Novel Projects Read an appropriate novel and complete ONE of the following projects. If you choose a written project, email it to the appropriate teacher. If you choose an art project such as a poster, take pictures of yourself holding the project and share with the appropriate teacher.

 

 

1. Letter to the Author 

 

Write a letter to the author to share your ideas or ask questions about the book. You will need 

to follow the guidelines below. It should not contain slang or improper language. You need to 

present yourself as a pleasant, educated, informed and caring reader. 

 

Procedure: 

1. Plan a draft of your letter. You will need to follow the guidelines below 

● Reasons why you liked or disliked the book. ● Questions you may have about the book. ● Questions you have about the author’s life or career. ● Ask where the author got the ideas for the book. ● Research he/she needed to do to write the book. 

 

2. Revise your work. 

● Edit your writing. Correct your spelling and punctuation. Make grammar corrections. Show corrections on your draft. 

● Be sure that you are using the correct letter format. (see example on the back) ● Your final copy must be in blue or black ink or typed.   ● Typed letters must be double-spaced and follow MLA formatting ● Neatness counts! ● The letter needs to be 1 to 1 ½ pages long. ● This must represent your best effort.  

 

Guidelines and Example of typed Letter to the Author  Friendly or Personal Letters Personal letters, also known as friendly letters, and social notes normally have five parts. 1. The Heading. This includes the address, line by line, with the last line being the date. Skip a line after the heading. The heading is

indented to the middle of the page. If using preaddressed stationery, just add the date. 2. The Greeting. The greeting always ends with a comma. The greeting may be formal, beginning with the word "dear" and using the person's given name or relationship, or it may be informal if appropriate.

More Formal: Dear Uncle Jim, Dear Mr. Wilkins, (Use this when you write to someone you have not met, like an author.)

Informal: Hi Joe, Greetings, (Use this one for family and friends.) (Occasionally very personal greetings may end with an exclamation point for emphasis.)

2. The body. Also known as the main text. This includes the message you want to write. Normally in a friendly letter, the beginning of paragraphs is indented. If not indented, be sure to skip a space between paragraphs. Skip a line after the greeting and before the close.

3. The complimentary close. This short expression is always a few words on a single line. It ends in a comma. It should be indented

to the same column as the heading. Skip one to three spaces (two is usual) for the signature line. 4. The signature line. Type or print your name. The handwritten signature goes above this line and below the close. The signature line

and the handwritten signature are indented to the same column as the close. The signature should be written in blue or black ink. If the letter is quite informal, you may omit the signature line as long as you sign the letter.

Novel Projects

 

 

2. Create A Book Cover 

 

Create an original book cover that tells important information about the book and the author. 

 

Procedure: 

1. Plan your book cover. Make a sketch first. You must include the following: 

● The title of the book ● The author’s name ● An illustration that shows important characters, places and/or events. ● A brief summary of the story for the back cover. ● Reviewer’s quotes for the back cover. ● Information about the author on the inside flyleaf. ● Include a quotation from the book.  ● Give a summary that makes readers wonder what will happen in the book. (Don’t give 

away the ending!) 

 

2. Revise and edit anything you have written. Correct your spelling and punctuation & make grammar corrections.

● All writing on your final copy must be in ink or typed. (typing is optional) ● Neatness counts! ● This must represent your best effort.  ● Your book cover should be on large art paper or posterboard 

 

 

Please do not copy the illustration and information from the book you have read. You need 

to come up with original thoughts and information. 

 

Look at the parts of a generic book cover on the back of this page. 

 

Parts of a Book Cover  

 

 

 

 

 

Novel Projects

 

 

3. Newspaper – Front Page News 

 

Design and create the front page of a Newspaper focused on your book. 

 

Procedure: 

1. Plan the front page. Use some of the following ideas. 

● Select one of the major events from the book to feature. ● List the details you need to describe. Include the “Who, What, Where, When, and 

Why” 

● Use other things that happened as shorter article.  

2. Feature characters in some of the smaller columns. 

● Consider using something like the format on the back of this page. You can be creative here. 

● Include illustrations of places, things or people from the book.  

3. You must include the following: 

● The book title (could this be the banner or the flag). ● The author’s name. ● An editorial from you (the editor). This will be your opinion of the book. ● A summary of the book. This will be in an article. ● Include a quotation from the book.   

 

4. Give the book a rating and tell why. This might be included in an entertainment article like a 

movie review. 

 

5. Revise and edit any writing in your articles 

● Correct your spelling and punctuation and make all grammar corrections. ● Final copy must be in ink or typed. . (typing is optional) ● Neatness counts! ● This must represent your best effort! 

 

Look at a sample newspaper front-page on the reverse side. 

 

Possibilities for your Front Page of a Newspaper 

 

Flag: The newspaper’s name that appears at the top of the first page in large letters. Also known as the nameplate. Headline: Words in large, bold type at the top of a story telling what that story is about. Byline: The reporter’s name, which appears at the top of a news or picture story. Dateline: Words at the beginning of a story that give the story’s place of origin. Cutline: Explanatory information under a picture or illustration; also called a caption. Lead: The first paragraph or two of a news story, telling who, what when, where, why and how. Alley: the white space between the columns of news stories. Editor: One of the people who run the newspaper. Editorial: An article in which the people who run a newspaper give their own opinion. Feature Article: a detailed report on an important person, a major issue or an important event. 

 

 

Types of articles you might want to include (even though they don’t usually belong on a real front page, for 

our purposes, they could be on your front page)All of the articles should be about your book. 

