Digital+Book+Reports

Book Reports using Multimedia, Digital Design

 1. Film a __Video Book Talk__  Film yourself reporting on a book you just read. Include a summary of the story, a reaction, an analysis of the writer’s style, information about the author (such as other books published), and additional information about the book (such as book series or movie info). Then make a recommendation to other readers about whether or not they should check it out.

For some idea of what this might look like, check out this brief [|Reading Rainbow] book talk video.

Here is another [|example] of what a book talk could look like.

2. __Video Book Discussion__  Similar to an individual book talk, the book discussion takes the form of a conversation between two or more readers. While it’s still important to address the issues above in order to inform your audience, the book discussion can also center around controversial parts of the book so that speakers can debate, share their opinions on different parts of the book and provide evidence from the text. Speakers might also provide a rating for the book (a certain number out of a total of five stars, for example).

Here is an [|example] of a book discussion covering more than one book at the same time.

3. __Film a Scene__ from the Story  If you are reading the same book as one or more others are reading, dramatize a scene from the book. Write a script and have several rehearsals before recording it. In filming, you will need screenplay writers, actors, a director, a cinematographer, and an editor. Edit the scene in Microsoft MovieMaker or Apple imovie. Include a music soundtrack, if necessary, as well as an opening title and closing credits.

Students act out scenes from [|Rumblefish].

4. __[|PBS Masterpiece]__ Book and Film Club

Enact the tradition of the Masterpiece Book Club in your classroom or as a group on camera. You will need an interviewer, a panel of readers, an actor to represent the author, and audience members who will ask and answer questions. The participants will contribute to a talk show-style forum based on a specific book with which all will be familiar. Panelists will share their opinions on the work, while the author will reflect on his or her creative process.

 5. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Book News__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Create a [|news program] based around the events in the book including conflicts and resolutions, man-on-the-street interviews, and even weather reports.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">6. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Make a __Book Trailer__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Like a movie trailer, a book trailer is a two minute video made to capture an audience’s attention, shed some light on the plot and characters, and incite interest in those who haven’t yet read it.

Sample book trailer for [|The Book Thief].

See more book trailers [|here].

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">7. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Digital Book Report__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Also a multimedia presentation, the digital book report is meant to teach an audience about a book. Include photos, videos, and music to show characters, plotlines, settings, author information, and other major elements of the book you read.

Several programs can be used to make cool book trailer videos and digital book reports:

[|MovieMaker]

[|imovie]

[|Photo Story]

[|PowerPoint]

[|HyperStudio]

[|Animoto]

[|Voicethread]

Some sample digital book reports can be seen [|here], and [|here].

[|The JUMP] is a Digital Journal that provides examples of college-level multimedia presentations, as well.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">8. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">__ Make a website __ using wikispaces that includes a series of hyperlinked threads of images, songs, and videos, that connect multiple elements of a book, such as character, setting, plot, conflict, resolution, theme, symbolism, best lines, writing style, comparisons, contrasts, categories, maps, timelines, author’s bio, other books by the same author, and even other stories that share the same or similar settings, characters, plots, and then connect those to THEIR authors, and so on, and so on.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">9. __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Juxtapose the Foils __ <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

Create a website or video that demonstrates sets of opposites one can find in the story and how these opposites relate to one another.



<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">10. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Book Report Jeopardy__

Make an interactive, [|online game] that readers can play, either individually or as a group.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">11. __<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Publish a Book Report Online __ <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Select a book appropriate for readers at your grade level. Write a review. Post it on the site [|bookhooks.com]. Other students across the nation will read and analyze your review.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">12. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Share a __Digital Writing Space__, where several students can contribute to the same wiki-style page, working together to construct critiques, summaries, and descriptions of the same book.

For an explanation and an example of how to create successful collaborative writing spaces online, click [|here].



<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">13. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Book and Author Database and email Project__ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Students read a number of books by a given author and input information into a database. They can email information about their favorite author to other students. They focus on story elements and ask questions or make suggestions for future stories in their emails.

Here is an excellent example of a student-created database on the novel [|All Quiet on the Western Front].

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">14. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Concept Mapping__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Students read a work of fiction or nonfiction. They create a story map and multimedia book report with the help of various computer applications like a spreadsheet to organize information. They can create maps and timelines to organize such elements as characters, setting, problem, solution, and major events. Students can design story maps and concept maps using computer software such as [|Kidspiration or Inspiration].

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;"> 15. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Digital Reading Log__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">

As students read through books, they can contribute daily to a database that includes chapter summaries, character analysis, predictions, and evaluations.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">16. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Create a New Book Cover__ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Examine the existing book cover and design and create a new book cover based on your understanding of the story. Create the cover using a graphic design program such as Adobe Illustrator. Then explain your book cover to your class.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;">17. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">__Design a Movie Poster__ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Imagine your book being made into a Hollywood movie.

Choose the actors who will star in the production, choose an appropriate background, title, and poster design.

Use [|Photoshop], [|Flickr], or [|Glogster] to create your poster.

See some great sample posters [|here]... and don't miss [|these]!

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; msofareastfontfamily: Arial; msolist: Ignore;"> 18. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Design a __[|GoogleLitTrip]__ adventure for your audience to follow. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Using Google Maps, provide information about the setting of your story, as well as biographical and geographical information about the story’s author.

Especially for stories that include a journey, capture screen shots of the place, and label each stopping point with historical information, as well as information about events from the story.

After going on this virtual adventure, your audience should have a good understanding of your book’s storyline as well as the characters' struggles and victories.