Activity

Judge a Book by Its Cover

Are your kids aspiring book critics? Whether it’s a novel from the Twilight series or required school reading, this activity helps them learn a little about their own preconceptions, as they judge a book based on its appearance. All you need is a novel your children are interested in reading and a little patience. After analyzing the book's front cover, they'll need to put their first impressions aside to discover what the book really has to offer!

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Grade

Fifth Grade

What You Need:

A book your children have not read
Paper
Pencil
Envelope

What You Do:

Pick a book your children have not read yet, and have them look only at the outside cover (without reading summaries or descriptions).
Have them write at least one paragraph about what they think the book is about. Encourage them to be in-depth with their predictions and write what they think will happen, what they believe the characters will be like, and anything else that comes to their mind when they study the cover of the book.
After they've made their predictions, put away the paragraph they have written in a sealed envelope and keep it until they've finished reading the book.
Encourage them to revisit their initial remarks after the book is complete and analyze how their opinions have changed. If the book they're reading is one that you are also familiar with, you can have a short book club session with them to discuss the entire book as well as their first impressions.
The first things that come to our mind (the judgments we make when we see something) are usually indicative of our inner opinions and prejudices. Use this time to talk to your children about your mental outlooks and judgments. It just may be an enlightening experience for everyone!