A Creative Approach to Book Reports

By Shelly Bokman

Besides a good old-fashion, written summary of a book, there are a multitude of ways to approach a “book report.” A good book report does more than just prove that a student read the book. It also reinforces reading comprehension, expands critical thinking skills, provides practice in time management, and improves a child’s writing abilities. The goal is to get children thinking about the book, asking themselves questions and drawing their own conclusions: Why did the characters do what they did, or make the choices they made? Did the characters learn anything new from their experiences? How were the traits of one character similar or different from another character? What was the theme? What new vocabulary did you encounter?

The following list of ideas for book report projects allows children to reflect on their reading assignments, and express their understanding of the book, in some creative ways. If your child’s teacher will allow it, encourage your child to vary their book reports so that some follow the standard written format while others take a different shape:

• Make a poster to advertise the book.
• Write a letter to a friend telling why you recommend the book.
• Make a list of questions you think everyone should be able to answer after reading the book.
• Make a timeline of events in the story.
• Make a board game using elements of the story.
• Write a different ending to the story.
• Make a crossword puzzle using words from the book.
• Make a map related to the story. This works well for Treasure Island or some of the Mossflower books.
• Draw a cartoon strip of the most important events in the story.
• Make a mobile based on the book.
• Make a diorama showing an important scene or event in the story.
• Compare a character in the story with someone that you actually know.
• Act out a scene from the book. Create costumes with items you have around the house. Videotape the scene, if possible.
• Tape-record an interview with the author or a main character from the story.

Two of my favorite resource books are Awesome Hands-on Activities for Teaching Literary Elements by Susan Van Zile and Big Book of Books and Activities by Diana Zike. Both have wonderful examples of hands-on projects for extending learning.