Alternatives to traditional book reports

Spice up those old book reports with some new, creative ideas. Do your students grumble every time you mention the words book reports. Fortunately, there are a plethora of alternative methods to accomplish the same goal. Are you interested in kicking your next literary adventure up a notch with your students. Shelfari is not only a great alternative to book reports, it is also a nice alternative to reading logs. You can help students develop or hone their communications skills through alternative book report assignments, such as. Jun 09, 2009 technology brings interest back into reading and helps students continue to find reading that they enjoy while providing the teacher with feedback about student reading comprehension. These 6 creative alternatives to the traditional book report can be used with any novel or short story and will engage even your most reluctant students.

Take the information presented into consideration, and you are sure to make the right alternative to your book report. Alternatives to traditional book reports richard byrne. When you have a child who hates to write, short book reports can be just as daunting as a fullfledged. These alternatives can be more appealing and that will give the students a chance to express themselves in alternative ways. In this alternative to the traditional book report, students report on their novel choices using facebooklike pages. I remember how much fun it was having my preschooler dictate an alternative ending to stuart little it helped engage him in the story and revealed more about his thinking processes and grasp of t here is a great post in edutopia about alternatives to book reports some great ideas. There are authentic alternatives texts created by professional writers and thinkers that do more than a mere book report but stop shorts of serious literary analysis. Education world presents 25 ideas for you to use or adapt.

Through i found an article by jen dobson with some great ideas for alternative projects. Students select a book to read based only on its cover art. Ways to respond to literature using new york times models the new york times. Quadramas great alternative to a traditional book report. Sep 22, 2014 i bring this up, not because they are visual, but because they are different from the traditional book reports of tell me what you read or summarize the plot. Home school lesson plans 25 alternatives to a traditional book report. Take a look at these fun and effective alternatives to book reports and get your students and. In this alternative to the traditional book report, students create book trailers using microsoft photo story 3, a free downloadable software program for digital storytelling. Some suggested options include writing a diary entry for a character or a letter to the author, or presenting a talkshow interview.

An alternative to book reports featured, reading sunday, july 16, 2017 for many of us, just hearing the words book report gives us a flashback to tedious reports that we were tasked with completing when we were in school. Heres foster describing one idea that caught my attention. Write to the author of the book telling himher what you liked about the book. Fifty alternatives to the book report teaching ideas ncte. Use any combination of soap, wood, clay, sticks, wire. Fun, easy, creative ways for kids to make a book report. What makes this fun is that kids get to rethink the role of the setting in the book. And most importantly, they really dont measure the comprehension of a text or confirm that they have even read the text. Five alternatives to book reports your students will love. Baseball book reports printable handouts with a baseball theme for young readers. Write a series of questions and answers from the protagonist or antagonist.

They might use traditional mediums paper, markers, and so on, or those with. The techeducator podcast is a weekly round table discussion about current topics in educational technology. I mean, do you really want to read 30125 recaps of the same book. Most kids dread doing book reports but this book has plenty of great projects alternatives as alternatives to a traditional book report. Students can accomplish all these criteria by retelling a story in different mediums, such as comic life software, which, as it sounds, creates comic strips, or a fun app for the ipad called puppet pals, which lets students animate.

With a traditional book report, students describe the major plot points or the main characters. These book project ideas are a break from the traditional book report and can be used with any book. Be book report pen pals and share book reports with children in another school. Aug 02, 2007 50 alternatives to a book report i just read a great article from nctes english journal it is a pricey subscription but well worth every penny when i can cough up the money for it again. Not only is it a great alternative to traditional book reports but it incorporates art which is being cut out of most schools due to funding. Hanging book reports provide an alternative to traditional book reports. I ran a post about book trailers during the summer which you can read here. Shelfari allows students to display books that they have read on a virtual bookshelf. Nip that collective groan in the bud by offering your students fun alternatives choices that allow them to connect to a book in ways that are me. Teachers will find creative alternatives to the traditional book report that tap into student interests and creative writing in ban the book report. Alternativeto is a free service that helps you find better alternatives to the products you love and hate. This is a very creative book report and allows the students to be artistic and less focused on just writing a paper. Although these projects are designed for particular genres, they are flexible enough to be used with any genre and any book. After reading the book, they use an interactive tool to create a new cover for it.

