Night of the Living Book Report

1. Night of the Living Book Report Olga Nesi – Presenter SLMS/SLSA 2009 Spring Conference

2. What are “book report” projects and why won’t they “die” for good? • Often plagiarized summaries of information • “fill in the blank” assignments • Neither thoughtful nor thought provoking • Can be completed without actually reading or thinking • Horrendous to grade because no learning has occurred • Do not inform instruction at all • Will not die because they are easy to assign

3. Some Characteristics of Good Reports/Projects • Give students a purpose for gathering information (problem solving models) • Create opportunity for thought • Ask students to function at the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation) • Generally require a fair amount of “front end” work from teachers • They are “doable” • They inform classroom instruction

4. How do we minimize repeat book report hauntings? • Collaboration on the creation of meaningful assignments • Professional development on the same • Work with new teachers • Constant vigilance and work: • assignment by assignment • department by department • colleague by colleague