What evil troll came up with WORD STUDY as a way to learn spelling words?
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Anonymous
"To find out whether I want to read the book" - this to me means that you are reading them to see what the book is about and whether other people liked the book. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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Book reports are a flat way to analyze a book. I personally enjoy discussing them more - maybe with follow up analysis.
But a plain 'ole book report isn't anything special wrt understanding and analyzing what you read. |
Anonymous
Well lucky for you today's kids are asked to analyze their books with understanding when writing about books. |
Anonymous
sure - in a very flat, boring way... |
Anonymous
Just because you never learned how to write a lively book report doesn't mean no one can. |
Anonymous
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There are lots of relatively interesting ways to do a book report that aren't "flat". Check out some of them.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:book%20report What is not so helpful is to turn a book report into an art project month after month just because kids don't particularly like to write. Not saying these ideas aren't valid once in awhile, but these types of comic strip/art projects have not taught my kids the same skills they get from actually thinking and writing and discussing a book. One teacher assigned these the entire year. The same change is happening with spelling where teachers are afraid to give students anything that might be construed as time consuming so all assignments are made to be "infused with fun". Replace Boring Book Reports with Projects Kids Love By: Jennifer Dobson Do your traditional book report assignments seem old and tired? Here are some alternative assignments that share the same benefits and instructional results but are infused with fun. These alternatives can be more appealing and that will give the students a chance to express themselves in alternative ways. Students can complete a book report assignment in artistic formats or in formats that foster good communications skills while still deriving the same benefit from the task. Bringing Out the Artist in Your Students Students love to showcase their budding artistic skills and you will be surprised by how much fun your students will have by turning a traditional book report into a work of art. You may find that some students are more clearly able to express what they learned from the book through artwork. Some ideas to get you started: Create a Picture or Collage of the Book Using regular crayons and art stock paper have students illustrate a particular scene from the book, or an event or character that gives a good sense of what the book was about, or what they learned from reading the book. Have each student present their work in front of the class and explain the scene that they have recreated. Designate one bulletin board in the classroom or outside your classroom door to showcase the pieces when the assignment ends Create Life Size Characters Based on the books that they read, have students work in groups to create life size characters. Working in pairs, have students trace one another's figure onto a large sheet of paper (like the kind that comes on rolls and is available in art supply stores) and then bring a character from the book to life using crayons, markers, and other mediums. Create a Comic Book Have students create a comic strip layout of the book that they have read. Try BitStrips for a free site where students can drag and drop images into comics. It's helpful for those students who don't draw well but want to express themselves visually |
Anonymous
I would have hated these projects so much more and learned no useful skills doing them. |
Anonymous
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I loved all that and so do my children.
Now stop fussing. Word Study should be helping the children become independent. Get some alphabet stickers or stamps instead of cutting from magazines. Then do some math. ; ) |
Anonymous
?? the process is flat, not the product the other activities posted are better, as long as they don't require parental help at all but really, I think discussion, kicked off with some provoking questions, is the best way to analyze and engage and open your mind. think harkness. |
Anonymous
Discussion is the same thing as writing except that you don't write. Both are ways of communicating. Kids spend every week in reading groups discussing their books. At some point they also have to learn to write about them. |
Anonymous
Discussion really is not the same thing as writing. It's more dynamic; ideas are exchanged and evolve quickly over the discussion. Maybe have a discussion then capture some relevant point in a summary write-up? Writing is important, no doubt, but a plain 'ole book reports generally aren't inspiring anyone. Not encouraging joy for the book or for writing. There are better ways to do both. I'm sure teachers will continue to assign them though because they're too lazy to try better ways. Or maybe they consider it a rite of passage "I had to do them, so..." |
Anonymous
I am not sure what writing would actually encourage you to have joy over a book. I gave you many examples that are not dull and are thought provoking and you still think they are a waste of time. During school kids are mainly having discussions on books. I don't know of any student who is not discussing books in class on a weekly basis. They have that part covered already. |
Anonymous
| Exactly. The students nowadays have too much not too little discussion. Writing is much harder than discuss ing. It doesn't have to be flat at all. |
Anonymous
The art projects listed above? Yes, they all seem potentially more engaging than a book report. Because they aren't really a book report. 
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