Activity
Scholastic

Scholastic: Writing With Writers: Write a Book Review With Rodman Philbrick

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This online activity invites students to plan, draft, revise, and publish a book review. Important writing tips and a professional writing model, provided by the author Rodman Philbrick, are included. Plus, enjoy the online library of...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Cover to Cover: Comparing Books to Movies

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
A 7-instructional activity unit where middle schoolers critically analyze how a film adaptation portrays a novel to see what impact it had on the retell of the story. They then design a movie DVD cover and write a DVD insert based on...
Handout
University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Madison: Writing Center: Reading a Book to Review It

For Students 9th - 10th
Advice on steps to take and things to think about while reading a book to be reviewed. These directions will be particularly useful when reviewing non-fiction, but can be modified to work for fiction, too.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Paying Attention to Technology Reviewing a Technology

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Contains plans for five lessons that ask students to write reviews of pieces of technology (cell phones, webcams, ink pens, satellite dishes, etc.) like they would write reviews of books. In addition to objectives and standards, this...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Book Sorting: Using Observation and Comprehension

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
Critical thinking, comprehension and analysis skills are the focus of this physical activity. Good beginning to teaching different ways of looking at things.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Analyzing a book takes the form of creating their own when students complete this activity. The stated goal is to help students "Read like writers." Includes link to a template for student use.
Handout
University of Toronto (Canada)

University of Toronto: The Book Review or Article Critique

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site presents a series of questions to ask yourself before writing a book review or article critique. Most appropriate for non-fiction works.
Handout
Other

Tidewater Community College: Book or Article Review or Critique Guidelines

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Many students are not sure what type of information to include in a book or article review. This site provides some general guidelines. It covers not only the type of content to be included but also the format.
Activity
Other

New York Review of Books Archive

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site, you can conduct a search for critical reviews that have been published in the New York Review of Books. Currently (July, 2000), only reviews published since 1996 are available, but that is supposed to change. This is a good...
Activity
Other

Civil War Book Reviews

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides good examples of critical book reviews of Civil War literature.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Flying to Freedom: Tar Beach & the People Could Fly

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Comparing and contrasting works and looking for underlying themes and messages are at the heart of this multicultural lesson plan. Provides links to several background resources, and suggestions for assessment.
Unknown Type
EL Education

El Education: Adolescent Anatomy and Disease [Student Project]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
10th grade students at Dayton Regional STEM School in Beavercreek, Ohio, created this book, Adolescent Anatomy and Disease. This project is the culmination of several months of student work and represents a collaboration between the life...
Unknown Type
EL Education

El Education: E Is for Egypt

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This book was written and illustrated by sixth grade students at High Tech High Middle School in San Diego, California. As part of a three-month study of Ancient Egypt, students researched topics to feature in this children's alphabet...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs: Culture Shock: Huck Finn in Context

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site features information on themes from Huck Finn. You will find activities and discussion questions to accompany the different sections.
Article
Other

Robert Fulford: Robert Fulford's Column About Irony

For Students 9th - 10th
Robert Fulford, an author from Canada, writes a column on irony in Globe and Mail, September 18, 1999. In this column, he critiques Jedediah Purdy's book called For Common Things: Irony, Trust, and Commitment in America Today and...