Historical Fiction Book Report - Guilford Public Schools

Historical Fiction Book Report
1. Finish reading the book before you begin your report. After all, the ending may
surprise you — and you don't want incomplete information in your project.
Book should be chosen by ______.
Read by _________
2. Pick a medium-we’ll come back to this later
When you finish reading, think about how you can best present the book to the
class. Maybe you'll make a wanted poster for the book's villain or use a shoebox to
create a diorama of your favorite scene. Use these suggestions to spark your own
ideas:
-Design an alternate book jacket
-Make up a mock magazine interview with the author, protagonist or antagonist
-Craft a movie poster (include the actors and actresses that you’d like to play
each role and tell why)
-Mix a CD of songs for the book's soundtrack with liner notes explaining why you
chose each song
-Create the front-page of a newspaper with headlines about the book and at least
one story
-A video news report
-A PowerPoint slide show
-An original idea not listed here
3. Identify the information-complete a story map to be handed in
• Characters: who is in the story
Examples: The people, animals, robots, aliens, or wizards
• Setting: where and when the story takes place
Examples: Aunt Mae's farm in 1982, last summer at acting camp, 1950s
London, a lake house in Michigan in present day, or 300 years from now on
Mars
• Genre: what kind of story is being told
Examples: Mystery, fable, historical fiction, or sci-fi fantasy
• Point of view: how the story is being told
Examples: First person — the narrator is also a main character who refers to
himself as "I." Third person — the point of view switches around and the
characters are "he" or "she."

• Tone/Theme: why the story is being told and what is the author’s message
Examples: Serious tone for readers who want to learn about the Holocaust or
humorous tone for readers who want a silly book about surviving middle
school
• Problem/Solution: describe the problem and how it is solved.
4. Find an interesting aspect of the story
This can be anything! Think about your favorite character or the last scene in the
book. What sticks out in your mind as something you have a lot to say about?
5. Write 5 ideas about the aspect you have chosen
Once you've decided on a part of the story that interests you — say you think the
dialogue is really funny — sit down and write at least 5 different thoughts about it.
This helps you to pick out specific parts of the story and these details will give you
examples when you create your project.
6. Have an opinion-write a 2 paragraph review of the book to be handed in.
What did you like? What didn't you like? Would you recommend this book to a
particular friend? Why? Remember that you don't have to enjoy a book to do a good
report on it. While your book project shouldn't just list complaints about the book,
your teacher will probably appreciate the thought you put into your opinion.
Challenge the author's original ending. Explain why you would have written it
differently. If there's a character you didn't like, tell why you would've left her out
completely. Keep notes on these thoughts as they come to you.
7. Connect your book to history-make meaningful connections (to be handed
in)
Find a way to relate the story to the actual historical event. How do the characters
relate to the people who experienced the event? Can you connect traits that the
main character has that someone from history has? Have you visited the location of
the book's setting?
8. Wrap it up
Brainstorm what else you want to include, such as great illustrations, who told you
about the book, if the author wrote anything else, and where this book ranks on your
list of favorites.

9. Spin all the separate pieces into the project
**Now it's time to go back to step #2: Pick a medium. You're now ready to put all of
the information you gathered into an interesting, entertaining, and above all,
informative book report that you will present to you class. Good luck!
Timeline:
Choose book and begin reading/taking notes by January 14.
Begin to brainstorm project ideas, gather materials and plan by February 4
Finish reading by February 7 (that’s 8 pages per day for a 180 page book)-this date
will not change
Finalize project idea and submit project plan to Mr. M. by February 11.
Complete story map due February 11)-this date will not change
Complete connections sheet by February 11)-this date will not change
Find something interesting about your story (Noticing) and write down 5 thoughts
about why you find this interesting due by February 11)-this date will not change
Opinion-2 paragraph review of the book due by February 15
Project due March 4 (depending on the type of project, more time MAY be granted)
Presentations begin March 7

Project Rubric
This rubric will help you to see how your project will be scored. Try scoring
yourself first, then hand this back to me for me to score.
Scoring Rules:
Text
Your project accurately represents the
elements of the story that you read.
Your project should provide a
thorough understanding of the story.
You must have your project idea approved
ahead of time.
_____/14 points
Design
You should demonstrate good design-this
includes effective use of color,
pictures, sound, images, spelling, grammar,
neatness and punctuation
_____/4 points
Completed Project
Your project needs to be turned in by
_____/2points
________________. Late projects lose
½ point per day.
Total
_____/20 points
A = 18-20, B = 16-17, C = 14-15, D = 12-13, F= below 12 points

I’M CONNECTED
Name: ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Text: __________________________________________________________
I can make a connection between something I read and:
Something in world history
Here is what I read:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Here is my connection:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Here is how my connection helped me understand this text better: ____________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

I Predict that I’ll Remember. . .
Name: ___________________________
Date: ____________________
Text: _______________________________________________________
Here’s what I found interesting:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Here are 5 reasons why I’ll probably remember this information for a long
time:

Book Review
Here’s where you let me know what you truly thought of the book. See the project
packet for more information regarding this assignment. This can be your rough draft.

Story Map
Protagonist/Antagonist:
Setting:
Point of View:
Tone/Theme:

Problem:
Solution: