Book Report Alternatives that SIZZLE. Christine Field, Author

Book Report Alternatives that SIZZLE Christine Field, Author

Does your child struggle with writing? Do they LOVE to read books but are tired of the stale book report format? There are tons of ways to demonstrate comprehension and understanding. You and your child are not limited to the time-tested, time-worn written report! When I was in school we were required to write dreadfully dull book reports. The papers had a prescribed format, including where to write your name, class and teacher s name. To deviate from this raised a red flag that you had not properly understood the book. Nonsense! Some books make you want to sing. Some books play like a movie in your brain. Some books lead you to create art. Why should we limit our kids to one way of responding to reading? Enjoy these suggestions!

WRITING Write a critique of the book, such as might be published in a magazine or newspaper. Write a feature article, complete with a headline that tells the story of the book as it might be told on the front page of the local newspaper where the story takes place. Write a poem about the plot of the book. Compare and contrast two characters in the story. Pick a character from the book and write several journal entries that they might have written during the events of the story. Write a letter to the main character then write the character's reply. Write a scene that was lost or deleted from the original story. Tell why the author left it out and why you think it should be included. Write a different ending for the book. Write a different beginning for the book

Write a letter or email to a close friend recommending the book you have just read. Make a list of new, unusual, or interesting words or phrases found in your book. Write ten chat room-style questions that could be used to start an online discussion about the book. Or, write ten questions that test other students' understanding of the story. (Make sure you provide a list of answers.) Write an acrostic poem about the book using the letters in the title of the book or the name of a character or author. Choose one particular episode in the story that you remember most. Describe why you think it remains so clear to you. Write a letter/email to the author of your book. Address it to the publisher and mail it. Or, see if the author has a Web site and email it. (A few of my kids have done this and have received wonderful, surprising responses!) Write a one-sentence summary of each chapter and illustrate it. Write about one of the character s life twenty years from now. Write a letter from one of the characters to a beloved grandparent or friend Write a series of letters between characters that they might exchange at some time in the future. Stories are made up of conflicts and solutions. Choose three conflicts that take place in the story and give the solutions. Is there one that you wish had been handled differently? Stories are comprised of characters making decisions. What decisions would you have made as the characters of the book? Write an obituary for one of the characters. Be sure to include life-time accomplishments. Pretend one character is signing up for a dating service. Write out what they would say. Write a letter to one of the characters. Choose a character to run for a political office in local, state or national government. Which office would you choose and why? What qualities do they have that would make them a good candidate?

Write a full description of each major character, including physical, emotional and relational aspects. Draw a portrait of each. Write about what was the most interesting part of the book and why? Write an essay in which you compare and contrast this book with another similar book. What have you learned from this book? Write an essay. Write a letter to the head of a movie production company convincing them that the book would make a good movie. Pretend you are the author s editor. What parts of the book would you change to make it better? Free write your thoughts or emotional reactions to the people or events in the story. Choose a quote from one of the characters. Would that be a good saying to apply to your life? Compile a list of ten Proverbs or familiar sayings. Which characters should have followed the suggestions and why? Create a list of ten facts about the book that you learned. These must be things you didn t know before reading the book. Choose one part of the book where the story reached a climax. What if something different had happened then? What impact would this have on the outcome? Write a report about the author or illustrator. Rewrite the story in another time period. Add another character to the book. What part would s/he serve? You are an advice columnist for the local paper. Write letters from 2 or 3 characters asking for advice and what your advice would be. Choose one character and consider their personality, likes and dislikes. What gift would they enjoy and use? Design a greeting card to go with the gift and be prepared to explain why you selected the gift. Write a parody of the book, either the whole story or one of the scenes Is there a real societal issue addressed in the book, such as slavery, poverty, sexism? Write a short research paper about that issue?

How would/do the character(s) respond to the social issues in the book? Have one of the characters compose a speech to be given on that topic. Write a paragraph about the title. Is it a good title? What would you change it to? Complete these statements about the book: This book make me realize. I now realize that. The story made me wonder about. It helped me see that. It helped me believe that. The story made me feel.

