♪♪♪   Rollin on the River Webquest!!!   ♪♪♪

 

Mississippi Times

Home of Mark Twain Information…Keeping you up to Date

 

Introduction:

  

     It is National Mark Twain Month, one of our most decorated authors in young adult literature.  Over the last month we have been reading some of Mark Twain’s classics, such at Tom Sawyer & The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn.  Some of his works have caused great controversy throughout the years and many people have given their own personal reviews of Twain’s work.  After school, your job is at the Mississippi Times as a book commentator and they have asked you to write a review of the book Tom Sawyer to submit for this week’s editorial!  For this webquest I will be showing you how to write a review, you will read examples of reviews over Twain’s work, and in the end you will be composing your own personal review.  This article is your first published analysis for the paper and you could write a monthly column if you do a wonderful job, so let’s get reviewing!!! 

 

Task:

  

     The task I am going to have you complete is writing a personal review of Tom Sawyer for the Mississippi Times.  Tom Sawyer is an American classic, and the proper review is needed since it is National Mark Twain Month.  You may put in any positive or negative thoughts into this review that reflect what you thought of the book.

     You will be completing this assignment on an individual basis, using Word as your main software.  Your review will contain actual facts in an organized, orderly fashion.  Your ideas need to be clear and concise, and flow from one sentence to the next.  You want to make sure that your analysis of the story is what you really think about the tale.  Since I am your “Boss” of the Mississippi Times, you need to WOW me!

         

Process:

 

     To complete this assignment there are many steps you must take in order to get to the final task at hand:  First we will have a brainstorming session about Tom Sawyer, move into some reviews of Huck Finn so you can get a better understanding of Twain’s reviews, set some criteria, and look on how to write a book review.  It sounds like a lot, but once pulled together, you will be able to accomplish the final task at hand with ease.    

 

Activity #1 - Pre-Assessment:

     Before you begin reading reviews about Tom Sawyer that will be the focal point of writing your own personal review, let’s activate prior knowledge by having a brainstorming session in what you enjoyed and disliked about Tom Sawyer.  Use references from the story from this website to help with your decision making.  Use a mind map to help you organize and summarize your information.  In case you have forgotten how to use a mind map, click here!!!      

 

Activity #2

     Before writing your review for the local Mississippi Times, I want you to take a look at what other book reviewers think of another Mark Twain classic, The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn.  You will be taking a look at different positive and negative reviews that will help you when it comes time for the final evaluation.  These articles will help you gather information in what to look for in a personal review.  Take any notes that will be needed! 

 

Positive Reviews:

Saturday Review, 1/31/1885

Hartford Courant, 2/20/1885, p. 2                                
San Francisco Argonaut, 3/14/1885, p. 10
San Francisco Chronicle, 3/15/1885, p.6
Century magazine, 5/1885, pp. 171-2
Atlanta Constitution, 5/26/1885, p. 4
Illustrated London News, 2/14/1891, p. 222
Punch, 1/4/1896, pp. 4-5


Negative Reviews:
Boston Evening Traveler, 3/5/1885, p. 1
Boston Daily Advertiser, 3/12/1885, p. 2
San Francisco Evening Bulletin, 3/14/1885, p. 1

San Francisco Chronicle, 3/29/1885, p. 4

 

Activity #3

     We will also come up with a criteria in what makes a high-quality or dreadful book.  We will take a look at style, plot, story line, character development, level of interest, etc.  We will get into groups at the computer to come up with these objectives, and they will help you when constructing your final task.  Use an hierarchy diagram to put your thoughts together.  To see a great example click here!!!

 

Examples of Criteria You Can Follow

http://aaronshep.com/youngauthor/

http://www.brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2002/narration.html

http://www.jamesfamily.com/jeff/Site%20Related/review_criteria.htm

 

Activity #4

     Now that we have the brainstormed, made our mind maps, taken a look at positive & negative reviews, and heir arched certain criteria we will check out a few site that can help in the book review process.  You may have an idea of how you want you book review to sound, and these sites can give you some incite on what to look for, how to write the review with the information you have already obtained, and compile it all in an orderly fashion for a wonderful book review about Tom Sawyer.

