True Colors Book Report

Levels:  Upper intermediate to advanced (EAP levels 5 and 6) 

Classes:  Reading, Writing; Combined Skills 

Time required:  5-7 weeks (combination of in class and at home).   

Summary:  Here's a link to the presentation I gave at a faculty workshop in summer of 2011.   Power point 

Overview:  Students take the 'True Colors' personality assessment; they then read an ESL graded reader  (title of their choice at the appropriate level).  They write a report in which they assign characters from the book a color according to the True Colors personality assessment, explaining for each character why they chose the color, using newly learned vocabulary from True Colors and supporting their choices with examples from the story.   


 

You will need: 

1. Access to a library with a collection of ESL graded readers (enough for each student to choose a book at the appropriate level).  If you don't have this, you can choose a graded reader as one of your class texts (in this case, you choose the book and all students will be working with the same book).   
2. True colors personality test and description of the four personality types.  Ask at your institution if anyone is experienced using True Colors in the classroom and see if they would be willing to be a guest presenter in your class.  Otherwise, you can give the test yourself:  click here for a printable copy of the test and description of the four types.  Note:  It is recommended to have some knowledge of how True Colors works before giving the test for the first time.  You can find this here  
   
   

Learning Outcomes: 

• Introduction to reading for pleasure/novels 

• Thematic infusion of key concepts in psychology (personality types)  
• Thematic infusion of key concepts in literature (character analysis) 
• Self-knowledge (through true colors, they learn about their own strengths and weaknesses) 
• Academic vocabulary (including collocation and pronunciation of new words) 
• Grammar (word endings; e.g. spontaneity/spontaneous) 
• Note-taking from reading 
• Critical thinking 
• Synthesizing/organizing information from multiple sources 
• Writing based on reading 
• Using new vocabulary in writing 
• Incorporating own, new, ideas in writing 
• Using specific support to back up own ideas 

Assessments: 

• Written report 
• Vocabulary test(s) 

Procedure: 

Week 1:  Students take the True Colors personality test.   

Notes for administering the test:  

• Don’t let students see the description of the colors until after they have taken the test.  
•  English language learners may not understand all the words on the test; let them know they can ask you if there are words they don't know.  Even then, results may be skewed due to lack of language proficiency or other factors.  If, after reading the descriptions, students feel that their personality is more accurately described by a different color, allow them to change.  
• Students usually have one or two highest numbers (i.e. strongest colors, but three or four is not unheard of!) 

Week 1/2:  Review the description of the first color.  It doesn’t matter which order you review the colors in. This can be done in class or as homework.  While reading, students underline any unfamiliar words, and then write those words on the board.  We then go over the vocabulary on the board and students take notes.  This is a very extensive vocabulary lesson, so I wouldn’t do more than one color per lesson.  I cover meaning(s), collocation, pronunciation, and word 'families' (for example, if the word is 'spontaneity' I explain that it's a noun, and that there is also an adjective, 'spontaneous', that they would use when describing a person or a behavior). 

Week 2:  Choose a book and start reading.   Make sure students know in advance they will need their library card.  Take them to the library, let them look through the ESL graded reader collection and choose a book at the appropriate level (for example, level 5 or 6).  Provide a minimum of 30 minutes class time for students to start reading the book on the day they first get it.  This way, if they find out they don't like the book, they can return it to the library and choose another that same day.  


Week 2-4:  Review the descriptions of the next three colors.  Go over all vocabulary as you did with the first color. Meanwhile, students are continuing reading their books in class and/or at home, and taking notes (see 5 below) 


Week 2-5:  Making connections, taking notes. While reading, students should be making connections between what they are learning about the personality types and what they are reading in their books.  You can give examples as you go along; for example, after we go over the personality description for orange, I usually ask if they can think of a TV character who is orange, and the answer is often Bart or Homer Simpson. Students can then discuss this in groups. They need to support their point about Bart Simpson being orange, using the new vocabulary words and examples.  For example, a group might say that Bart Simpson is spontaneous (this is one of the orange vocabulary words) and then describe something he did that showed this characteristic. Once they understand how this works, I show them how to take notes about the characters in their book in the same way. Click here for the note-taking template I give them.   Important note:  If students are doing this work at home, have them bring their notes class regularly so that you can keep track of their progress.  Having good notes is critical to successful completion of the book report. 

Week 5:  True colors vocabulary test.  Depending on your preference, you can give short vocabulary quizzes after you finish each color description, or one big test that incorporates vocabulary from all colors.  Tests can be multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, or whatever you prefer.   


