Writing Book Reports - A Major Turn-down
I have had my share of frustrations as far as making my students like “READING”. By “reading” I pertain to the general act of browsing through any reading material for leisurely purposes. I must admit that the school I work for implements very stringent programs that would develop higher reading skills, especially in high school. I myself had to deal with a dilemma related to this, when at the beginning of this school year, our department head handed me my teaching load. I had to cringe at the thought of teaching, let alone, force-teach freshmen and sophomore students (most of whom have never laid a finger on any reading material no thicker than a course outline hand-out) to read novels! And by “novels” I mean classics as ones written by Bronte, Dumas, Austen and Hugo. After all, were we not victims of book
I know I had no choice but to think of ways to make the task of novel-reading less frustrating. I had to rewrite certain parameters in the curriculum: as to how long the book report should be, as to what font size and margin would be used, etc. I had to think, out of the box. So, after a day of contemplation and careful consideration and reconsideration, I managed to come up with the following approaches:
1. Every Story Element, a Star - I divided the novel, not in chapters, but in reference to the four basic elements of the story, namely: Setting, Plot, Character and Theme. This way, every quarter of the year, we get to focus on one element of the novel and have a deeper understanding of the it, analytically.
2. Book Talk - Needless to say, the best way to really guide one’s students through the process of novel-reading is by dividing the book into chapters. Once this has been done, the class would be engaging in a once-every-week activity called the Book Talk. Here, the students would be free to discuss about the different aspects of the assigned element of the novel, say setting. The teacher would be posting guide and leading questions that would help establish the important and relevance of that particular element to the entire body of the novel.
3. Diorama - since the first element assigned is the setting, the teacher would discuss the relevance of that particular element of the story to the entire novel. A setting may set the mood or may cause for characters to change their ways or decisions, etc. After this, the teacher would ask the students to pick one particular passage in the novel that describes a setting. The basis for this must be that the passage chosen was a description of a particular scene in the book which strikes them as outstanding. They would make a diorama out of this. (NB: the teacher need remind the students not to veer away from the description in the chosen passage. They must create the diorama the way the setting was exactly described in the novel.)
4. The Accordion Book - after the first quarter activity (which is the diorama), the teacher would introduce the plot as the next element of the story. Here, topics like exposition, rising action, climax, conflict and time line will be discussed. Then the teacher would ask the students to make a plot structure of the novel assigned. This plot structure would be laid out in the accordion book the students would personally design. (NB: The teacher may encourage the students to make the designs of the book personal and unique but they must keep track of the content and substance of the every page. The accordion book would, in a way, exemplify the very essence of the plot (as a series of causal events).
5. Character Portfolio - by the third grading period, the students would have understood the novel in two different angles - through the setting and the plot. This time, the teacher would ask the students to pick out at least ten most notable characters in the novel. The students, then would create a profile (in the form of a bio-data) for each character, showing the character’s (sometimes implied) age, behavior and appearance. Then at the bottom of each profile, the student would give his/her comment on how he/she liked or disliked the character and how important and crucial the character to the entire novel is. (NB: The teacher must make sure to discuss important know-hows like what the different kinds of characters are — protagonists, antagonist, gray, round or flat.) Then, the students would compile the profile in one folder which they would call - portfolio.
6. Life’s Lesson Book - As for the last element of the novel, it would have to vary from having students write reaction papers or having them make a Life’s Little Lessons Book containing some quotable passages the reflect the morals of the novel. The theme is the most important part of the novel. It should be placed at the last because the it encompasses everything there is worth talking about in the novel. (NB: Teacher should be able to make the students understand that the theme is the author’s general message to the readers. Whether the exposition of the theme is explicitly or implicitly done, it all boils down to the idea that authors write books primarily, to say something that would affect change to other people’s lives.)
7. Book Exhibit - in most schools, the culmination of the book report is done in the form of an oral defense, where the reporters explain their understanding of the book to a panel of experts. In my case, I had modified the oral defense into some sort of an exhibit, a project exhibit if you will. Conducting an oral defense under the guise of an exhibit gives the students a false sense of control and authority. As they could explain their works in their own way and not according to the formal way of participating in a books defense, where they are subjected to a series of inquiries by the members of the panel. This way, the students could explore talking about the book without being so much conscious as to how they should talk and what they should say.
Once again, I do hope I was able to help teachers, educators who may have been having similar trouble with their students. Let’s all strive to be creative and resourceful in selling knowledge.
For comments, write to kutitos@aol.com
Tags: deficiency in reading + writing book reports