Paired Reading Book Project
Students Chat and Present a Free Choice or Accelerated Reader Book
Many students think that being allowed to sit and talk with friends is fun. Why not allow them to chat about the latest twist in a book that they are reading?
Use Books to Get Students Talking about a Great Shared Read
Pairing up students for a free choice book or Accelerated Reader book is a great way to keep kids reading. The Fun Chat Book Project will get students talking about a shared read. This is one time the teacher will want to hear chatter in the classroom. However, teachers will need to roam the room and make sure that that chatter is focused on the book.
Organize Student Reading through Reading Logs and Chat Forms
Give students a deadline to finish the book and some in-class reading time. Also, they will need weekly time to sit and chat about what happened in the book. A reading log can help the teacher and the students keep track of the reading. Some students will want to try to get away with relying on the partner to do all of the reading. Give the students a “Chat Form” that asks students to name five important things that they talked about during the "chat time".
Chat Form for Book Discussion Days
The form could focus the discussion on the following:
- Intriguing settings
- Changes in setting
- Intense conflicts
- Exciting plot events
- Interesting twists
- Changes in the characters
- Characters they love or hate
- How the protagonist and antagonist interact
- Interesting or changes in point of view
- Mood changes
- An ongoing theme
Teachers Need to Focus on Literary Concepts
As students progress through the books, the teacher can discuss literary concepts and have students use examples from their books for short writing assignments. Focus a few discussions on the fun of reading together.
Culminating Project for Fun Chat Book Project
The end assessment can be a fun book talk. The partners will share the book with the class. The presentation should be visually pleasing.
Students need to include the following:
- Author and title
- Theme
- Protagonist and antagonist
- Type of characters (flat, round, dynamic, static) and why
- Plot (setting, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution)
- Book review (This should be written on note cards to share) The book review should whet the appetite of the audience about the exciting or interesting parts of the book. Students should rate the book and tell why the book received the rating. Written out on paper, the review should be about a page.
Creative Visuals or Ideas to Present
- Flip Chart--This is a large book that outline the important events or literary concepts in the novel. It should be colorful, large, and full of pictures and graphics.
- Booklet or pamphlet
- Book Project Sandwich--Students can create a sandwich out of construction paper that includes the bun (book title and author), condiments (characters), meat (plot), etc.
- Collage
- Slide show on computer
- Poster depicting the items
- Act as a television book critic
Content to Create a Rubric for the Project
To grade the book talk, the teacher can make a rubric and include the following:
- Covering all parts (6 listed items) accurately
- Creativity and color
- Delivery of presentation (eye contact, rate of speech, and volume)
In the end, the Fun Chat Book Project will hopefully get the students to talk about their books more. Talking about a book helps students really think about the book and its inner workings. Lastly, kids love to talk. This project will get students to focus on the fun and joy of sharing a book instead of plodding through it.
Note: If your school allows blogs or email, you could have the students complete chats or discussions on the computer.
