ERC Week #6 - EBooks on EbscoHost

Grade 9-10; CCRL1,2,3  (pg 38)

EBooks on EbscoHost is a great resource that could be used for English Lit classes.  I'm not sure if classes still do this, but it used to be we all had to read the same book.  Grapes of Wrath, in my case.  I enjoyed it, others did not.

Taking into consideration that this database allows one check-out per person might be a good thing for the lesson I have in mind.  It makes more work for teacher, student, and possibly school librarian, because a variety of titles will be needed for this assignment, not just 20 copies of the same title.  Here is my lesson:

Teacher reviews what Cliff Notes titles are available in EbscoHost and compiles a list.  Each student chooses three books from the list given by the teacher.  There may be some overlap in choices, and that is okay.  Before making a final choice on which title to read for the class, they are assigned to log in to the database and find Cliff Notes on the titles in which they are interested.  If someone has a title checked out, they can just wait until it is available, or even work collaboratively with the student who has it checked out to review the title.  Once they have reviewed all three Cliff Notes titles, they are assigned to write a summary of what the book is about, the theme etc (CCRL 1,2).  They will also include their choice of which book they want to read in full and why the Cliff Notes helped them reach that decision. 

CCRL 3 - Throughout the course of reading the full text of the book they have chosen, students will choose three characters and keep a diary addressing how those characters develop, interact with others etc.  The final assignment at the end will not actually be a book report, but a character analysis.