Ms. Brown/Language Arts
Third Quarter Book Project—Due Thursday, May 4, 2012
Classics
Name_________________________________________________
It’s time to start thinking about your next book report. This time, there are two parts to the project:
completing a Reading Log, and doing the project itself. Hunger Games not an option for this book report.
You may choose to do one of the options below, or any report option that has been offered to date,
except one you have done before. You are also welcome to develop your own reporting ideas, but keep
in mind that this project should take you at least a couple of hours to complete. “Challenge Options” do
not provide extra credit. Some students enjoy challenging themselves, and others are extra inspired
when they read good books. I will know that you probably worked harder on a Challenge Option, and
will consider that when determining your grade. This book should be a “classic” work of literature. For
this assignment, a “classic” is defined as a well-known piece of literature that is at least forty years old.
Please be sure to put your name on your project! Also, include the book title and author’s name on
all projects. The third trimester Book Project and Reading Log are due Thursday. May 4th. If you know
you are going to be absent on this day, please hand the project in early.
The Options:
Create a scrapbook about this book, or make a scrapbook that one of the book’s characters might
have created. The scrapbook must have a cover that includes the title, the author’s name and the
earliest publishing date.
The scrapbook should have: 5 pictures or drawings that show the main character, that character’s
family and/or friends, a major event in the story, the setting, and a picture of your choice. Please put
captions beneath the pictures. In addition, place six “souvenirs” or “keepsakes” in the scrapbook and
write captions.
2. Create a piece of artwork inspired by the book. Be prepared to show your work to the class and to
explain how your artwork relates to the book. Your presentation should last 4-5 minutes. Please hand in
notes that you use for your presentation.
3. Design at least three costumes for at least two characters in the book (six costumes total). Be sure
to use color in your work. For each costume, write a paragraph to tell the names of the characters and
to give the viewer some understanding of the wardrobes choices you made.
4. Write, videotape or record an infomercial about this book. Be sure to tell your readers/viewers/
listeners a little about the story, and then try to “sell” this book. Tell why people should read it, include a
couple of facts about the characters, two major events in the story, and why the book would make a
great gift.
Challenge Options:
5. Make a book report in newspaper form. Include the following articles: 1) a brief summary of your
book (at least one well developed paragraph); 2) a book review on the book you read (in this paragraph,
please be sure to note the title, author’s name, and publishing date); 3) a brief article about something
that happened to the main character; 4) an editorial about the book, or an issue related to the book;
and 5) an advice column in which at least two of the characters write asking for help solving problems
they encounter in the story.
6. Create a personal dictionary or glossary. Keep track of unfamiliar words as you read, and guess at
their meanings. Then, look them up and note the dictionary definitions. In another part of your notes,
write down words, phrases or passages that interest you. Tell why you liked or were interested in these
selections.
7. Make a map of the area in which the story takes place. Include a legend providing a key to symbols
used on the map. Be sure to indicate where characters live, locations of major events, and other
landmarks. Choose at least five of these locations and write short paragraphs about them.
A Partial List of Suggested Classics:
Any of the books listed below will work for this book report. Feel free to ask your parents,
friends and teachers, however, for additional ideas.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle
Anne of Green Gables. Montgomery
Around the World in Eighty Days, Verne
The Black Stallion, Farley
Call of the Wild, London
Captains Courageous, Kipling
The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas
David Copperfield, Dickens
A Day No Pigs Would Die, Peck
The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson
Dracula, Stoker
Frankenstein, Shelley
Hans Brinker, Dodge
The Hobbit, Tolkien
The House of Seven Gables, Poe
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hugo
Island of the Blue Dolphins, O’Dell
Jane Eyre, Bronte
The Invisible Man, Wells
Ivanhoe, Scott
The Last of the Mohicans, Cooper
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis
Little Women, Alcott
The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway
Oliver Twist, Dickens
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde
Pride and Prejudice, Austen
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Wiggin
The Red Badge of Courage, Crane
Robinson Crusoe, Defoe
A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens
The Three Musketeers, Dumas
The Time Machine, Wells
Treasure Island, Stevenson
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe
The Wind in the Willows, Grahame
A Wrinkle in Time, L’Engle
Wuthering Heights, Bronte
The Pearl, Steinbeck
The Outsiders, Hinton
Rebecca, du Maurier
War and Peace, Tolstoy
The Hound of the Baskervilles, Doyle
Murder on the Orient Express, Christie
Their Eyes were Watching God, Hurston
I Know why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou
Black Boy, Wright
Go Ask Alice, Anonymous
Roots, Haley