Book Report Guidelines 
    Mrs. Seveland                      8th Grade Language Arts 

All 8th Grade Students do a monthly Book Report.  Book reports are due on
the first Thursday of each month.  All students must read their novel and then bring them to class for an
in-class book report on the following dates.

• 1st & 2nd Qtr Due Dates: Oct 7 | Nov 4 | Dec. 2 |  Jan 7

• 3rd & 4th Qtr Due Dates: Feb 3 | Mar 3 | Apr 7 | May 5

Guidelines (for all Book Reports)

Currently, all book reports are done in class.  Students are to bring their books to class on the above dates.

• All novels must be at least 150 pages long.
• All books must be full length novels. (not short stories, poems, or magazines)
• Students cannot read or do book reports on the same books they did last year or in previous years.  The point of these reports is to try to get you to read new stories and expose yourself to many different types of novels.
• Try to read many different genres of novels.  Don't always read the same kind of book.  It's good to experiment.  You may find something else you like too.
• Students can NOT do a book report on "Where the Red Fern Grows", "The Pearl" or "The Call of the Wild".  These are stories that are taught in the 7th and 8th grade English classes.
• Try to read at least 20-30 minutes every night.   You should be done reading your book by the third week of each month. 
• The book reports will be done each month in class.
• Plagiarism (copying other people's words) is not acceptable.  Anyone caught cheating or copying from the book or from friends will get an automatic 'F' and will get at least 1 detention.

Be prepared to write about the following information

• The thing to remember is that I am looking for something that has quality and shows that you put some time and effort into it.   If I can't read it, it will get a '0.' 

• All book reports must be in dark ink or colored in some way. (Typed is preferred) (absolutely NO PENCIL)

• All book reports must have this information somewhere:

              *Your full name (First AND Last name)
              *The publisher
               *The complete title of the book.
              *The full name of the author of the book.
              *The number of pages in the book.
              *The plot:   A complete description of what the book is about. The arrangement of ideas
                          and/or incidents that make up a story.
               *The setting:  ALL stories have a setting.  It is the place or location of the action. The setting
                          provides the historical and cultural context for characters. It often can symbolize the
                           emotional state of characters.   Make sure you answer these questions when you
                          write about the setting:  Where does the story take place ?(city, country, planet, etc...),
                          What is the time period?  What time of year? What does it look like?
              *The characters:  Imaginary people created by the writer. Perhaps the most important
                                                  element of literature.
                          Protagonist--Major character at the center of the story.
                          Antagonist--A character or force that opposes the protagonist.
                          Minor character--0ften provides support and illuminates the protagonist.
                          Static character--A character who remains the same.
                          Dynamic character--A character who changes in some important way.
                          Characterization--The means by which writers reveal character.
                          Explicit Judgment--Narrator gives facts and interpretive comment.
                          Implied Judgment--Narrator gives description; reader make the judgment.

                      Look for: Connections, links, and clues between and about characters. Ask yourself
                      what the function and significance of each character is. Make this determination based upon
                      the character's history, what the reader is told (and not told), and what other characters say
                      about themselves and others.  Make sure you describe the main characters and their
                      importance to the story.
              *The theme:  Theme is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express.
                          All of the elements of literary terms contribute to theme. A simple theme can often be
                          stated in a single sentence (It is never just one word).  A theme is applicable outside the written work,  not only
                          with the world created by the narrative; it is a generalization. A work may contain
                          several themes.  Many themes deal with innocence/experience, life/death,
                          appearance/reality, free  will/fate, madness/sanity, love/hate, society/individual,
                          known/unknown. Themes may have a single, instead of a dual nature as well. The
                          theme of a story may be a mid-life crisis, or imagination, or the duality of humankind
                          (contradictions).
   

Back to Home Page | | Book Report info |
 

my email at home: MrsSeveland@aol.com
 My email at school: kseveland@beaumontusd.k12.ca.us
School Phone Number: (951)845-1627