Novel Lesson/Unit #2

Author Study -- Obviously, this is not a lesson for a specific novel, but it includes a final "project" which encourages students to read works of a particular author and study his/her style of writing.
For several years, I have had my accelerated reading students do an author study. I provide these 7th graders with a list of traditional authors from which to choose (I am open to other choices they might have), and they are to read at least two novels by that author (usually at least 250-300 pages each; for longer novels, they only usually have time to read one novel by the author). I encourage them to read a more traditional author because they tend to read contemporary novels the rest of the year, and I want them to step out of their comfort zone and read something they might not otherwise pick up. While most of the reading is out on their own, students also complete a project of their own choosing when they finish. Unfortunately, I don't have the guidelines in front of me at home, and they aren't accessible at school right now, so I'll try to remember the details... they write a short piece about what they know and have learned about the author, including his/her writing style and the book(s) they read. They design a poster about the author and the books they read. Finally, they complete a "book project" on each book they read, which can be anything from creating a video about one of the scenes in the book, to writing a script to perform, to an artistic rendition about a scene, to writing a short musical piece to recreate the setting, theme, mood or tone about the book... they have come up with so many great ideas on their own that I don't have to suggest many ideas as they are always thinking ahead and using their own talents and skills to show their knowledge. They are "selling" the book and/or the author to the rest of the students, and it is fun to see them be so creative. The reason this is more of a long-term project is that I want students to find an author and books that interest them so that they CAN sell it. If they don't like the author or books, they don't invest much in it.