Week 5:  Assign book report. For the book report, students will choose four characters from their book, and then use their notes to write a paragraph about each of them. They will assign a color, or colors, to each character, and support this choice using vocabulary from True Colors and examples from the book.  Click here for a copy of my detailed assignment instructions with examples.   


Week 5/6:  First draft of first paragraph.   Using their notes, students choose one character and write one paragraph about that character according to the assignment instructions.  This can be done in class or at home.  Then review the drafts, as follows: 

• Make sure students have followed the instructions and given clear, detailed examples and explanations.   
• Make sure they have used the vocabulary from True Colors, and used it appropriately.  
• Look for errors in word forms (for example, students might write:  'Jim is orange because he is spontaneity.'  Review noun/adjective word endings as appropriate).    
• Make sure students have included page number references. 
• During this time, you may want to schedule individual appointments with students to go over their paragraphs. 


Week 7: Complete, final, four-paragraph book report due.     


 

That’s it!   

MORE BENEFITS for you and your students: 

• It’s not easy to plagiarize on this assignment -- there is nowhere students can go online to find a summary of book characters that incorporates vocabulary from True Colors.  I did once have a student who asked Yahoo Answers to do it for her, but that’s another story…. 
• Students are more likely to retain the new vocabulary because they have included it in their writing and related it to themselves and others.   
• Students gain confidence in their ability to read 'proper' books in English, and are introduced to ESL graded readers and the concept of reading for pleasure. 

FAQ: 

1.  Does the teacher have to be familiar with all the books in the collection in order to effectively grade this assignment?  NO.  It isn't necessary to have first hand experience of the characters the student is describing.  The student just needs to explain clearly why she/he has chosen a particular color for a particular character, and support this position using vocabulary from true colors and examples from the book.  Think of it as if the student is describing a person that she/he knows, and you do not.  It just needs to make sense and have support.  

2.  Do some students struggle with this assignment?  YES.  (But it's worth persevering because it teaches them important skills and builds confidence).  Students can struggle with this assignment for many reasons, and I’ve listed some of them below with suggested solutions: 

• Some students don’t read the book, thinking they can get by without, and then realizing too late that they can’t.  (This is why it's important to monitor how they are doing over several weeks by talking to them about their books and checking their notes).  

• Some students don’t understand the book well enough to do a character analysis. (This is why it is important that students choose a book at the appropriate level, change it quickly if it is not working for them, and ask for help as needed).  

• Some students have difficulty expressing their ideas in correct English.  Trying to include the newly learned vocabulary words, students often back themselves into a grammatical corner that it's difficult to get out of!  But this is a crucial skill that they must learn, and it is worth the extra time and effort you may have to take with students who need help in this area.  The reason for the first draft is to identify students who need extra help and arrange to see them during office hours or advise them to go to the Writing Center.   

• Some students are not comfortable with the idea of assigning personality types to fictional characters; it's important to give lots of examples using characters they already know, such as The Simpsons, or Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. 

• Some students have difficulty with the idea that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer; that I don’t have to agree with the color they have chosen; that I am interested in what they think.   

• Some students don't do the assignment, but instead write (or copy) a summary of the book.  Reasons for this could include (a) they were lazy, or (b) they didn’t understand the assignment and, for whatever reason, didn’t feel comfortable asking for help.   

For whatever reason, there are always a couple of students who fall through the cracks of my monitoring technique, and hand in an assignment that cannot be given a passing grade.  In these cases, I allow the student to re-do the assignment.  The catch is that they have to work on it with me during office hours, and the maximum grade they can get on the second attempt is C minus (70).   

3.  Do you have a rubric for this assignment?  NO.  But I probably should!  The instructions do cover 'what I'm looking for', so that's pretty much my 'unofficial rubric'.  

4.  Can students change their book half way through?  IT’S UP TO YOU.  It's not ideal, though.  One way to avoid students asking to change their book is to give them time during class to start reading their book on the day they first get it.  Usually they can tell pretty quickly if they are going to like it or not.   

5.  What if students watch the movie instead of reading the book?  I always tell students they are welcome to watch the movie version, if there is one, of their book.  But I recommend they read the book first because some movie versions make a lot of changes.  I also remind them that they need to include page number references, as per the instructions.   

6.  What if two students read the same book?  I have no problem with this.   Just because two students read the same book, doesn’t mean they will have the same ideas.  I just remind them that the report needs to be their own ideas.  It’s easy enough to tell if it isn’t.