things to do before reading

8/6/2019 Things to Do Before Reading

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Mapmaker: drawn a map of the book’ssetting.

Timeline: create a timeline that includesboth the events in the novel and historicalinformation of the time. Try using Post-Itson a whiteboard or butcher paper!

Downgrade: adapt myths or other storiesfor a younger audience; make intochildren’s books or dramatic adaptationon video or life.



Drawn: translate chapters intostoryboards and cartoons; draw themost important scene in the chapterand explain its importance and action.

Cultural Literacy: find out what

students already know and addresswhat they need to know before readinga story or certain part of a story.



Picture This: bring in art related tobook’s time or themes; compare,

describe, discuss.



Kids Books: bring in children’s booksabout related themes and read these

aloud to class.CyberGuides: search the Net for

virtual tours based on the books youmight be studying.



Oprah Bookclub: host a talkshow:students play the host, author, and

cast of characters; allow questionsfrom the audience.

What If : write about or discuss howthe story would differ if the characters

were something other than they are: apriest, another gender or race, adifferent age, or social class.



The Woody Allen: in Take the Money,Allen interviews the parents of a man

who became a bank robber. Write animaginary interview with friends andfamily of a character whom they try tohelp you understand.

Author Interview: write an interviewor letter in which the character in astory asks the author a series of questions and reflects on how they feel

about the way they were made.



Biography: wirte a biography of one of the characters who most interests you.

Autobiography: have the character thatmost interests you write theirautobiography of the time before, during,or after the story occurs.

P.S.: After you read the story, write an

epilogue in which you explain—usingwhatever tense and tone the author does—what happened to the character(s) next.

Board Game: have groups design board

games based on stories then play them. This is especially fun and works well withthe Odyssey.



Second Chance: talk or write abouthow it would change the story if a

certain character had made a differentdecision earlier in the story (e.g., whatif Huck had not run away?)

Dear Classmate: using email or someother means of corresponding, writeeach other about the book as you readit, having a written conversation aboutthe book.



Sing Me a Song: write a song/balladabout the story, a character, or anevent in the book.

Write Your Own: using the themes in

the story, write your own story,creating your own characters andsituation. It does not have to relate to

the story at all aside from its theme.



Day in Court: use the story as the basisfor a court trial; students can be

witnesses, expert witnesses called totestify, judge, jury, bailiff, reporter; greatfun for a couple days.

Speculation: based on everything you

know now in the story, what do you thinkwill happen and why do you think that?Questions Anyone?: students make a

list of a certain number of questions they

have about a particular character oraspect of the book; use these as the basisfor class discussion.



Interrogation: a student must comeup before the class and, pretending to

be a character or the author, answerquestions from the class.

Just the Facts Ma’am: acting as areporter, ask the students the basicquestions to facilitate a discussion:who, what, where, why, when, how?



Write an Essay: using one of thedifferent rhetorical modes, write an

essay in which you make meaningfulconnections between the text and yourown experiences or other texts youhave read.

Storytelling: After reading a story,pair up with others and tell the story asa group, recalling it in order, piecing it

together, and clarifying for each otherwhen one gets lost.



Make Your Own Test: have students createtheir own test or essay questions about thetext; this allows them to simultaneously

think about the story and prepare for the teston it.

Literature Circles: students gather ingroups to discuss the text and then reportout to the class for full-class discussion.

That Was Then, This Is Now: after readingthe text, create a Before/After list to compare

the ways in which characters or towns havechanged over the course of the story. Followup with discussion of reasons.



Notes and Quotes: draw a line downthe middle of the page; on one side

write down important quotes; on theother comment on and analyze thequotes.



Surf the Net: prior to, while, or afterreading a book check out the web andits offerings about the book, its author,or its subject.

Guest Speaker: if you are reading abook that deals with a subject an expert

might help them better understand,invite one in. Try a Veteran of ForeignWars, for example, if reading about war.

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