The site is made by ola and markus in sweden, with a lot of help from our friends and colleagues in italy, finland, usa, colombia, philippines, france and contributors from all over the world. I love read180 and what i have seen it do for my kiddos so i was excited to get a chance to implement it again. For example, ask students to write a letter to the author, expressing appreciation for the story or asking. Many more can be found on the sites listed in technology connections download now or at the end of this article. Examining story elements using story map comic strips comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In short, a book trailer is a short video created by students to highlight the key points of a book. On tuesday evening i gave a presentation in second life for school librarians and media specialists. Book report alternatives for kids who hate to write well. Oct 20, 2017 book report alternatives for kids who hate to write. This alternative to book reports is particularly appealing to boys who are already excited about graphic novels. Mention the words book report, and chances are, youll see eyes roll. As a book report template, the center image could be a copy of the book cover, and each section expands on key information such as character names, themes, conflict, resolution, etc. In this episode of the techeducator podcast we share our digital alternatives to traditional book reports that will get your students thinking creatively and really passionate about their favorite characters. Students tire of responding to novels in the same ways.

Well, guess what, your students dont want to write them either. Aug 10, 2015 10 alternatives to traditional book reports leave a comment. It is hoped that this diverse group of suggestions will whet the interest of students in exploring new directions and in responding with greater. In this case, the article you are reading will help you with book reports alternatives. Book report alternatives for students with dyslexia and learning disorders writing book reports can be challenging for some students with dyslexia and other disabilities involving writing and language. The words book report can elicit groans from students at any age. Fifty alternatives to the book report readwritethink. Here are some alternative assignments that share the same benefits and instructional results but are infused with fun. When creating their book trailers students should be trying to sell viewers on a book. What you actually need is alternatives to book reports.

Fresh ideas for creative book reports education world. Replace boring book reports with projects kids love teachhub. Students write a scouting report for fiction or nonfiction. If you want to provide your students with alternatives to traditional book reports that will appeal to their artistic traits, here are some suggestions and each is worded exactly the way i have given them to students, on speciallycreated handouts. This site enables students to connect with other students and. Halfway through grade one, my adored, grandmotherly teacher saw fit to promote me, in one dizzying moment, from a member of the earthbound turtles reading group, past the bluebirds in the treetops, to join the soaring eagles. Book reports are a valuable tool for assessing students understanding of independent reading, but writing report after report can become rote for studentsand reading them can be equally tedious for educators. Five alternatives to traditional book reports on tuesday evening i gave a presentation in second life for school librarians and media specialists. Its also engaging and a simple way for teachers to change up there usual assessments. Traditional book reports should be a thing of the past. This list of 30 creative alternatives to the traditional book report emphasizes multiple intelligences and student imagination. A great place to find examples of book trailers is book trailers for readers.

Book report alternatives for students with dyslexia. This is a great alternative to traditional book reports. Promoting frequent and enthusiastic reading, offers creative alternatives to my letters and journals. Help your students make the books they read come alive with these 22 creative book report ideas and. Ten alternative book report ideas classroom tested resources. In this lesson, students use a sixpaneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that theyve read. What makes these different isnt that they are visual, but that they are a little more creative than typical book reports. 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. Book trailers are short videos designed to spark a viewers interest in a book. In short, a book trailer is a short video created by. In the mean time i signed up for nctes weekly newsletter via email. If you want to try alternative book projects in your classroom, i have expanded on these ideas and created. Elementary teachers share tried and true resources tested in our own classrooms classroom tested resources. Some require very little actual writing but require the same thinking and rehearsal as a more formal piece of written text.