POETRY Write a poem about the plot of the book. Pretend you are one of the characters. As that character, write a poem that expresses the way he/she feels about what is happening in the story. Write an acrostic poem about the book. Use the title of the book or the name of one of the characters. If the book you read is a book of poetry, you could do an oral reading, write an original poem, act out the poem, display a set of pictures that describe the poem or write original music for the poem.

POSTERS Make a poster for a travel agency advertising the setting of the story as a destination for tourists. Make a poster to advertise the sale of the book. What would make someone want to buy this book? Design a poster or new book cover depicting the climax of the story. Create a travel brochure for the setting of the story or create some scrapbook pages about key characters. Create a book jacket, front and back, including illustrations, an enticing synopsis, author bio, and favorable reviews. Design a yearbook for the characters in the story. Make a wanted poster for one of the characters. Be sure to include a drawing or picture, their physical description, their misdeeds that make them a wanted person, any other information you think is important and be sure to add the amount of the reward for their capture.

ART Draw a comic book of the story told in the book. o For less confident cartoonists, learn some basics here - http://www.cartooningbasics.com/ Build a shoebox diorama of the setting of the major scene in the book. Construct models of characters, buildings, plants, furniture, etc. Build a miniature stage setting of a scene from the book. Write an explanation. Design and create a symbol for the entire novel or one of the characters. Think of the mocking jay necklace from The Hunger Games. Design and illustrate a book jacket for the book. Design quilt squares on paper with one square for each important scene. Draw a classroom mural depicting a major scene(s) from the book.

Create cardboard doll models of two of your favorite characters and dress them as they are dressed in the book. Crouch down behind your character and describe yourself as the character. Tell what your role is in the book and how you relate to the other character you have made. Create a sculpture of a character. Use any combination of soap, wood, clay, sticks, wire, stones, old toy pieces, or any other object. An explanation of how this character fits into the book should accompany the sculpture. Use magazine photos to make a collage about the story Make a mobile about the story including memorable objects from the story, tell why you chose them. Create a board game based on events and characters in the book you read. By playing your game, members of the class should learn what happened in the book. Your game must include the following: a game board, a rule sheet and clear directions, events and characters from the story. Make models of three objects which were important in the book you read. On a card attached to each model, tell why that object was important in the book. Give a chalk talk about the book. Make several sketches of scenes from the book and label them. Make a map showing all the locations in the story. Create a photo album based on the book. If the story takes place in another country, prepare a travel brochure for the destination, including pictures of the tourist sites you have identified. Make a bookmark (or several) for a character from the book. Draw their face on the front and add details about them on the other side. Decorate with ribbon or yarn. Create a graphic novel version of the book.

THINKING Make a timeline of the events of the book. Every story takes place at some point and place in time. When and where is the story set? Write a paper about the historic events of the day and how they impacted the story. If the story lends itself, tell the story from the point of view of one of the other characters. For example, tell the story of Cinderella from the point of view of the carriage driver. If the book has also been made into a movie, enjoy them both then write an essay comparing the movie version with the book version. Does the book lend itself to a sequel? Plan out the plot for a potential sequel. Describe in detail three characters from the story. List reasons why you would or wouldn't want to get to know these people. Explain why you think this book will or will not be read 100 years from now. Support your opinion by stating specific events in the story.

Find the top 10 web sites a character in your book would most frequently visit. Include 2-3 sentences for each on why your character likes each of the sites. Write about the decisions you would make if you were the main character in the book. If you could spend a day with one of the characters, who would it be and why? What would you do together? Make a list of character traits of each character in the book. How were these traits displayed in the story? Pretend you have been transported to the town where the story takes place. Make a video or series of drawings that presents where the characters lived or where important events took place. If you know how to do this on your computer, add appropriate music for the background. Pretend you are going to join the characters in the setting of the book. What will you need to bring with you if you plan to stay there for a week? Pretend you are the prosecuting attorney and one of the characters from the book is on trial for some crime or misdeed told in the story. Prepare your case, in written and verbal form, laying out your arguments and witnesses you intend to call Do this same activity with a friend. One of you will be the prosecutor and the other the defendant.

