I Know This Character
Scaffolding Book Report Writing
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 1: Beginning LiteracyStage 2: Consolidation / Fluency
Stage 3: Literacy for Growth
Ages:
6-9
Grade Range:
2nd 3rdFood Groups:
Primary: Real Reading: Comprehension Strategies
Transcript
This is a display of the childrens work where theyve written book reports. We were having trouble getting the children to write meaningfully about a character in a particular book. Reading the story once or twice wasnt enough for them to really get the details of what a particular character was about, and I thought about getting a series of books that had the same character in it. I did find this series of Martha Speaks, I have five of them here, where Martha the dog is the main character in all of the stories. They got a really good sense of who Martha was, and what kind of a character it was. So I had them write a book report on one of these stories, really focusing on the Martha character. They would have done their planner, their rough copy, write their own good copy, making sure that they took all the edit changes that I make. Its really important that you check to make sure that their good copy makes the changes. There really is no learning unless they do that. After they finished doing their book report, I asked the children to make a portrait of Martha. We talked about what a portrait was, and we looked at examples of portraits, so a portrait being a head, neck and shoulders. So they could pick any view of Martha that they wanted, from the story that they had picked for their book report. And then they go to choose whatever art materials they wanted. As you can see, they got really into it and they started making a lot of the other characters from the stories to help decorate the display.
Related References
Activity Objective
The goal of I Know This Character: Scaffolding Book Report Writing is to help students develop their comprehension strategies by having them read a series of books with the same character. Students then write a book report about one book they've selected from the series. They complete a rough draft and a final draft, which is reviewed by the teacher to ensure they're making appropriate editing choices. To complete the activity, students then make a portrait of this character to display in the classroom.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- There are many different series of books that have the same character throughout, so try and make sure that you're selecting a series that is of interest to your class. - Check to make sure that your students' good copy makes appropriate changes from their rough copy to ensure they're learning from their mistakes. - Finishing the book report with an art activity is a fun way to make your students learning visual. They're sure to be proud to have their work displayed.
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Fairy Tale Checklist: Understanding the Structure of a Fairy Tale (Virtual Tour)
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Magnet Man: Integrating Science and Literacy through Writing (Virtual Tour)
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Student Made Books: Promoting the Enjoyment of Writing (Virtual Tour)
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Teeny Tiny Books: Writing Narratives (Virtual Tour)
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