Novel Study Ideas

Are you looking for some creative ideas for novel studies?  There is value to the traditional question and response method and I would encourage including that at times.  However, there are so many things that you could be doing, especially for those children who read books faster than you can have them sit down to answer chapter questions!  Perhaps try out some of the following general ideas and personalize them to the book your child is reading/has read:

1.  build a model of the house or an interesting location in the book or specific chapter
2.  create a 2D or 3D map showing the travels of the main character
3.  write a review of the book including a summary, the highlights and lowlights and reasons for their own critique
4.  research an interesting aspect of the book and write a report about it (a location, a skill/job/trade, a medical/emotional condition, a type of animal, etc)
5.  find one (or more) concepts in the book that could be used to symbolize God, His love or a fruit of the Spirit, and give reasons
6.  do a word study by choosing some interesting vocabulary and learning/writing their meanings
7.  choose a section of the novel to present to your family as a monologue, memorize it (word for word or the 'flavour' and content) and present it to your family (costumes are optional!)
8.  explain what the general message(s) of the story is/are
9.  create a crossword puzzle of the key words/interesting vocabulary of the story and write the clues so that someone else can fill in the answers (which are the chosen words from the book)
10.  compare the book to other books by the same author or that have a similar theme and write about the similarities between them
11.  identify a personal connection made in each chapter (connections are when something you read reminds you of something else), connections can be to personal experiences, other books, media items, family discussions, even world events
12.  find a descriptive section in the book and draw a picture (paint, model, etc) of what you imagine the author is describing - with details (special item like a treasure chest, a main character, the view described by the author...)
13. create a set of comprehension questions for your family to give back to you as the test for the book (make them good or they won't use them!)
14.  act out your favourite scene in the story and recruit your family members to play parts alongside of you.

Keep going with your ideas!  :)  Having your child write either answers or responses/reflections about a book and then doing one of the above ideas is enough work for kids who want to finish the book the same day they start it.  If your child spends a week reading the novel, then have him/her finish two of the above projects, along with some writing.  If your child spends longer reading the book, you may want them to complete one of the above assignments for every chapter or every other chapter.  The main goals are cultivating a love for reading and helping to ensure your child is understanding what he/she is reading.  Have fun with this!