INDEPENDENT
BOOK STUDY
SOCIAL STUDIES
NAME:
DIRECTIONS: Pick a historical fiction or nonfictional novel and
complete the following writing exercises. Be prepared to discuss your
book within the book circle.
Date
Chapter
Summary
Can You Tell a Book by Its Cover?
Often a book’s cover art gives important clues about the story and the
message the author is trying to convey. Consider the colors, objects,
graphics, and/or people featured. What kind of font is used for the title?
What might these things tell you about the novel?
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Social Influences
Consider the benefits and drawbacks of social setting for the characters. Economics,
cultural norms, societal pressures, government and law, the level of technological
advancement are some of the factors that may affect a character’s development and
reactions. What effects or influences does the setting have on this book’s characters
and on your own life?
What effect do the following have on the book’s character and on your own life?
Character’s Setting
Economics
Technology
Societal Pressure
Government/Law
Culture
Your Life
Adversaries and Obstacles
Select four key events of rising action from the book you are reading. Choose ones
that you feel have forced the plot to reach its climax. Place them in the order in
which they occur. Then rank them in order of importance.
Rank
Cause and Effect
For every action, there is a reaction or consequence. Analyze this in terms of
character choices. Think about your recent reading assignment and ask yourself,
“What key choices by the characters forced the story to move in the direction it
did?”
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The Error of Their Ways
Consider an event in this book where one character does an injustice to another. If
you were able to bring this injustice to light, what crime would your report and
what kind of evidence might you point out as proof of the crime?
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How might a jury of peers treat the accused and would they convict him/her? Why?
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Lesson Learned
Write a “moral of the story” for the book you have read.
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History Frame
TITLE OF EVENT:
PARTICIPANTS/KEY PLAYERS:
PROBLEM or GOAL:
WHERE:
WHEN:
KEY EPISODES or EVENTS:
RESOLUTION or OUTCOME:
THEME/LESSON/ SO WHAT?