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Decker, Isabelle M. (1969). 100 novel ways
with book reports. New York: Citation Press.
I won't detail all 100, just my favorites.
Numbers refer to the original number of each technique.
1) Roll the Presses:
students writes and edits the front page of a "newspaper",
including news, human interest stories, editorials, letters
to the editor, ads, etc. May be accomplished via computer
or by pasting up text/graphics on a sheet of artist's sketch
paper.
3) Biographies in Sound:
After reading a biography, each student writes a radio script
that includes background, character, achievements, failures,
friendships, and philosophy. Alternately, can be written as
a dramatization.
5) Out of the Mouths of
Puppets: several students who have read the same work collaborate
on writing a script and performing a puppet show.
7) I'm a Character: each
student impersonates a character from a book, presenting a
first-person review of experiences. The character may
disagree with the book's author.
9) TV Special: students
write scenes for a short TV script based on a text, then a
master script is compiled and the performance rehearsed or
taped.
14) Posters: each student
designs and constructs a poster to promote the reading of
his/her book by combining a short review with illustrations
and lettering.
15) Quotes: after
completing a reading, students peruse books of quotations
and select one applicable to characters, plot, theme, locale,
or era.
16) Regarding assignments
relating to a country or geographical locale, students pretend
they are travel book authors asked to speak about their experiences
in a given country.
20) Around the Campfire:
the stage is transformed to a campfire (using dim lighting,
fake logs, sleeping bags, a faint strumming guitar, etc.).
A discussion of a book ensues.
21) A Grueling Grilling:
four students who have read the same book assume the parts
of the author, a literary critic for a magazine, a literary
editor of a newspaper, and a student who is chairing a symposium
on the author's work.
24) Who Is It? After
reading various short biographies, each student prepares a
short 200-300 word summary of the person's accomplishments
but avoids using the subject's name. The class reads
the bios and tries to guess each subject's identity
26) Words At Work: the class collects
reviews of a work, reads each, then jointly constructs a single
review using the best phrases from the various reviews.
27) Dear Pen Pal: Students pretend they have
a pen pal in another state and has decided to send him/her
a book. In addition, each pen pal writes a letter detailing
his/her impression of the book. In a variant, these
letters are exchanged among class members.
29) Successful Salespeople: each student plays
the part of a salesperson trying to persuade others to purchase
their book for a holiday gift.
37) Let's Debate: the class is assigned topics
for debate. The participants for one topic become the
audience for another.
39) I Recommend: If more than a dozen
works have been read, the class pretends it is a literary
club that each year donates six works to the city library.
To that end, the class is asked to whittle the readings down
to the top six recommendations, with each student arguing
in favor of their choices.
42) Spell Down: After a reading, each student
writes five general questions on a 3x 5 index card.
The cards are shuffled and teams answer questions in turn,
with anyone who misses a question sitting down afterwards.
44) A "club" is created, with a
short booklet outlining officers, bylaws and procedures. The
club "meets" regularly to discuss a topic of interest.
50) Negatively Speaking: students write
on the topic of "Why you should not read this book."
51) Fun with Book Jackets: After scanning
a selection of book jackets, the class composes one for the
book in question.
56) Abridged Editions: students pretend
they work for Reader's Digest and are abstracting a work for
an abridged edition.
59) Let's Listen: Students collaborate on
preparing and delivering a lecture.
60) The Visual Treatment: a subset of students
collects graphics and photos to accompany the "Let's
Listen" technique above.
61) Ads: Students create TV commercials,
magazine or newspaper ads, or promotional posters for a work.
63) The Biographer's Art: in this variant
of "20 questions", each student is assigned a brief
biography on a different person. Slips of paper with
student names or numbers are drawn one at a time. When
a student's name/number is drawn, he/she stands in front of
the group and the class gets 20 questions to try to ascertain
the name and author of his/her work.
66) Dear Diary: each student assumes the identity
of a character in a reading and composes 2-3 150-word diary
entries for that person.
68) I'll Quiz You: two students read
each article or book, each composes 10 questions and answers,
and they pair off to quiz each other.
72) Interviewing the Author: students pair
off, with one member of each pair assuming the role of the
reading's author while the other assumes the role of an interviewer.
74) Best Sellers: Students are sent off on
a scavenger hunt to obtain lists of best sellers in a given
discipline. When reconvened, they discuss what factors
help make a book a best seller in that discipline.
76) Students scour the library for audio or
video snippets from a given person. The snippets are
viewed or heard by the class.
82) Statements: each student writes a series
of statements (they don't have to be related) about a work.
Chairs are arranged in a circle and each student reads his/her
statements while the others try to guess the person, topic
or reading.
87) Creative Comparisons: students read an
old and a new article or book on a topic and then compare
and contrast the two.
88) Guest Speakers: find another class that
meets at the same time as yours, then coordinate with the
other instructor regarding possible "guest speaker"
activities (where students from one class present to students
from the other class) throughout the term.
89) Bibliographies: students are given longer
works they have written and work in class to generate an abstract
or short bibliography statement.
91) Dear Sir or Madam: the class collaborates
to write a letter that is actually sent to a person/author/company/etc.
93) Books That Changed the World: the class
builds a list of seminal works on a given topic or in a given
discipline.
94) In Manuscript Form: students imagine they
are editors and the work is submitted to them in manuscript
form. They provide feedback and suggestions for edits.
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