Mountain Story Map
Book Report Project

A very DETAILED description about this resource set is provided below.

Mountain Story Map
Book Report Project Templates:
Teaching Resources Set

What's Included?

This bulletin board display is from Penny's classroom.
She teaches Grade 4 in Nevada.

Mountain Story Map Book Report Project: Challenge your students to climb this mountain story map graphic organizer!

Your students will enjoy climbing their mountain by writing and drawing about the exposition and rising action, reaching the summit by writing and drawing about the climax of their story, and descending the mountain by writing and drawing about the falling action and resolution.

Besides using these templates for individual student book report projects, they are ideal for a teacher to use as a lesson activity for a book that the whole class has read together. These templates would also work well to use as a collaborative group project for students to work on together after they have finished reading a class novel.

This book report project set will provide you with all of the teaching resources that you need for your students to pretend that they are a mountain climber and ascending, reaching the peak, and descending this mountain story map graphic organizer.

Traditionally, requiring students to write about the story's plot line is a task that most students find quite boring. By using this unique Mountain Story Map Book Report Project and the graphic organizers, your students will be engaged in writing and drawing about the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of the story that they read.

This uniquely shaped book report project contains 5 worksheet templates that assemble into a mountain shaped banner.

Students draw pictures along the mountain's slope to correspond with the following writing sections: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The finished mountain story map project measures 32 inches in width and 10 inches in height.

These finished book report projects will make a brilliant bulletin board display of your students' work. Everything that you need to complete these Mountain Story Map Book Report Projects is included in this set of teaching resources. All that you will need is scissors, glue, tape, and coloring pencils.

There are 15 worksheet and template pages in this set, as well as a matching 5 page color bulletin board display banner and a grading rubric. There are 5 mountain display posters (one page each) with the definitions of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution written on them to use as accent pieces for your bulletin board display.

Assembling Directions:

This set includes assembly directions on how to prepare and assemble this project. Below is a sample of this assembly directions page.

Grading Rubric:

This set includes a book report grading rubric.

I believe that it is important for students to evaluate their own work, so my grading rubric contains both a student assessment and a teacher assessment component. When the students grade their work, they color in the faces. When the teacher grades the work, the teacher circles the small numbers in each box beside the faces. I often find that my students are harsher on themselves than I am, and that the grade that I give them is higher than they have scored themselves.

Below is an example of my Mountain Story Map Book Report grading rubric:

First Draft Worksheets:

I believe that the writing process is important and that teachers should use process writing whenever possible. For this reason, my students never begin their book report projects by writing on their final draft templates, instead they write on first draft worksheets. Then, they edit and revise their work on their own, with a partner, or in individual writing conferences with me.

This set contains three worksheets for students to write their first drafts on, two of them are shown below. On my first draft worksheets, I have designed the writing line spaces to match the spaces alloted on the final draft mountain templates.

This Mountain Story Map Book Report Project is designed so that the writing responses require the students to pretend to ascend the mountain, reach the peak, and descend the mountain by writing about the plot of their book. This book report set includes graphic organizers that require students to write the following:

• Title, Author, Name, and Date
• Exposition: This is the beginning of the story. The setting, characters, and background information are introduced.
• Rising Action: The author introduces the conflict or problem that the character(s) must attempt to solve. Complications are introduced and the suspense builds.
• Climax: The point of greatest interest or suspense in the story. It is the turning point in the story where the action reaches its peak.
• Falling Action: The characters are getting closer to solving the conflict or problem.
• Resolution: The conflict comes to an end or the problem is solved.

There are two different sets of first draft templates for you to choose from. The first set contains the definitions for exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution on them to help students in writing their first drafts. The second set contains the definitions, as well as an example using the story Cinderella. Below is a sample of the first draft templates that contain the definitions, as well as an example using Cinderella for each section.

Black and White Mountain Templates:

This set includes 5 templates that assemble into the shape of a mountain banner. Inside the graphic organizer boxes, students write about a section of the story's plot. Above that area, along the slope of the mountain, students draw a picture related to that section of the plot.

Below are examples of these 5 templates separated, and then how they look after they are assembled together.

Color Mountain Templates:

My students enjoy seeing my mountain story map project first. They also enjoy hearing about the book that I chose to do my book report on, and this gives me a great chance to promote a book that I would like to encourage my students to read.

To save you time in coloring your example that you show your students, I have included completed color mountain templates of this project for you to use.

The completed example uses the story Cinderella and includes the completed writing sections, as well as illustrations along the slopes of the mountain. By displaying this visual example for your students before they begin their own projects, they will have a great visual picture of how to complete their own projects.

Free 5 Page Bulletin Board Display Banner:

Finally, I know that it takes teachers a lot of valuable time to assemble their bulletin board displays. Many teachers spend their valuable time cutting out large display letters or making a banner on their own at home on their computer.

This time is valuable and better spent on developing your classroom curriculum and grading papers, so I have designed a matching 5 page display banner for your bulletin board. If you have access to a laminating machine, you can laminate your banner so that it is durable and you can use it year after year for your bulletin board display of these Mountain Story Map Book Report Projects.

Free Bulletin Board Display Accent Pieces:

EXTRA GOODIES: For some of my book report projects, I am able to think of, and create, additional accent pieces to help you in decorating your bulletin board displays.

This Mountain Story Map Book Report Project includes 5 mountain definition displays. Two of these are shown below.

You will be able to design a colorful and dynamic bulletin board display using your students' finished mountain story map book report projects.

These graphic organizers are a unique and fun way to get your students excited about completing a writing assignment about the books that they have read.

The writing responses that are required of your students will make them think and write about the plot line of their books in a challenging and engaging way. In addition, this book report set includes mountain themed accent pieces to help you in decorating your bulletin board display.

I hope that your students enjoy writing and drawing about their story's plot along the slopes of these mountain templates.

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