Book Report Alternatives

1. Select a novel to read, either fiction or nonfiction.
2. Have it approved by Miss Sautner.
3. Then choose at least two projects from the list below to complete after reading your book. Your two activities are due by June 12 (It’ll be here before you know it, so better get started ASAP!).
4. Do the projects that you select NEATLY on LOOSE LEAF or TYPED.

1. Draw a time line to illustrate the events in the story.
2. Construct a story map to show the plot and setting.
3. Create a jacket for the book, complete with illustrations and blurbs.
4. Create a poster.
5. Do a radio announcement advertising the book.
6. Compose a telegram limited to twenty words.
7. Dramatically read part of the book to the class to get them hooked.
8. Write a letter to the author telling him/her if you liked the book, your favorite parts, and what you would have done with the plot.
9. Be a newspaper columnist; write a review for the book section.
10. Explain how the story might have ended if a key character or incident were changed.
11. Write a letter to the key character to tell him or her how to solve the problem.
12. Write a newspaper article based on an incident from the book.
13. Write a biography of the leading character using information from the book.
14. Compare the movie and book versions of the same story.
15. Make a diorama to show the time and setting of the story.
16. Have a character day; dress as your favorite character in the story and relive some of the story.
17. Examine the story for the author's craft and try to write a story of your own, imitating the use of tone, setting, style, and so on.
18. Memorize your favorite lines, or write them down for future quoting.
19. Make sketches of some of the action sequences.
20. Research the period of history in which the story is set.
21. Make a list of similes, metaphors, or succinct descriptions used in the book.
22. Make puppets and present a show based on one part of the book.
23. Build a clay or paper maché of a key character.
24. Give a “chalk talk” about the book (i.e. teach the class a lesson).
25. Paint a mural that shows the key incidents in the story.
26. Rewrite the story for students in a lower grade.
27. File information about the story in a classroom cross-reference. Include author, story type, list of books it is similar to, and so on.
28. Imagine a magazine story on the book. What are several scenes you think ought to be illustrated for the article? Draw them and write the article.
29. Tell the general effect of the book on you. What made you feel the way you did?
30. Letter the title of the book vertically; then write a brief phrase applicable to the book for each letter.
31. Tell what kind of people should read this book. Who shouldn’t? Explain why for each case.
32. Explain why you would or would not recommend this book to your parents for their reading. Be specific in your references to characters, plot, setting. . .
33. Explain why you think this book will or will not be read a hundred years from now. Support your viewpoint by making specific references to plot, setting, characters and author’s style.
34. Make a list of five to ten significant questions about this book that you think anyone who reads this book should be able to answer.
35. Write an original poem inspired by your reading of the book.
36. If it is a geographical book, make a map and locate places found in the book.
37. Find a total of 10 examples of any combination of the following: personification, alliteration, metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia or idioms.