Helping others find a great book to read! How to express yourself by writing a book review!

What is the point of a review?  Have you ever seen a great movie? How about a terrible movie?

What takes longer, reading a book or watching a movie?  Wouldn’t you like to find out from somebody else which books they liked and why?  Do you ever recommend to a friend that he or she should watch a certain movie or listen to a certain song?  We can do the same with books here at SCIS!

Writing a helpful review  Consider if you enjoyed the book or not  You can write about strengths or weaknesses of the book  Think about the 5 Elements – Plot, characters, conflict, theme, setting  Use evidence of the 5 elements to create a short list of the STRENGTHS or WEAKNESSES of your book  Only list points that you can prove – don’t write “it’s boring” unless you can explain WHY it is boring

What to put in a review  Put your topic sentence up front!  That topic sentence will tell the reader if you liked it or not!  Use your evidence of the 5 elements to help your reader understand your opinion of the book.  Conclude with a clear “Thumbs up” or “Thumbs down” statement. Did you like this book? Tell your reader whether or not you recommend the book!!

What an unacceptable review looks like  No title or author listed  No evidence that you have read the book  Unsupported judgements “I hated it” “It stinks” “Too boring”  If you don’t like it, explain WHY!  Ends without a clear “Thumbs Up!!” or “Thumbs Down!!”

An example review!  Take an example review from the pile.  Read it with your classmates  Decide if it is a helpful review or not  Find evidence of the 5 elements  What does the review do well, what could it do better  Share what you think!

Create a review  Choose a book you have read  Form a small group  If you have not read any of these, it’s OK!  Form a consensus on whether or not the group liked the book  Write bullet points sharing your opinions  Let’s share

Write a review of your own!!  Right now!  Type up a review of the novel you recently read  You will copy this to your own portfolio  And  Possibly publish to the library website!