Creative Book Report Ideas

If your child has a book report due, you can venture out and come up with some creative ideas, as long as the teacher approves. Teachers want

students to think outside of the book and learn to be creative, so a lot of times, they tell students to draw their book report and other creative ideas. The days of the old one page book report are long gone. Listed below are some creative ideas you can use to help your child formulate creative book report.

1) Book float. The student will need an empty shoe box, construction paper, scissors, crayons, pencil, papers, and any other miscellaneous materials he might need to decorate. My daughter read Tom Sawyer, so had rocks and small twigs from outside. Ideas are limitless. I tell my students that they are creating a parade of books. They are to decorate their box, representing the book they read. They will then need to explain about their book, the plot, characters and what the conclusion was. They do not need to write this down, but the box should represent this clearly. After each student has presented his float we place them on an empty table in a line, as if they were floats in parade.

2) Play. If several children have read the same book, I let them create a play based on the book, covering the main details and conclusions. For example, one student read Little Women as did three of her friends. The four created a play about the book and acted it out in class. Of course they will need help with writing their roles, the scenes and stage props. No only is it a book report, but in addition this book report idea can become an art class as well.

3) This idea generally works better with older students. I display a roll of paper on the floor and draw an equal number of books on the paper equal to the number of students in my class. I draw each book about 4 by 6 inches, large enough for each student to write information about their book. I then require them to write the title their book, the author, the main characters, and the plot. We then display these outside our classroom. I leave enough space on the sheet so other books can be added. About every nine weeks, we start a new mural for our next nine weeks worth of books.

4) I once worked with a teacher who gave me a wonderful idea that I have used in my classroom before. She bought a large spider web table)cloth that she bought at a party supply store, of course around Halloween time. She then created spider, fly, or butterfly templates large enough for the students to write on. She of course had the students write the basic book information such as book title, author, characters and plot. She then placed the spider web table cloth on the wall, and the students would glue their template with a glue stick on the web. Our goal was to fill up at much of the tablecloth as possible. At the time she placed the words, "Get caught in a web of reading."

5) In March we create reading kites. I actually have a local store donate kites, and we put the kites together and fly them. When we return to the classroom, we actually glue a traditional book report that I help the students write on each kite on one side. On the other, I have them draw a picture and paste it . The children love this idea. I usually only use this idea during the spring, and with younger children, fifth grade or lower.

These strategies can be used at home or school. Be sure and ask your child's teacher what sort of book report she is wanting before getting creative with your child. Share some of these ideas with your child's teacher, and she just may incorporate them into her reading curriculum