Score With the Literature Super Bowl

After a weekend of football playoff games, I woke up this morning with Pigskin Fever, so I decided that I would offer you my literature review product,   Score With the Literature Super Bowl.  I originally created this review activity that will fit virtually any text-fiction or literary nonfiction in 2012. 

When Compass Publishing contacted me to write my book, The House of Comprehension, we decided to include it in Chapter 5 Decorating: Putting it all Together . Since it tied together all of the elements of literature and how they form the structure of any literary test, we tweaked it, so now it can be found on pages 160-165.

I am offering it in this post because I absolutely love how it engages and energizes students to review the novel or narrative nonfiction book that they have been studying. This novel analysis activity not only checks students’ comprehension of facts, ideas and details, but it also assesses their analytic and interpretive comprehension, ergo, it develops their higher level thinking skills. Score With the Literature Super Bowl includes specific directions for creating and playing the game, and all game pieces-football cards for the point values and questions, a spinner, and a score sheet.

With this teamed activity, students will quit playing their off-task Desktop Football with that folded triangular paper football that they flick toward their index finger goal posts.  If your desk is anything like mine used to be, you probably have a drawer full of these.  Instead, they will be singing,

                “I've been waiting all week for this review
The tough get rough when they’ve gotta’ clue. 
The last one standing gets an A for the game
After this day you’ll remember my name.”

(adapted from the song, “I’ve Been Waiting All Day For Sunday Night” sung by Carrie Underwood

and set to the tune” I Hate Myself for Loving You” by Joan Jett).

To begin, create questions about the novel. Gather the material that you want to review from study questions/guides, activities used during the study of the book, discussions, quizzes, and the final test, and from whatever other lessons from the unit . Make a numbered master list of your questions and a separate answer key, including each question’s point value. See the Teacher’s Directions page for the rest of the specific directions for how to prepare and then play the game.  Download and laminate the spinner and the football cards.

Add to the Super Bowl atmosphere by asking the students to wear a jersey of a favorite team or player, by starting the review playing the Sunday Night Football theme song, and by offering snacks, i.e. popcorn, football-shaped cookies, etc, if this doesn’t interfere with school policy.  Hint- ask the students to bring the snacks. For closure, have Literature Super Bowl Winners certificates.

Download this FREEBIE from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Activity-Score-With-the-Literature-Super-Bowl-1058494   .  For more activities that teach students the importance of the elements of literature in creating a durable story structure, check out the preview for The House of Comprehension  on http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Language-Arts-The-House-of-Comprehension-Preview-125128  or on the publisher’s TpT site: Digital http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-House-of-Comprehension-digital-edition-566148

Edition:

Print Edition: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-House-of-Comprehension-print-edition-566107 or publishing Compass's publishing site http://www.teachitwrite.com/

Meanwhile, enjoy this activity.

Happy Teaching,