The bulletin board that the students create will become a visual aid for a small group book report presentation. Students will focus on the main character's traits and the plot of the novel when creating the board and writing note cards for this response to literature.
Select Novels for Groups
First, select a novel that the entire class will read, or have students select novels in groups of three or four. Before the students begin reading the novel, explain the project so they can be thinking of ideas as they read the novels. Set a deadline date for the novels to be finished and the bulletin boards to be completed.
Create Project Sheet
In preparation of the bulletin board project, create a project sheet. The project sheet explains what the students need to complete. If there are not enough bulletin boards for the student groups in the classroom, split bulletin boards in half. Or, ask if the students can decorate the hallway bulletin boards. This is a great way to show off student work in the halls before parent teacher conferences. Students will proudly show their parents their work.
When grouping students, mix students in heterogeneous groups. It works best if there is a mix of high, low and average students. Also, it helps to have a mix of boys and girls.
The Bulletin Boards Requirements
The book title and author should be clearly displayed. One-to-two main characters should be drawn from book descriptions. Focus the bulletin board on the character(s).
Choose five of the following for the main character(s) chosen to display in a creative way:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Motivations
- Physical traits
- Social traits
- Emotional Traits
Choose three of the following from the novel to display in a creative way:
- Setting
- Conflict
- Plot twist
- Climax
- Resolution
- Theme
- Symbol
Presentation of Bulletin Board
The small group will need to give a presentation on the book, using the bulletin board as a visual aid. Each student in the group should have a speaking part. The presentation should have an introduction, information about book and character (s) and a conclusion. Note cards should be written in advance.
Assessing Small Group Presentation
The presentation can be assessed using a rubric. The criteria could be eye contact, voice, content of information, organization of group and speech, and bulletin board.
The bulletin board can be graded separate from the group presentation or it can be part of the presentation grade. The bulletin board should be creative, neat and colorful. Content should be relevant and correct, and all of the words should be spelled correctly.
This creative response to literature is a teacher time saver and an enjoyable way for students to show what they learned from reading the novel. It is a win-win activity for students and teachers.
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Kellie Hayden - She is a 19 year veteran teacher with a master's degree in education and NBCT, 2000. Kellie teaches 8th grade language arts, TAG and ...
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