ACTING Make puppets out of socks or popsicle sticks and perform a puppet show to tell the story of the book. Invite one of the characters to dinner at your house. What would you serve? What would you talk about? If your student has a cell phone, they may have a special song as a ring tone or a spoken message. Select five characters from the book and create the spoken answering messages they would have on their phones, adding the accent, diction or tone of their speech. Do an interview with one of the characters from the story. Write 5-10 questions to ask the character that will disclose his/her thoughts about the events of the story. Pretend you are a talk show host and interview the main character. Give a sales talk, pretending the students in the class are clerks in a bookstore and you want them to push this book. Be a TV or radio reporter, and give a report of a scene from the book as if it is happening "live".

Dress up as one of the characters and tell the story from a first person point of view. Write and perform the plot as a radio play, complete with sound effects. Prepare a television commercial about your book. Act out the commercial for your classmates Pretend the book has been made into a movie or a TV series. List who would star in each role and explain why you chose them. Pretend you are the costume designer for the movie above. Present sketches or collages of the outfits Be the set designer for the movie version. Sketch out the sets. Plan a party for the main character. Write out/design your plans, including an invitation, what you predict the person would wear, what food would be served, what games and entertainment would you provide, and imagine how the character would act at the party.

MUSIC Write a song that tells the story told in the book. Set the words to the music of a popular song and sing it to the class. Create a rap song that summarizes the story. Pretend the book has been made into a movie. Make a soundtrack for that movie, giving your reasons for each song choice, and telling where in the story the song would fit. Tell the story with musical accompaniment. For example, one student can tell the summary while another plays a guitar or piano (or other) accompaniment. Pretend that the book has been made into a TV series. Write a theme song for the series.

SCHOOL OR GROUP PROJECTS Give a dramatic reading of a scene to other students Play Pictionary, using objects from the book. Plan out a festival based on the book. Brainstorm the theme, food to serve, music, costumes and activities. Write a multiple choice quiz for the book with at least 10 questions, or 10 fill-in-the-blank questions. Do a pantomime of one of the scenes. Have other students guess which scene. Make a community journal. Each student writes their reflections and passes it to the next student. Create a word search with words from the book. Prepare a Jeopardy-type game with questions from the story. Prepare a scavenger hunt for objects from the story. Choose part of the text and delete some of the words and have students fill in the blanks.

Make Character Trading Cards: Show your students an old baseball trading card as an example. Create a trading card for each character. The front will have a drawing or photo and the back will have information about the character. Suitcase Exercise: Have your student pack a suitcase full of objects that a character would need as they move through the events in the book. Cut out one suitcase outline for each student, and glue the outlines to manila folders. Give each student the folder to use as their figurative suit case. Then provide each student with cardstock to use in the creation of their objects. Ask the students to select 10 things that one of the characters would have needed in their suitcase if they were packing for the book. For example, students could draw a musical instrument if the book mentioned that the character played an instrument. Once students have created their collection of objects, allow them to present their selections to the class. Cook a meal that was or might have been eaten in the story.

TECHNOLOGY SKILLS Sketch out a Facebook page for one of the characters. Compose a series of emails between two major characters in the book. Compose a series or two of text messages between characters. Compose a series of Tweets (Twitter) telling the story from beginning to end. Propose, design and sketch out a potential video game based on the story. Create blog(s) for one or more characters. Choose photos and what information they would write on their page. Create a links section with links to sites you think your character would frequent. What does this blog page tell about the character? What are the top 10 web sites a character in the book might visit and why? Make a Power Point presentation for the book. Create a 30 or 60 second commercial or trailer for the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christine Field is an author and attorney and mother of four kids who were mostly homeschooled. She writes about parenting, homeschooling, adoption and helps moms find grace in the messiness of family life and beyond. Join the mailing list at www.realmomlife.com. All of Christine s books are available at her Amazon Author Page.