ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

NOVEL REVIEW PROJECT

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: 2-3 weeks
Correlation to English I SCS 1.02, 2.01, 3.03, 4.02, 4.03, 4.04, 5.01, 5.02, 6.01, 6.02
Correlation to NC High School Exit Exam Competencies: C2, C3, C4, C5, PI9, PS15

Lesson Objectives:

Students will work independently to read a contemporary world literature novel of their own choosing and write a review of the novel for an audience of high school English teachers who are trying to decide which novels to use for literature circles.

Materials Needed:

• Contemporary World Lit Novels (The Nobel Prize for Literature and the Booker Prize are the means by which most people find out about "new" authors of world literature. Amazon.com has a list of recent winners of both prizes that serves as a useful reference tool.)
• Newspaper/magazine reviews of available novels ( Scour the internet and recent issues of magazines for information about the authors of the novels available to students.)
• Parent permission letter
• Novel Review Project Handout (see attached)

Description:

• Hold a Book Information Day. Set up centers for each author with related interviews, articles, and photographs, as well as copies of the novels. Before asking students to circulate and find out about the authors, give students a brief synopsis of information about the author. Students can then wander around the room, picking up novels to read the back cover and looking at the materials gathered on each desk in an effort to choose a novel. While most of the class is involved with the author centers, the teacher can conference with students who bring their own novel choices to determine if these novels will work for the project. Ask these students to explain why they picked a particular novel, why they think others would be interested in it, and what they expect to learn from it.
• After students choose a novel, discuss assignment sheet with the requirements for their written reviews.
• A reading day to get them jump-started on their novel before moving on to something else is useful, but they must work independently and outside of class to complete the novel and the review. This project works well when the class is working with a text that requires little outside reading, such as a play. Occasional breaks from this in-class reading for reading days and research in the library or computer lab are useful, and three days at the conclusion of the unit may be used for drafting reviews.
• Monitoring independent reading poses new challenges for English teachers used to using whole class discussions and quizzes to gauge student progress, and those methods become obsolete when each member of class is reading a different novel. To cope with this new challenge, individual student conferences are extremely useful. Grouping students according to thematic connections in the novels they choose (one group for elements of magical realism, one group for oppression, etc.) can encourage small group discussions. Modeling such a discussion with one of the groups in a "fishbowl" session is excellent strategy. Similarly, small groups can be used for discussions of favorite/least favorite characters, funny moments, vivid descriptions, and other topics. This method of sharing connections between novels also extends to encourage students to find connections with the other works they read throughout the year.
• Student ownership of the final decision to purchase novels for Lit Circles is also important. Instead of reading all of the reviews and making the decision herself, the teacher can make room for students to hear from their peers about each novel and vote for the novels they find most appealing.

Assessment:

See attached rubric.

Additional Notes:

Choosing novels for Literature Circles in World Literature is a daunting and exciting task. It's exciting because there are so many excellent contemporary novels from around the world, but choosing the novels that will generate the maximum amount of student interest seems impossible at times. Students often complain about World Literature because they don't see its relevance to their lives; they just don't think they can relate to it. Sometimes it seems that they reject novels simply because the teacher chose them, which is why the student choice embedded in Literature Circles seems so necessary in this course. Taking that element of student choice a step further, using student recommendations to choose novels for use in Lit Circles, ensures an even greater level of student interest.

World Literature poses another challenge in terms of text selection in terms of "decency." Americans are probably more prudish than the rest of the world, and it becomes difficult to find exciting contemporary texts that don't contain any sexual or graphic language. The best method of dealing with this issue is to send a letter and permission form home to parents, explaining that students might accidentally be exposed to violence, sexual content, or profanity in some of the novels. If this is something parents want to avoid, they can indicate so on the permission slip and the teacher can steer their child towards they know to be devoid of fighting, sex, or foul language. Students also may have the option of bringing in their own choices of novels for this project. This process of getting approval for the project from parents can stretch over a week at the conclusion of another unit.

Suggested Authors:

Teacher's Notes:

Dear Parent:

Since students are selecting their own novels for this independent study project, reviewing all of the novels for graphic language will be nearly impossible. I could limit students' choices to novels that I've previewed, but I don't want to limit them to a small selection of literature that may not appeal to their interests. Therefore, I cannot promise that students won't run across something that might not be appropriate for their age and maturity level. I can promise that students will be choosing literature of the highest quality by contemporary authors who are highly acclaimed, winners of Nobel Prizes and National Book Awards. However, if you and your student, after reading a portion of the novel they have selected, find it offensive or inappropriate, I will be more than happy to assist in selecting another novel.

Please review the project requirements with your student and sign below indicating that you both understand the project. As always, I am more than willing to work with you in refining the project to meet your student's needs. If you would like to talk with me about the project, please indicate this on the slip below and I'll give you a call before we begin selecting novels.

Thank you,

____ I have reviewed the project requirements with my student and do not need to speak with you before my student selects a novel.

____ I have reviewed the project requirements with my student and would like to speak with you before my student selects a novel. My phone number is

___________________________________________________________
Parent Signature Date

Novel Review Project Rubric

Your review of the world literature novel of your choice is based on the following requirements, each worth up to 6 points.

____ Introduction (gives overall impression of novel, what you have learned or appreciated through reading it, etc.)

Background

____ Nationality of the author
____ Historical, political, or social background

Overall quality of novel

____ Quality of narrative
____ Quality of characterization
____ Presentation of themes

Relevance for students

____ Age-appropriateness
____ Connection of theme(s) to life and/or to other works studied
____ Qualities which might appeal to students
____ Qualities which might not appeal to students
____ Conclusion

Format

____ Five to seven pages in length
____ Typed
____ Mechanics (including punctuation and spelling)
____ Grammar
____ Special Focus -- language usage skill targeted for improvement __
____ TOTAL

DUE DATE:

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