Literary Scrapbooks Online: An Electronic Reader-Response Project

Overview

Featured Resources

From Theory to Practice

 

OVERVIEW

This lesson leads students to reflect on and respond to literature by creating an online scrapbook. Students view a sample electronic scrapbook and use the project rubric to evaluate it, becoming familiar with the project requirements in the process. They use an online tool to evaluate resources on a topic related to a piece of literature and post their evaluations for class reference. Students then use online resources to capture “scraps” of information about their assigned topic and create a scrapbook using PowerPoint or another presentation software, making sure to cite all their sources. They share their online scrapbook with the class, defending their choice of scrapbook entries: why is the entry important to the understanding of the topic?

This lesson focuses on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, but any piece of literature could be used for the basis of an online scrapbook.

back to top

 

FEATURED RESOURCES

Directions for Creating an Electronic Scrapbook: This resource provides printable directions for the literary scrapbook project.

Website Evaluation Form: Students can use this online tool to evaluate Websites for audience, purpose, authorship, and relevance.

back to top

 

FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

As teachers, we know that incorporating technology into our classrooms is an exciting way to get students engaged, and critically thinking about the curriculum. In his article in English Journal, Alan Perry cites research to support this idea: "Theorists such as Gardner, Smagorinsky, and Wilson and Castner claim that the creation of technology projects helps students to learn through multiple intelligences. Freeman says that multimedia presentations also provide an opportunity for students to work together collaboratively and hone public speaking skills as they make their presentations before an audience." In this lesson on electronic scrapbooks, students will be working on all of these skills while investigating issues that interest them in relationship to their reading. By responding their readings in this way, students take advantage of the best of reader-response theory in a context designed to let students' multiple intelligences shine through.

Further Reading
Perry, Alan E. "PowerPoint Presentations: A Creative Addition to the Research Process." English Journal 92.6 (July 2003): 64-69.

back to top