Alternative
Book Reports

If If the book you are reading does not have
a test, you may choose one of the following activities to present instead.

1) If a journey was involved, draw
a map with explanatory notes of significant points of interest.

2) Write a letter from one
character to another character.

3) Write a new conclusion/Write a
new beginning.

4) Participate with three or four
classmates in a television talk show about the book.

5) With another student, do a
pretend interview with the author or with one of the characters.

6) Draw comic-book pages as a
summary of your book.

7) Make a travel brochure inviting
tourists to visit the setting of the book. What

types of activities would there be
for them to attend?

8) Write a letter to the main
character of the book. Write the letter he or she sends.

9) Make three or more puppets of
the characters in the book. Prepare a short

puppet show to tell the story to
the class.

10) Make ID cards which belong to
the main characters. Be sure to make the cards

look like the cards for that
particular state. Include a picture and all information

found on and ID card. Don't forget
the signature!!

11) Rewrite the story as a picture
book. Use simple vocabulary so that it may be

enjoyed by younger students.

12) Make a mobile showing pictures
or symbols of happenings in the book.

13) Write a song or poem for your
story. (extra marks if presented in class)

14) Create a radio ad for your
book. Write out the script and tape record it as it

would be presented. Don't forget
background music!

15) Design an advertising campaign
to promote the sale of the book you read.

Include each of the following: a
poster, a radio or TV commercial, a magazine or

newspaper ad, a bumper sticker, and
a button.

16) 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.

17) 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.

18) Complete a series of five
drawings that show five of the major events in the plot

of the book you read. Write
captions for each drawing so that the illustrations can

be understood by someone who did
not read the book.

19) Plan a party for the characters
in the book you read. In order to do this, complete

each of the following tasks: (a)
Design an invitation to the party which would

appeal to all of the characters.
(b) Imagine that you are five of the characters in

the book and tell what each would
wear to the party. (c) Tell what food you

would serve and why. (d) Tell what
games or entertainment you will provide and

why your choices are appropriate.
(e) Tell how three of the characters will act at

the party. (f) What kind of a party
is this? (birthday, housewarming, un-birthday,

20) Tape an interview with one of
the characters in the book you read. Pretend that

this character is being interviewed
by a magazine or newspaper reporter. You

may do this project with a partner,
but be sure to write a script before taping.

You may choose to do a
"live" version of this.

21) Imagine that you have been
given the task of conducting a tour of the town in

which the book you read is set.
Make a tape describing the homes of your

characters and the places where
important events in the book took place. You

may want to use a musical
background for your tape.

22) Make a paper doll likeness of
one of the characters in the book you read. Design

at least threes costumes for this
character. Next, write a paragraph commenting

on each outfit; tell what the
clothing reflects about the character, the historical

period and events in the book.

23) After reading a non-fiction
book, become a teacher. Prepare a lesson that will

teach something you learned from
the book. It could be a "how-to" lesson or one

on content. Plan carefully to
present all necessary information in a logical order.

You don't want to confuse your
students! Present your lesson to your students.

How did you do? If you taught a
"how-to" lesson, look at the final product to see

if your instructions to the class
were clear. If your lesson introduced something

new, you might give a short quiz to
see how well you taught the lesson.

24) Choose an interesting character
from your book. Consider the character's

personality, likes and dislikes.
Decide on a gift for him or her... something he or

she would really like and use.
Design a greeting card to go along with your gift.

In the greeting, explain to your
friend from the book why you selected the gift.

25) Design a poster to advertise
your book. Be creative...use detail...elaborate...use

color! Can you make it 3-D or
movable?

26) 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.

27) Create life-sized 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.

28) Write
a diary that one of the story's main characters might have kept before,

during, or after the book's events.
Remember that the character's thoughts and

feelings are very important in a
diary.

29) Make several sketches of some
of the scenes in the book and label them.

30) After reading a book of history
or historical fiction, make an illustrated timeline

showing events of the story and
draw a map showing the location(s) where the story takes place.

31) Your original idea must have
teacher approval.