The internet is one of a number of alternatives to fulltime attendance in traditional education programs for midcareer professionals seeking information about occupational safety and health osh for immediate use or in pursuit of an advanced degree. List of alternatives to the traditional book report. Have groups of students read the same book and then discuss the story, plot, characters and more. Teachers assign a lot of book reports to ensure that students read lots of books, especially at that critical early age when they are still trying to master the written word. Bring your traditional book report assignments into the 21st century, and make the format as much of a teaching moment as the content with these four ideas. The ones that came with our reading program were terrible so i set out over the summer to create some exciting and fun alternative book projects. While this post is a followup to that presentation, the post on its own should give you some ideas for alternatives to traditional book report. Book reports are a valuable tool for assessing students understanding of independent reading, but writing report after report can become rote for students and. Mar 30, 2015 instead, english teachers need to approach book reports in a way that will engage and teach students just as much as the material the report is on. While this post is a followup to that presentation, the post on its own should give you some ideas for. While this format is important in assessing understanding of literary elements, offering alternate book report formats encourages students to use creativity and other writing skills in presenting information about a book. Students could design a tattoo for a character and then write an essay explaining or justifying their choices. Alternatives to traditional adversary methods of presenting scientific expertise in the legal system.

Last year was my first year teaching read180 in a few years. This bundle includes everything you need to implement five outsidethebox projects that your students will love. Some alternatives to that classic classroom assignment, the book report, all inspired by an article, essay, blog post, illustration, interview or work of multimedia in the new york times. Alternative book reports for the 21st century whooos. Dec 10, 2018 explore newenglandteachs board book report alternatives. With several projects for each genre, this book will easily take you and your students through the school year. So, with that in mind, i have created some visual writing ideas that are alternatives to the standard book report.

However, you do not have any idea of what book to choose to consider in your report. Rubric for alternatives to book reports or traditional book reports. Art create a picture or collage of the book students might illustrate a particular. Although i do not assign the traditional book reports i was required to produce in own reading past, i am always looking for more reading response options. Even book reports based primarily on writing dont have to follow the traditional format. You take a clean sheet of paper or open a new page of microsoft word in order to accomplish the book report assigned. The main goal of traditional book reports is to summarize plot, describe characters and detail main events. These engaging projects move beyond traditional book report formats and. These are great alternatives to book reports that will keep your students from readicide. While this post is a followup to that presentation, the post on its own should give you some ideas for alternatives to traditional book report assignments. Writing a summary of a book isnt necessarily the most effective way to demonstrate learning in the digital age. Fifty alternatives to the book report diana mitchell students tire of responding to novels in the same ways. Having students create book trailers is an excellent alternative to traditional book report projects. Students draw scenes from a selected part of the bookperhaps a scene.

These ideas describe a few of the alternatives to traditional reading logs or book reports that we use in class. Animoto is a tool that will help create a slide show with pizzazz. Ive also included suggested requirements for these thoughtfuland funresponses to literature. Fantastic list of alternatives to writing book reports. Instead, english teachers need to approach book reports in a way that will engage and teach students just as much as the material the report is on. Instead of writing a paper outlining the plot, characters and other elements of the book, students include that information on shapes that hang from a clothes hanger or other device. They then analyze why the art attracted them and anticipate what the book may be about before examining the rest of the information found on the book cover. Another idea that works well for both nonfiction and fiction book reports. My students love picking which project they will do for their individual reading book. Asking students to create an alternative ending to a book one. Alternatives to traditional adversary methods of presenting. One of the topics that i talked about was alternatives to traditional book report assignments. The techeducator podcast is a weekly round table discussion about current topics in educational. Creative alternatives to book reports lexia learning.

If you ever get to hear him at a conference or workshop, you will see how amazing his method is even for reluctant writers. Oral reading of my favorite part of the book benefits students who lack confidence in oral reading. Teachers alternatives to book reports for the artists. Alternativeto crowdsourced software recommendations. They want new ways to think about a piece of literature and new ways to dig into it. Book report alternatives for middle school education. As long as your children or students reach the objectives you expect them to achieve after reading a book, why not allow them to demonstrate their learning. Oct 26, 2007 creative alternatives to traditional book reports by heather idoni added friday, october 26, 2007 the homeschoolers notebook encouragement and advice for homeschool families vol. Book report ideas 20 ways of looking at the book these activities address multiple intelligences and a range of student ability levels. Creative alternatives to book reports conversations. Nov 10, 2011 below, we present some alternatives to that classic classroom assignment, the book report. Do your traditional book report assignments seem old and tired. What alternatives to book reports have you offered students. Richard byrnes favorite tech resources for teachers.