♦ Letters to the Editor ♦ Editorials ♦ Features ♦ Social Events ♦ Entertainment  ♦ Calendar of Events ♦ Advertisements ♦ Classifieds 

♦ Cartoon/comic strip ♦ Weather ♦ Food articles ♦ Advice Columns ♦ Lost and found 

♦ Entertainment News 

 

 

The Flag Could be the name of your book 

You will need to have a volume, and date line

 

The Headline Will Be About  

Your Major Story 

Alhambra H.S. – Phoenix, Arizona Your stories will be typed or written in narrow columns so they will look like a newspaper. You will probably need to make some very thorough plans for this part of your project. There could be pictures within your major article. This article may be longer than one column. You should look at a real newspaper to see how it is formatted. You can type the columns or print them neatly. (Use pen.) Your newspaper front page should be on posterboard or large art paper so it will be easy to read. You may want to include some pictures you

have drawn or cut from a newspaper or magazine that will go along with the book you have just read. You have so many possibilities. This final project will be hard

work, but it will be fun and you can be creative at the same time. Good Luck! WEATHER: Sunny today. Rain tonight. Partly cloudy tomorrow.

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ENTERTAINMENT

NEWS FLASH New Author Visits Valley of the Sun for Book Signing Glendale, AZ - The author of my book is visiting the valley for the first time. She has spent years doing research on her medical thrillers. She originally trained to be a doctor. Later, she found herself drawn to the legal aspects of forensic investigations. This led her to attend a famous law school.

 

Novel Projects

4. Write A Book Review 

 

Would you recommend this book to a friend or family member? Write a review of 

the book. 

 

Procedure: 

 

1. Plan the draft of your book review. You must include the following: 

● The book’s title and the author’s name. ● A summary of the events in the book. ● Your opinion of the book with the reasons for your opinion. ● Illustration (optional) ● Draw the main character ● Draw an exciting moment in the book. ● Rate the book – with an explanation of the rating.   

 

2. Revise your work. 

● Edit your writing. Correct your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Show corrections on your draft. 

● Be sure that you are using the correct paragraph format. ● Work on having a strong ending that restates your opinion or offers a final 

comment. 

● Final copy must be in ink or typed. (typing is optional) ● This book review needs to be 1 to 1 ½ pages long. ● Neatness counts! ● This must represent your best effort. 

 

 

   

Novel Projects

5. Create a Poster 

 

Design and make an original poster that shows important ideas and information about the book. 

 

Procedure: 

1. Plan your poster. 

● Make a sketch first. ● You must include the following: 

o The book title 

o The author’s name 

o Illustration(s) that show important characters, places, or events 

o A message from you (this will be your opinion of the book with reasons for 

your opinion.) 

o A summary of the book. 

o Include a quotation from the book  

o Give the book a rating and tell why.  

 

2. Revise and edit any writing on the poster. 

● Correct your spelling and punctuation. ● Final copy (the writing on your poster) must be in ink or typed.   ● You should use creative use of color. ● Neatness counts! ● Creative use of color. ● This must represent your best effort. ● Your audience needs to be able to learn about the book just from looking at 

your poster. 

● Use large art paper or posterboard if you have some, or tape smaller pieces of paper together to make one.     

 

Novel Projects

 

6. Time Line 

 

Design and make a timeline to tell what happens in the book. 

 

Procedure: 

1. Plan your time line. Try out some ideas on a sheet of scrap paper. Write down the main events from the book in the order in which they happened.   

● You need to include at least 5 story events ● A date for each event ● a sentence or two telling what the event was & where it took place ● illustrations for some of the events 

 

2. Begin work 

● Transfer your ideas to a piece of paper long enough to fit all the information on the time line. Or you could use a posterboard. 

● Include important facts such as birth, education, marriage, death, etc. ● Add dates and locations of events that were happening in other places at 

the same time. 

● Include drawings for events that were especially important in the person’s life or in the story. 

● Add details described in the book such as setting and time of day.  

3. Revise and edit any writing on the poster. 

● Correct your spelling, punctuation and grammar. ● Final copy must be in ink or typed ● Neatness counts! ● This must represent your best effort. 

 

Use large art paper or posterboard if you have some, or tape smaller 

pieces of paper together to make one.     

 

 

Novel Projects  

7. Character Tree 

 

Design and make a character tree. This works best when you’ve read a 

book with several characters or families. 

 

Procedure: 

1. Plan a family tree for the characters. Try out some ideas on a 

sheet of scrap paper. Try using the branches as important people 

in the central character’s life.   

 

2. Be very creative and imaginative as you develop this tree. Consider 

showing special features such as blossoms, fruit, blight, fallen 

leaves, various seasons, weather, or times of day to symbolize the 

variety of relationships. 

 

3. You must include the following: 

● The book title  

● The author’s name 

● Illustration(s) that show important characters, places, or events 

● A message from you (this will be your opinion of the book) 

● A summary of the book. 

● Include a quotation from the book  

● Give the book a rating and tell why.  

 

4. Revise and edit any writing on the tree. 

● correct your spelling, punctuation and grammar  

● Final copy must be in ink or typed 

● Neatness counts! 

● This must represent your best effort. 

 

Use large art paper or posterboard if you have some, or tape smaller 

pieces of paper together to make one.      

 

   

 

Novel Projects

 

8. A Book Map  

Design and create the map of your book.  

Procedure: 

1. Plan the map. Include the following ideas. 

a. Select several of the major events from the book to feature. 

b. Mark the various locations/settings on your map. c. Near each location write a brief description indicating the major 

event(s) that took place there. 

d. Add a legend and key to your map. 

2. Your final copy will be on poster board or large paper.  

3. You must include the following: 

● The book title  ● The author’s name ● A summary of the book. ● Include a quotation from the book  ● Give the book a rating and tell why.  

 

1. Revise and edit any writing on the map. 

● correct your spelling, punctuation and grammar  ● Final copy must be in ink or typed ● Neatness counts! ● This must represent your best effort. 

 

There are many types of maps: