage. Remember that a collage has little if any white space and that the focus is on an array of pictures and words representative of the book. In your portfolio, include a one-page typed explanation of your collage and of how it relates to the chosen work. This assignment works particularly well with any title featuring a strong protagonist or antagonist, a strong theme or issue, with nonfiction informational books, or with biography or autobiography. (You can try an online version of this assignment using Glogster.com or Mus).

b. Digital Book Trailers. Create a 1-2 minute Digital Book Trailer using Photo Story or Movie Maker that functions to generate student interest in a particular book. Include text, high-quality images, color, video and narration (if appropriate) to generate mystery/tension/intrigue in the manner of TV show and film trailers.

c. Interactive Bulletin Board/Graphic Displays. Assemble at least four poster boards and create a bulletin board/display about a particular book or theme. The bulletin board should be of the type and content that would actually be featured in a middle of high school classroom; it should attract the attention of potential readers and include elements of interactivity (i.e., students would contribute to or determine some of the content). Then, in your portfolio write a 1-2 page typed explanation of your bulletin board and of the ways in which the items on the bulletin board relate to your chosen title/concept. This option works particularly well with books featuring a dominant theme or subject matter.

d. Prequel/Sequel. For a book that is a prequel or a sequel, write a 2-4-page critique of the work in which you compare and/or contrast it to the original source book. This is a standard critique, complete with a strong thesis statement that you then develop throughout the paper. e. Character Locker. Create a “character locker” for a character or real person from a chosen work. Create the “locker” using a shoebox-sized box, decorating the outside of the “locker” appropriately. Within the locker, place items that are important to the character or person, relying on real or toy items, not drawings (i.e., “artifacts”). Base your choices on your reading of the chosen work. Within your portfolio, write a two-page explanation of what you put into the locker and why. This option works well with any book featuring strong characterization. Again, sites like Glogster.com or Museum Box (http://museumbox.e2bn.org/) would make for interesting e-versions of such an assignment. f. Character Interview. Write a 3-5-page typed interview with a character from a novel or with the person who is the subject of your autobiography or biography book. Create a setting and rationale for the interview, and use standard interview format. Ask questions and write answers that reveal information about the character or person that you gathered from your reading of the book, but do not merely recopy sections of the text as an interview. That is, embody the personality of the character through the dialogue. This option works well with any work featuring a strong character or real person. g. Switching Genres/Disciplines/Characters. Take a “meaty” or significant excerpt from a work that is written in one genre and “switch” it to at least three other genres. For instance, a short scene from a play might be switched to a short story, a poem, a business memo, blues song, etc.

 Alternately, switch from one discipline to several others (ELA to Biology, History, Psychology, Math, etc.).  Alternately, switch perspectives (switch from a main character to passing/side/background/nonexistent characters; switch time periods; etc.)

In a 1-2 page introduction to your switching piece, explain the relevance of the excerpt that you have chosen, why you chose the alternate genre/discipline, and what you have tried to accomplish within the switch. Include an MLA entry for the original book, complete with the page numbers of the original excerpt. h. Facebook/MySpace/Commercial Website. Create a profile for a character or real person on a social networking site, or create a “business” website advertising or marketing the character. Indicate the skills of the character and design the profile/site to reflect his or her traits, talents, interests, connections, or unique experiences. See examples shown in class for models. Explain your reasons for your choices in a one-page summary to include in your portfolio. i. Soundtracks. Choose a minimum of four characters from a text and find fitting song lyrics (or create them) for each. Scan or type out the song lyrics and annotate (explain and make comments on) the lyrics for an explanation as to why you chose that particular song for the character. Burn a CD of the songs and create a CD cover that illustrates a major motif or theme of the text. Consider using a digital platform to embed YouTube videos alongside your work above. (hat-tip: Jim Burke and Justin W.) j. Multigenre Research Project. As detailed by Tom Romano, choose a character, author, or historical figure related to a text and create a multigenre research project using at least four different genres of writing/multimodal communication to convey meaning to a reader (some examples of MGRPs). k. Seeing the Future. What happens to a key character in the book you selected to read in five or seven or 10 years after the ending of the book? Write an additional chapter to the book in which you explain how the character is living, what else has happened, the emotional state of the character, and other key information for the character’s life in the future time and place of your choosing. Put the chapter you write into your portfolio along with a one- to two-page typed explanation of why you made these choices about the character’s future. l. Cereal Box. Create a cereal box that has the same theme or that in some other way relates to the book you selected to read. Use a real empty cereal box and cover it in construction paper. Then, tape or glue your creations to it. On the front of the box, name the cereal, have a picture of something related to the cereal or book, and feature some writing on the front of the box that will help capture a potential “buyer’s” attention. On the back of the box, include at least one short game (a maze, puzzle, or word search, for example) and some “interesting facts” related to your book. On one side of the box, include an original (not a plagiarized one!) summary of the book; on the other side of the box, include some information about the author. If there is room, include somewhere on the box some “nutritional information,” a benefit, or a side-effect of consuming the cereal that is related to the book you read. Plan to show and explain your cereal box in a two-minute presentation to your peers. In a one-page typed paper to place in your portfolio, explain your reasons for your choices included on the cereal box. m. Texting/IMing. Based on the action and characters in the book you selected to read, write a series of emails and IM’s that two of the characters would have sent to each other if they had the technology to do so. The emails or texting should not merely be copied from the book you selected to read. They should be created by you to show some additional action, emotions, or events not fully presented in the book. In a one-page typed paper to place in your portfolio, explain your reasons for your choices included in the emails and/or text messages. Also include the page numbers from the book that correspond to the email or other messages you have created. n. Map Quest. Draw a neighborhood map or journey map related to the book you selected to read. If a real person or character in the book lived in an interesting neighborhood, draw a map in which you feature key locations, houses, the school, stores, or other landmarks on the map. If a real person or character in the book you read went on a journey, map out and draw the route for the journey, marking on the map key spots along the way. Place the map in your portfolio. Then, in a one- to two-page typed paper to place in your portfolio, explain your reasons for your choices included on the map. Rubric for Evaluating the Alternative Book Report

I. Presentation: Student knows what he/she wants to say, and expresses him/herself confidently.

1 2 3 4 5 x1 = _____

II. Connection to Text: It is clear which literary text the ABR is addressing, and the representation of the text is thorough, accurate, and relevant.

1 2 3 4 5 x3 = _____

III. Imagination, Creativity, and/or a Fresh Approach: The ABR shows attention to detail, insights about the book you selected to read that go beyond the trivial or mundane, and creative/imaginative engagement with the book.

1 2 3 4 5 x2 = _____

IV. Effort: Regardless of the medium chosen, the amount of effort evident in the ABR goes beyond the minimal.

1 2 3 4 5 x2 = _____

V. ABR Appearance: The ABR is clearly a polished finished product. Major errors are nonexistent, and minor errors do not detract from the effect of the project.

1 2 3 4 5 x2= ______

NAME: ______TOTAL SCORE = ______