Students create a childhood for a primary character. To encourage students to read and response to literature, incorporate an active dialogue via e-mail with education majors at a local university. Make answering machine messages for each character in a novel. The Night, a holocaust remembrance novel, students write poetry from the victims' points of view. Victims include a 6 year old child, a rabbi of 40, a pregnant young mother, etc.
Parodies demonstrate insights into literature.
Students use a sitcom song that everyone knows such as Beverly Hillbillies or the Brady Bunch. They write new lyrics that capture the essence of the book. The class sings the lyrics. The group provides a copy ahead of time so the lyrics can be photocopied. Group Work Working in groups, students select a theme.