 

How to Write a Book Review

http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/mbgraham/c&i210/bokrev.html

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/bookrev/tips.htm

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/bookreview.html

http://astro.temple.edu/~rimmerma/256revs.html

 

Final Task

 

     Congratulations, it is your chance to become the newest book reviewer at the Mississippi Times.  Your final task requires taking what you have learned so far:  The brainstorming ideas, and pre-ceding activities, to come up with you own personal response.  You can make it a positive review, a negative review, a little of both, whatever you feel is a fair review of Tom Sawyer.  Your answer should use specific details in supporting your ideas.  I want you papers to be 2 pages in length, double spaced, showing a clear thesis statement.  Please do not feel hesitant in asking questions.  Now let’s write some brilliant reviews!

 

Evaluation

     For this assignment you will be graded on 2 aspects:  1.  The final draft of your paper.  2.  If you understood the activities, and used them in your final task.   

 

Scoring Rubric for Writing

The student will show a global understanding, develop an interpretation, and use their personal knowledge about the subject in order to complete the final task.

 

 

CATEGORY

3

2

1

0

Ideas

Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion. It was easy to figure out what the review was about.

Ideas were expressed in a pretty clear manner, but the organization could have been better.

Ideas were somewhat organized, but were not very clear. It took more than one reading to figure out what the review was about.

The review seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences. It was very difficult to figure out what the review was about.

Neatness

Review is carefully typed out, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with satisfaction.

Review is neatly typed out, clean, not wrinkled, and is easy to read with no distracting error corrections. It was done with care.

Review is typed out and is crumpled or slightly stained. It may have 1-2 distracting error corrections. It was done with some care.

Review is hand-written and looks like it had been shoved in a pocket or locker. It may have several distracting error corrections. It looks like it was done in a hurry or stored improperly.

Format

Complies with all the requirements for a personal review.

Complies with almost all the requirements for a personal review.

Complies with several of the requirements for a personal review.

Complies with less than 75% of the requirements for a personal review.

Content Accuracy

The review contains at least 5 accurate facts about the topic.

The review contains 3-4 accurate facts about the topic.

The review contains 1-2 accurate facts about the topic.

The review contains no accurate facts about the topic.

 

 

 

Scoring Rubric for Reading

 

The student will show a global understanding, develop an interpretation, and use their personal knowledge about the subject in their reading of the activity links.

 

SCORING

GUIDE

3
  • Demonstrates an accurate understanding of important information in the text by focusing on the main ideas presented explicitly.
  • Exhibits a level of comprehension that extends beyond the literal, to the personal, critical and/or evaluative responses.
  • Uses relevant and accurate references from the text; most are specific and fully supported.
  • Integrates interpretation of the text with text-based support.

2
  • Demonstrates an accurate understanding of information in the text by focusing on some key ideas presented explicitly.
  • Exhibits a level of comprehension that reflects extensions that are more literal or personal.
  • Reader uses relevant and accurate references from the text; some are specific; some may be general and not fully supported.
  • Partially integrates interpretation of the text with text-based support.

1
  • Demonstrates an accurate but limited understanding of the text.
  • Exhibits a level of comprehension that consists primarily of literal responses to the text.
  • Uses irrelevant or limited references.
  • Generalizes without illustrating key ideas; may have gaps.

0
  • Demonstrates little or no understanding of the text; may be inaccurate.
  • Exhibits a level of comprehension that consists of incomplete or irrelevant responses.
  • Uses no references or references are inaccurate.
  • Response is insufficient to show that criteria are met.

 

Conclusion:

     By completing the final task, I have been able to further you understanding of being able to take information that may not be familiar to you, and being able to show your artistic abilities in writing a book review.  You are able to express yourself, get a better understanding of how to write a review, and are introduced to a new way of writing.  You can take the information given to you today and use it when reading other books.  You can better critique the writing of the author, and at the same time able to take this information, and when you write a paper, be able to express yourself in a more orderly fashion.  Also you can read book reviews by others, and get a clear understanding of what they are saying.  Every time you read a book now, write a little review in your head.  When others ask you if you liked the book, you can give them an honest answer from what you have learned in this WebQuest!!!