Introduce: Fiction Book Review

From FreeReading

What to Do

Prepare

Choose a book with which your students are familiar

Model/Instruct

1. Explain the lesson.

Today we will be talking about book reviews. Book reviews are a form of persuasive writing. Persuasive writing tries to change the way a reader thinks or acts. A book review is written to tell briefly what a book is about without giving away the ending. It includes the reader’s opinion and details from the book to support the opinion. Book reviews should persuade another reader to read the book or to avoid the book.

2. Explain the elements of a book review.

A book review should show that you understood what you read. A book review should begin with general book information such as the title and author of the story. It should include important elements such as characters, setting, and interesting details. In addition, a book review should include the reader’s opinion, which should be supported with examples from the book.

Practice

3. Reread the book you have chosen for this exercise and gather basic information about it from your class.

Let’s reread this book titled _________________________ by ___________________. After we read we will identify the elements that should be included in a book review.

After you are done reading the book, ask your students questions about it.

What is the title of this book? Who is the author? Who are the main characters? What is the setting of the book? What are some interesting details from the story?

Write the responses on the board or chart paper.

4. Ask the students’ opinion of the book.

Remember, a book review also includes the reader’s opinion of the story. If you enjoyed the story put your thumb up. If you thought it was just okay, put your thumb to the side. If you did not enjoy the story put your thumb down.

5. Review the lesson.

Today we learned about the purpose and the elements of a book review. Do we write book reviews to teach how to do something or to share our opinions about a book?

Right, book reviews try to change the way the reader thinks by getting them to read or avoid a book you have read. Remember that book reviews include the title, author, characters, setting, interesting details, and the reader’s opinion of the story.

6. Encourage students to list titles of books they have read and would like to review in a journal or notebook.

Adjust

For Advanced Students:

Ask these students to give the genre of the book and provide you with a concise summary of the plot. Explain that genre means the kind or type of book.

For Struggling Students:

These students may have difficulty coming up with reasons to support their opinions of the book. In this case, help them to find details in the story that support their opinions.

For ELL Students:

Before reading the book, explain the meaning of any key vocabulary or concepts. After reading, ask these students to tell you what the book is about.

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