EXTRA! EXTRA!
	Newbery Award Scandal!!
	By Michele Farley and Lisa Habegger

Introduction

Task

Process

Resources

Evaluation

Conclusion

Introduction

The American Library Association has recently discovered that two of its Newbery Award Committee members were paid for their votes over the last three years.  A letter was mailed to this paper anonymously stating that a publisher had given committee members money and other gifts to choose their books for the award.  The Newbery Award is the top award for children's books in America.  You have been chosen to review the winning books from the last three years to decide if they really should be the winners.

Back to top

---

Task

Your job is to review the winning Newbery books from the last three years to determine if they truly are award winning books.  The books are A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis and Holes by Louis Sachar.  You have already read all three books in class.  You will be responsible for looking at the books from the areas of theme, presentation, plot development, character development, setting and style.   Your final report will help the full committee decide if the book really is a winner.   You will be split up into groups of three and each of you will have a specific role in looking at the books.  The Artistic Designer will be looking at the style the book is written in and the presentation of each book.  The Developer will be researching the development of the plot and the characters.  The Background Coordinator will study the setting and theme of each book.  After researching your specific topic, your group will present your results to the class (complete Newbery Committee) in the form of a PowerPoint slide show.

Back to top

---

Process

Artistic Designer:  

You will be learning about writing styles, accuracy in writing and organization.  Here are some questions that you should consider while reviewing your books:

1. What point of view is the book written from?
2. Is the book accurate historically?
3. Are the chapters arranged in an orderly manner?
4. Are there illustrations in the book? Do they add to the book or did they distract you?
5. Did the way the book was written draw you in or did it make you not want to read further? Why?
6. Does the cover of the book match the theme of the story? Why or why not?

Developer:  

Your assignment is to look at the development of the characters and the plot.  Think about the following questions while you are going through the books:

1. Were the characters interesting?
2. Did you believe that this character could really exist? Why or why not?
3. Did the characters grow or change or did they stay the same?
4. Did the book hold your interest? Why or why not?
5. Was there one scene in the book that really got your attention?
6. Were there parts of the book you would change?
7. Were there characters that could have had bigger parts in the book? Who? Why?

Background Coordinator:  

Your job will be to take a closer look at the settings and themes of each book.  Here are some things to consider:

1. Where do the stories take place?
2. Would you like to visit the places the characters went? Why or why not?
3. Are the stories sad, funny, or touching? What kinds of emotions did you have when you were reading the books?
4. Were there ideas that were repeated in the books?
5. Were certain morals or values mentioned in the books?
6. When did the story take place?
7. Did the time that the book took place effect the story? Could this have happened at another time?

Your group should not limit themselves to answering these questions for their summary.   You will find more information on each of the books, authors and the Newbery Award process in the resources section.  Once you have gathered all of your information, you will each be responsible for a one page essay stating your findings.  You must use at least two of these sources in your research.

Once you have reviewed each of your books and answered the questions posed, you will start to work on your final report for the committee. Each person in the group will be responsible for a one page summary of their findings that will be turned in to the committee chairman (your teacher).  Then, the entire group will make a PowerPoint slide show combining their efforts to convince the full committee (the class) that the book should remain an award winner or not.

Back to top

---

Resources

There are several other ways to gather information for your presentations beyond just answering the questions that are provided.  Here are some other people and places that will help you in your search for information.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/bookrev/index.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~jesmith/Writing-critique.html

http://www.ala.org/alsc/nmedal.html

Your teacher.

The Media Specialist.

Your classmates.

Back to top

---

Evaluation

Your grade will be based on the two parts of the assignment.  The summary that you turn in will be worth a total of 50 points and the PowerPoint Presentation will be worth 50 points as well.  The total for the assignment will be 100 points.  Below are the criteria for earning those points.

Summary Evaluation

	0  Poor	5  Average	10  Above Average	Score
Grammar and Spelling	Five or more misspellings or errors in your grammar.	Less than five errors in spelling and grammar.	No errors in spelling or grammar
Organization	Paragraphs are not organized so that the essay flows.  Summary is confusing and unclear.	There are some places where the reader gets lost or confused, but overall, the summary is clear.	Summary is organized logically and the paragraphs are seamless.
Paragraphs	The paragraphs do not have a beginning or concluding sentence and are 2 sentences or less.	Paragraphs do not have 5 sentences and/or the beginning or conclusions are not well stated.	Each paragraph has a clear beginning and conclusion and contains at least 5 sentences.
Neatness	Handwriting is hard to read.	Handwriting is readable, but could be neater.	Handwriting is neat and legible.
Works Cited Page	Five or more mistakes on the page.	Less than five mistakes on the page.	All works cited are correct.

PowerPoint Evaluation

	0 Poor	5 Average	10 Above Average
Number of Slides	Less than four slides included in presentation.	Less than seven, but more than four slides in presentations.	Seven or more slides included in presentation.
Grammar and Punctuation	Five or more mistakes in grammar and punctuation.	Less than five errors in grammar and punctuation.	No errors in grammar and punctuation.
Appearance	Slides have little or no color.  Text is difficult to read and there are no graphics or graphics are distracting.	Slides have some color.  Graphics could be better chosen and text could be clearer.	Text is easy to read and slides are appealing to the eye.
Organization	The presentation is very confusing and the slides are not in any particular order.	The viewer is confused in some places, but the idea of the presentation is still clear.	Slides are in logical order and the material on each slide is seamless.
Presentation	Only one group member speaks during presentation.	Only two group members speak during presentation	All group members participate in presentation.

Back to top

---

Conclusion

After having read and reviewed the three books, you and your team should have decided whether or not you believe that these books truly are award winners.  You should have also learned more about looking at books from a critical point of view.  Examining the books by looking at the different aspects should have given you a better perspective on the book as a whole.  Did you agree with the Newbery Committee or do you think they made a mistake?

Back to top

Last updated March 2005 by Trisha Armstrong