Description: Acting as agents for their chosen author, student groups will pick a series to “sell†to their teacher, who is playing the role of a book publisher. Students will use technology and original writing for their presentations.
Grade level: 3-4
Essential questions for series unit:
– Why do authors sometimes write stand-alone books, and sometimes write series books?
– How do characters grow and change differently in series than stand-alone novels?
Skills:
– Write book review, giving evidence from the text to support and explain opinions
Materials:
– collection of series books
– booklist of third-grade series for students to choose from
– computers with Microsoft PowerPoint
– library databases
Procedure:
– Students will form groups based on shared interest in a particular
– At home, students will each read at least one book from the series
– Each student will write a review of their book, and as a group, they will use library databases to find at least three professional reviews of books from their series
– Student groups will use Microsoft PowerPoint to create a presentation featuring at least four slides:
1) Brief, student-written summary of the series, including the genre (fantasy, realistic, etc.), with pictures of at least three book covers from the series
2) Biographical information about the author, including an author photo
3) “Critical opinion†slide, featuring snippets from professional reviews
4) “Sales†slide, explaining why this series will appeal to the target audience, including quotes from student reviews and discussion of appealing elements (i.e. characters, plot, writing style, genre)
– Student groups will give 5-10 minute presentations in front of the class, using their PowerPoint presentations
Assessment:
Students will be assessed against a rubric including the following:
– Are the student reviews persuasive? Do they use proper spelling and grammar? Do they show evidence that the student read and understood the book?
– Does the PowerPoint presentation include all of the required elements? Are spelling and grammatical errors kept to a minimum?
– Are student presentations kept to the allotted time? Does each group member play a part in the presentation? Do students “sell†the books with enthusiasm and confidence?
Each student will also complete a list of which series they would like to purchase, based on the presentations given. These assessments will not be used to grade the presentations, but they will be included in each student’s participation grade.
Additionally, students will complete a self-assessment of their group’s teamwork.