5
Benefit of Writing of Book Review
1. Nifty Notetaking
Learning to pick out useful pieces of information from longer texts is
a skill that can be used throughout life – particularly when growing
up and learning at more advanced levels. There’s no reason why the
technique can’t be introduced early, when children have gained some writing
competency and are being introduced to longer passages. When thinking
ahead to a book review, readers should be encouraged to note down the quotes
and phrases which they are likely to want to reference later; ideally on a
single page of their exercise book, so they can easily find what they need when
it’s time to look back.
2. Competent Critical
Thinking
Writing a book review is
a chance to examine literature and digest it in a more complex way than simply
following the story and understanding its plot. Compile a list of
questions to help children think critically about the book they’re reading and
draw conclusions based on both facts and feelings.
3. Reliable Research
Learning how to properly research a topic is another skill that
will serve your pupils well throughout their education. To add further context
to a review, ask the class to do a little research into the author of their
chosen book. Using the author’s website, for example, could tell you about
their life and other books they’ve written.
4. Riveting Reflection
Reviews don’t need to be positive – what matters most is that
they’re accurate and constructive. When writing their review,
children should consider not only if they enjoyed the book or not, but why.
This will help the children understand the kinds of literature they’re most
drawn towards and, critically, that you can consider yourself an avid reader
without necessarily enjoying everything you come across. Similarly, the
children may discover themselves feeling differently towards genres that
weren’t initially their book of choice.
5.
Impressive Influence
Peer
recommendation is powerful. When a book is positively received by a child, it’s
likely to be considered by their friends – it’s the same simple science that we
find with any kind of review, and a benefit that the whole class can enjoy.
