Make class sets of the Book Review Writing Tips Checklist, Sample Student-Friendly Book Reviews, and Setting the Stage printables. Yesterday I finished a fantastic book called It All Comes Down to This by Karen English.

In fact, I oftentimes tell students to just copy the summary from the book flap or from Amazon as long as they credit the source.

Step 7: Another fantastic resource is Scholastic's video booktalk collection.

Step 9: Have students return to their desks and complete a written reflection. Each of my students use the Reader's Notebook by Fountas and Pinnell to record their reflections. But make sure to not go into too much detail. Step 1: Remind students of the importance of revision and editing when publishing for an audience. Start doing this now and you’ll have several examples to show your students so they can do it too! Ongoing formative assessment will guide the way in helping the teacher and students study, evaluate, and write their own reflections of literature and the world around them.

Remind students that a great beginning grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to read more. Use this information for an area of focus with instruction. Step 4: On a blank piece of chart paper, write the following question: What makes a good book review? I don’t dwell too much on this because I think the author tells the story, it is my job to introduce the reader to the text.

What still needs to be focused on? Step 6: Review the rubric that will be used for assessment and ask students to give their best. She has 15 years of classroom teaching experience and a master's degree in literacy education.

Step 8: Ask students to turn to a partner to share some of the things they have learned so far about book review writing. Individual conferences should continue to drive instruction for areas of need individually and one on one. That book becomes a part of me. She also realizes that she may have to spend her entire life being accused of things she didn’t do just because of the color of her skin. Your favorite magazine or local newspaper may be a good source; some newspapers even include reviews by middle or high school students. And, while I do believe it’s okay to just read and move on, I personally need to process what I read. Step 3: Start a conversation with your class on the importance of book review writing.

When students authentically enjoy reading, they will want to share the good things that they are reading with others. We use a "this is my best" approach for assessing where a student is during the school year.

Thus, these templates are great time savers as well. If you are concerned that some of your students will be too critical, try implementing the two stars, one wish method. She was just like any other friend who might tell me something about another girl to ensure her friendship with me. 3–5,  Following along as someone bridges the gap between being a child and being an adult is fascinating because there isn’t a soul out there who hasn’t had those moments. Kimberley is a Senior Editor at WeAreTeachers.

Step 6: Inform students that they will be reflecting critically on their own book review/response writing before writing a review that demonstrates their very best writing capabilities.

I’m going to use this book and my reflection of it to show how to write an awesome book review in three parts. This activity is followed by an assignment to prepare a book report amplifying certain aspects of the book in a few lines. Classics: Fantasy & … Assessment Note: Although I stress being mindful of writing conventions for the audience, I don't expect my students to master skills not addressed yet in the school year or that are developmentally inappropriate. I’ve also taught it to teachers to see if they might be able to use it to reflect on the reading they do.

What types of books are your students selecting for reviews?

Step 5: Have students select one personal book response to share with a partner. They use a Book, Head, Heart method for discussing and responding to books.

How has the writing improved? Incorporate saved book reviews written by former students, if available. It’s 1965, Los Angeles. Step 1: With the Space Odyssey music playing in the background, announce to your class that you have reached the final "frontier" of review writing — the most important review writing of them all, the review study that is becoming popular online, the one they will need to know well for their remaining years on planet Earth — dramatic pause — book reviews. Have students share their experiences with doing so and share your own. The template design offers separate segments that will be furnishing information about the plot of the book, the most special aspect about the story plot that will help to build the interest of the readers and also a general recommendation as to why should one read this book. In this project, each layer of this book report sandwich covers a different element of the book—characters, setting, conflict, etc.