Book in an Hour Caroline C. Sheffield, Ph.D University of Louisville

Book in an Hour The Book-in-an- Hour technique is a modification of jig- saw readings. In this activity an entire novel (or picture book) can be read in as little as one hour.

Book in an Hour- a history Described by Cyrus F. Smith, Jr. in According Smith (1979) and Childrey (1980) this method is beneficial for a number of reasons including: motivating students to read an entire book encouraging reluctant readers by limiting read aloud requirements can assign chapters of varying sizes to students based on their reading ability allows students to be introduced to a variety of literature in a limited time encourages summary skills

Book in an Hour – todays benefits Opportunity to incorporate some of the available historical fiction and non-fiction works Way to bring in multiple perspectives Encourages literacy skills such as identifying main idea and details. Requires listening as well as reading skills Encourages writing skills It does not take three weeks to read a novel

Book in an Hour Step 1: Select an appropriate novel Step 2: Purchase 2 copies of the novel (paperback). Step 3: Tear the Book into sections. Step 4: Complete an appropriate pre-reading activity. Step 5: Distribute Book in an Hour form and provide time for students to read their sections and complete the form. Step 6: Students Report on their sections. Through the course of the presentation of the novel, students will write a one-sentence summary for each presented section. Step 7: Have students complete an appropriate post- reading activity

A Book in an Hour Book Title: ______________________________________ Author: ________________________________________ Chapter/Section: ___________________________________ Characters featured in the section: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Events that happened in this section: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

Draw a picture of the most important event in your section of the book. What are your predictions about what will happen in the rest of the story? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

1._____________________________________________. 2._____________________________________________. 3._____________________________________________. 4._____________________________________________. 5._____________________________________________. 6._____________________________________________. 7._____________________________________________. 8._____________________________________________. 9._____________________________________________. 10._____________________________________________. 11._____________________________________________. 12._____________________________________________. 13._____________________________________________. Write a One-Sentence Summary:

Example Post-Reading Activities: Research the historical event addressed in the book. Write a summary picture book Write the next chapter in the book. Movie poster for the book. RAFT activity – writing to one of the characters in the book. Turn the book into a graphic novella. Life-size character map Authenticate the novel

Where to find good social studies trade books…