An Activity for Any Time with Any Novel

Posted on by Megan McNally

While any point during the school year has its highs and lows, I’m a firm believer in these winter months being the most challenging. It’s pitch-black the second you leave the building, Spring Break is so far away, your established routines suddenly feel boring, and school spirit is sucked dry now that Homecoming seems like it was decades ago.

Don’t worry – I’m here to help.

Over the years, I’ve acquired some super simple activities that can be used at any point with any novel. They’re great review for those days when you’re just not in that Teacher Mindset, or for when you’re randomly attacked by the cold going around and you need sub plans ASAP.  It’s ok to do worksheets and “busy work” when there’s a purpose behind them.

Now, as a high school English teacher, I obviously geared these lessons toward novels. However, I am confident that teachers of any grade level or subject matter can modify each activity and use it somehow.

I. ABC Review

You might recognize this activity from my Baby Shower post, but it’s been a staple in my classroom for as long as I can remember. It’s such as great, easy, open-ended task that can be used for any unit imaginable.

For 20 of the 26 letters, write down THE BEST word or phrase that begins with that letter and applies to your book.  For example, for Of Mice and Men, “L” could be “Lennie,” or “A” could be “American Dream.” You’ll only earn credit if it is a perfect example that applies directly to the book (so “farm” for “F” probably wouldn’t count), so add in explanations wherever necessary. Any letters used beyond 20 will count as bonus points.

Feeling fun? Turn it into a timed game or station activity instead!

II. One-Pagers

Welcome to the magical world of one-pagers. If you haven’t heard of these, you’re welcome. According to various sources: A one-pager is a way to visually share key ideas and information on what you have learned. When you create a one-pager, your goal is to use both visual symbols and important words to clearly and concisely share key ideas regarding your topic.

First off, the teacher can completely customize the design and requirements based on what they want to review or assess. Or you can easily find a premade template online. Secondly, these serve as wonderful decoration that foster collaborative learning.

Here is one version of my directions, though I change them every time:

  • Border – two of your favorite quotes from the book
  • Middle – the title of the story, with appropriate drawings that help show the theme
  • Top Left – one important symbol, plus what it represents
  • Top Right – one key character, showing not just who they are, but also why they are particularly important
  • Bottom – one key scene from the story that directly relates to the theme, plus an important quote from that particular scene
  • Remember to include words and pictures in everything!

Picture Credit: Betsy Potash

III. Movie Activity

My own creation, which you can buy on my Teachers-Pay-Teachers store (if that ever actually happens, that is). Or there’s an unformatted sneak peek picture below, for you awesome blog readers to use how you wish.

The directions are simple: You have been assigned with creating a new movie based on your book! Fill out the information below to submit to the production company to see if you get funded for the project.

Then, there are eight different tasks asking students to explain various fundamentals and their reasoning behind it. For example: “A big part of the budget goes toward the location. We could always build a set, but it’s much more authentic to travel somewhere to shoot the film (Harry Potter was filmed in different Oxford colleges and churches, Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand). Where will we go to shoot your book’s film? Why there?” Other tasks involve choosing actors, scenes to delete, an overall rating, etc.

IV. Make a Test

Students create multiple-choice questions, based on the book we’re reading and the requirements I set. The “fun” part is, is I then create a quiz using the best student-created questions. So, teens actually focus and put forth effort with this assignment, because they all want their own questions on the test!

Now, the point of doing multiple choice is because coming up with tricky wrong answers tends to be more challenging than creating the question itself. Plus, it helps students understand why correct answer is, well, correct. And it might even give them some general test-taking strategies, too!

V. Scavenger Hunt

This is a great activity to use for promoting finding textual evidence. For my high school English class version, I have students locate literary elements. However, you could definitely modify this for youngins to find certain colors or words, or different concepts within a unit, or examples of something for an essay…

Basically, by calling the task a “Scavenger Hunt,” students are immediately aware that they’re going to have to do some exploring to find the answers. It’s nice when an assignment title helps foster expectations.

 

While I was certainly inspired by various resources, I did make all of these activities on my own. Use them how you wish, I just ask that you give me some credit (cite your sources and all that). Thanks & good luck!