1. Book Groups by Megan Elliott, Kurt Dreikosen, Kaycie Ludkey, Alex Smith, and Justine Paulson

2. What are book groups??? First of all, you discuss literature!! A group of people that choose the same book, read and discuss what they have read. Sometimes you will have roles, and other times you will be assigned a project to reflect the reading.

3. Roles Summarizer: prepare a brief summary of the reading. Cover key points, main highlights, and the general idea of the reading assignment. Discussion Director: develop a list of questions, cover the big ideas, and try to provoke a conversation.

4. Roles Cont. Investigator: get background information on any topic related to your book –Geography –Information on the author –Time period –Elements of the book –Music that reflects the mood

5. Roles Cont. Illustrator: Draw a picture related to the reading- either discussed specifically, or an idea or feeling you may have gotten. Connector: Find connections between the book and to the outside world- school, friends, family, etc. Travel Tracer: Discuss the scene changes and importance of them.

6. Roles Cont. Vocabulary Enricher: Find important or difficult words in the reading, define and discuss them with your group. Predictor: Make predictions about your book and use support from the text.

7. Projects Here is a list of possible projects that Mrs. Apfelbeck could assign to you. –Graffiti Wall –Book to Movie –Book Discussion –Essay

8. Graffiti Walls Use important quotes and create graphics based on the text to create a “graffiti Wall.” Persuade other people to read your book.

9. Book To Movie This project challenges you to create a movie out of your book using roles that are used in real life –Director –Casting director –Location manager –Production manager –Cinematographer –Production designer –Storyboard artist –Director of audiography –Sound designer –Music composer –Choreographer

10. To discuss a few… Director: responsible for the overall look and feel of the movie. Casting director: hires actors based on popularity and capability. Production designer: Creates setting and costumes to go with the feel of the movie. Music composer: finds music that fits with the feel of the movie.

11. A Few Tips Do a close reading of the book. Keep up with your reading schedule. Think about the people that will read the book with you—know they are depending on you to make the book group experience a success. Don’t expect your group to do the work for you—do your part!

12. While reading, answer these questions: –What makes the characters do what they do? –How are the characters portrayed? –What is the setting of the story? –Summarize the plot. –How does the plot flow from one idea to another (structure)? –What mood does the author create? –What is the big “so what” of the book? –How do the themes relate to you and the world today?

13. After the Lit. Circle cont. From whose point of view is the story told? How does that affect the “so what?” What symbols and/or motifs do you notice? What is the author’s overall tone? What’s the point of this?

14. Book Groups Example The Book- Beauty and the Beast –Summary: Girl lives with Beast in place of her father, Beast loves her, she loves him, she finds the good in him and changes him back. They live happily ever after!! –Discussion Questions: How do you feel about the character Gaston? –What would you have done in Belle’s place?

15. Vocabulary Enricher: appearances (one thing that seems to be a problem, but proves itself wrong) punishment (the Beast is punished for being selfish, Belle is punished by not being able to see her father, Gaston is punished by not being able to marry Belle)

16. Predictor: Belle and Beast will get married, appearances will never come in between them, and they will live happily ever after!! The theme of this story is love overcoming all obstacles, the symbols are the rose and the mirror, and the point of view is a third person or narrator.

17. The End When you are faced with the task of working in a book group, we hope that this information will prove itself beneficial in the discussion of the book and the passing of the class! Good luck!