Journal
English Journal
Fifty Alternatives to the Book Report
by Diana Mitchell
Grades
8 - 12
Type
Journal
Published
January 1998
Publisher
NCTE
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Description
Offers 50 diverse suggestions intended to offer students new ways to think about a piece of literature, new directions to explore, and ways to respond with greater depth to the books they read.
Related Resources
- Lesson Plans |
- Professional Library
Grades
|
Technical Reading and Writing Using Board Games
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students celebrate a novel they have read and get hands-on experience with technical writing by creating a board game based on the novel and writing the instructions for it.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Characters for Hire! Studying Character in Drama
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students respond to a play they have read by creating a resume for one of its characters.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: The Elements of Fiction
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students identify the elements of fiction in a book they have read and share summaries of them by writing and illustrating their own mini-book.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Character and Author Business Cards
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students respond to a book they have read by thinking symbolically to create a business card for one of the characters.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Summary, Symbol, and Analysis in Bookmarks
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students make bookmarks on computers and share their ideas with other readers at their school, while practicing summarizing, recognizing symbols, and writing reviews—all for an authentic audience.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Hooking a Reader with a Book Cover
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students select a book to read based only on its cover art. After reading the book, they use an interactive tool to create a new cover for it.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Creating a New Book Cover
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore book covers of a variety of books then create a new cover for a book they have read.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Writing Resumes for Characters in Historical Fiction
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students write resumes for historical fiction characters. They first explore help wanted ads to see what employers want, and then draft resumes for the characters they've chosen.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Comic Strips and Cartoon Squares
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students must think critically to create comic strips highlighting six important scenes from a book they have read.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Creating a Childhood for a Character
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore familiar literary characters, usually first encountered as adults, but whose childhood stories are only told later. Students then create childhoods for adult characters from books of their choice.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: A Character's Letter to the Editor
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students write a persuasive letter to the editor of a newspaper from a selected fictional character's perspective, focusing on a specific issue or situation explored in the novel.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Creating Careers for Characters
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students select a job listing for a character in a book they have read, then create a resume and application letter for that character.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Examining Story Elements Using Story Map Comic Strips
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read. Each panel retells a particular detail or explains a literary element (such as setting or character) from the story.
Grades
|
Characters in Because of Winn-Dixie: Making Lists of Ten
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
The list of ten things about Opal's absent mother that her father shares in Because of Winn-Dixie serves as inspiration for students to create their own lists describing literary characters.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Glog That Book!
5 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative book report, students identify the elements of fiction in books they have read by creating glogs, interactive multimedia posters, and then share their glogs.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Getting Acquainted with Farcebook
7 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students report on their novel choices using Facebook-like pages.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Creating Postcards for Fictional Settings
4 - 7
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students report on their novel choices that feature journeys by creating postcards one of the settings featured in their books.
Grades
|
How Comic Books Can Change the Way Our Students See Literature: One Teacher's Perspective
8 - 12
Professional Library
| Journal
In this article, Versaci details the many merits of using comics and graphic novels in the classroom, suggests how they can be integrated into historical and social issues units, and recommends several titles.