Major Project:
Middle School Book Review Web Site




     I have created a web site based on Middle Level Book Reviews that will serve as a step in improving Reading Literacy at the Middle Grades, and additionally serve as a portal where students can utilize book reviews written by other Middle School students at varied reading ability levels and enter reviews to the site. These reviews were created by students in Reading, English, Communications and Honors Communications classes. When recommending summer reading selections for students at various levels, I was often seeking assistance from students as to current books appealing to them. This project will serve as a step in developing another level of a Middle School summer reading program. With student-generated responses to varied genres, a more inviting atmosphere will be established for student choice and interest, which is a foundation in middle school philosophy. The basis for this project is the notion that publication of student work to a larger audience is an important component of language arts instruction.

Students:
    All levels of students will have the opportunity to participate. Participation in this project is voluntary and optional. Students currently in seventh and eighth grades are participating in the project. Although as many as 100 may become part of the project by the end of the Third Trimester, or for a summer reading project, the sampling for this project will be based on the accomplishments of 5 students of various reading ability levels.

Process:
    Students choose books at or above their individual reading level, based on interest, by genre. Students   research the definitions of genres and have projected those to audio files. Learning basic technology tools, and the ability to share the use of those tools with their peers is a significant part of the project. After being instructed in basics of Power Point by their peers, students will be able to create presentations for their reviews. Students will also be instructed to use a digital camera and/or scanner by their peers to add additional dimensions, such as illustrations or graphics to their reviews. The creation of student developed, student-user-friendly instructions for the scanner and digital camera are also a part of this project. Students will also develop information links on reading strategies, rubrics for alternative assessment options for projects, and a template for reviews to be submitted. As a result, students will develop and monitor a site for other Middle School students to access for book reviews.
Evaluation of the project:
Stage One:
    Prior to project initiation, I informally surveyed students as to the process they sought for choosing books at their reading level. Responses suggested a strong correlation to suggestions by friends and other students. A significant thread was individual interest, such as mystery, poetry, historical fiction, or biography, etc. Discussion also ensued regarding the lack of interest in district recommended summer reading and reading projects associated with summer reading. Interest, on the contrary, was on projects involving technology and use of computers at home during summer break. This served as a catalyst for the project.
Stage Two:
    Although some information will be available to share for the major project presentation on Dec 16th, the value of this project will be more apparent on a long term basis, by surveying the number of students involved in the project and web page monitoring. The ultimate evaluation will be in the actual number of students utilizing the web site to review books prior to selection for summer reading and the number of entries of reviews submitted to the site.

    This project will be completed through individual, small group and classroom opportunities, using sample templates and questioning skills and strategies in 42-minute class sessions throughout the duration of the project. This time structure is dependent on the level of the student and the project application being worked on.

    The web site contains  additional links to information resources on books, genres and interesting pages.
 
 


Student Book Reviews
 Literature Definitions
Scanner directions
Digital Camera directions
Student developed Book Review form
Young Adult Book Lists
Author Lists and Links