Book Scale

I teach reading, and as a class we read five novels over the course of the school year.  After we finish one of these novels, I have the students give it a rating.  I think there is significant value in reflecting on what you read, and it is particularly beneficial for readers because it helps them determine what kinds of things they liked or didn't like - the genre, the author's style, the characters, etc.  The kids evaluate using the following scale:

I then have the kids average the scores and we give the book an official class rating.  This year, I haven't had a single rating below 5.0, and several have been in the 7s and 8s!  I like to do this with kids because 1) it's an opportunity to integrate math, 2) it provides them with an opportunity to express their opinions (which 7th graders love to do, in case you didn't know) and 3) I really do like to know what they think.

I have been doing quite a bit of this type of evaluation on my own as well, and since I've had my new Nook (did I tell you about my Nook?) I have been reading up a storm!