Book Report Summary Paragraphs and Prewriting T-Chart

Devotional: Singing "Lord of My Life"

Plot Summary Paragraphs
Students had the class period to write a two paragraph summary of the book they read for their first quarter book report. Each of the summary paragraphs should be between eight and ten sentences long. Mr. Stone suggested students might think of the book they read as a two-hour movie. Think of your first paragraph as describing the first hour of the movie and your second paragraph as describing the second hour of the movie.

Another way to approach summarizing the book a student wrote would be to write a one sentence summary of each chapter. If the book contains more than twenty chapters, attempt to combine what happened in some of chapters into one sentence.

The goal of a summary is to present the main events/points of the book in a condensed length.

If a student's book is divided into major divisions greater than two, a student may discuss with Mr. Stone the option of writing a larger number of smaller paragraphs. A student needs to get approval for writing a summary that is not written in the expected two paragraphs.

T-Chart
Students need to complete the T-chart Mr. Stone distributed in class to help them determine their dominant opinion/judgement of the book the read. They should list at least five strengths of the book/aspects they liked about the book and five weaknesses of the book/aspects they disliked about the book.

Once the student has completed the T-chart, they should review their lists to help them to determine whether the thesis of their report will be positive or negative. Is the student recommending other students read the book or suggesting that they should avoid it? If a student has a longer list of strengths/likes, then he/she is likely to want to recommend the book to others. If a student has a longer list of weaknesses/dislikes, then he/she suggest to his classmates that they find a different book to read.

Students should also review each aspect they list on their t-chart to determine if they can think of three examples to use to support how that aspect is a strength or weakness of the book. If the student cannot think of at least three examples for an aspect, then that aspect would not make a good subtopic or supporting point in their paper.

Homework: Complete any parts of the two summary paragraphs and the t-chart not completed in class.