things to do before reading
TRANSCRIPT
8/6/2019 Things to Do Before Reading
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Mapmaker: drawn a map of the book’ssetting.
Timeline: create a timeline that includesboth the events in the novel and historicalinformation of the time. Try using Post-Itson a whiteboard or butcher paper!
Downgrade: adapt myths or other storiesfor a younger audience; make intochildren’s books or dramatic adaptationon video or life.
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Drawn: translate chapters intostoryboards and cartoons; draw themost important scene in the chapterand explain its importance and action.
Cultural Literacy: find out what
students already know and addresswhat they need to know before readinga story or certain part of a story.
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Picture This: bring in art related tobook’s time or themes; compare,
describe, discuss.
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Kids Books: bring in children’s booksabout related themes and read these
aloud to class.CyberGuides: search the Net for
virtual tours based on the books youmight be studying.
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Oprah Bookclub: host a talkshow:students play the host, author, and
cast of characters; allow questionsfrom the audience.
What If : write about or discuss howthe story would differ if the characters
were something other than they are: apriest, another gender or race, adifferent age, or social class.
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The Woody Allen: in Take the Money,Allen interviews the parents of a man
who became a bank robber. Write animaginary interview with friends andfamily of a character whom they try tohelp you understand.
Author Interview: write an interviewor letter in which the character in astory asks the author a series of questions and reflects on how they feel
about the way they were made.
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Biography: wirte a biography of one of the characters who most interests you.
Autobiography: have the character thatmost interests you write theirautobiography of the time before, during,or after the story occurs.
P.S.: After you read the story, write an
epilogue in which you explain—usingwhatever tense and tone the author does—what happened to the character(s) next.
Board Game: have groups design board
games based on stories then play them. This is especially fun and works well withthe Odyssey.
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Second Chance: talk or write abouthow it would change the story if a
certain character had made a differentdecision earlier in the story (e.g., whatif Huck had not run away?)
Dear Classmate: using email or someother means of corresponding, writeeach other about the book as you readit, having a written conversation aboutthe book.
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Sing Me a Song: write a song/balladabout the story, a character, or anevent in the book.
Write Your Own: using the themes in
the story, write your own story,creating your own characters andsituation. It does not have to relate to
the story at all aside from its theme.
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Day in Court: use the story as the basisfor a court trial; students can be
witnesses, expert witnesses called totestify, judge, jury, bailiff, reporter; greatfun for a couple days.
Speculation: based on everything you
know now in the story, what do you thinkwill happen and why do you think that?Questions Anyone?: students make a
list of a certain number of questions they
have about a particular character oraspect of the book; use these as the basisfor class discussion.
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Interrogation: a student must comeup before the class and, pretending to
be a character or the author, answerquestions from the class.
Just the Facts Ma’am: acting as areporter, ask the students the basicquestions to facilitate a discussion:who, what, where, why, when, how?
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Write an Essay: using one of thedifferent rhetorical modes, write an
essay in which you make meaningfulconnections between the text and yourown experiences or other texts youhave read.
Storytelling: After reading a story,pair up with others and tell the story asa group, recalling it in order, piecing it
together, and clarifying for each otherwhen one gets lost.
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Make Your Own Test: have students createtheir own test or essay questions about thetext; this allows them to simultaneously
think about the story and prepare for the teston it.
Literature Circles: students gather ingroups to discuss the text and then reportout to the class for full-class discussion.
That Was Then, This Is Now: after readingthe text, create a Before/After list to compare
the ways in which characters or towns havechanged over the course of the story. Followup with discussion of reasons.
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Notes and Quotes: draw a line downthe middle of the page; on one side
write down important quotes; on theother comment on and analyze thequotes.
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Surf the Net: prior to, while, or afterreading a book check out the web andits offerings about the book, its author,or its subject.
Guest Speaker: if you are reading abook that deals with a subject an expert
might help them better understand,invite one in. Try a Veteran of ForeignWars, for example, if reading about war.