I require my students to read three novels a semester, on their own. As they finish each book, students must choose from a list of projects to complete so they may illustrate to me they have finished their book.
I allow my students to choose their own books. Almost any book will work, as long as the student has never read the book before and the book is at or above her grade level. I know a bit about adolescent novels; I recommend books to my students. Ultimately, however, the book is their choice. This is especially important when one is teaching remedial students or students who may be academically challenged. When they choose each book, they must bring it in and show it to me so I can approve it. I also send a worksheet home that explains the project and have parents sign off on each book so they are aware of what their child is reading. This protects me later if one of the parents notice that the book their child is reading has material they find questionable, because it has profanity or violence, for example; I have a letter they signed with that book’s name on it stating they knew their child was reading that book and gave him or her permission to do so.
I recommend giving students several choices when it gets to be project time. I do this with the hope that each and every student will find a project that correlates with her personality. The key word in all of this is choice. If a student chooses his or her book and also gets to choose the method in which she completes the assignment, hopefully the assignment will be fun. Students have scattered due dates throughout the year for when their projects are due; however, fast readers can complete their projects any date up until the final project due date. See the next installment in this series for book project ideas.
