Book Report Ideas for Primary Age Homeschoolers


Encourage Reading Comprehension with Art and Writing Projects

After homeschoolers read a book, there are many ways that they can showcase what they’ve learned from the book without writing a traditional book report.

Depending on whether homeschoolers are making a presentation or project that will be seen by their family or by fellow homeschoolers in a formal or informal class, the following ideas can prompt ideas for ways children can explore their understanding of a book that they’ve read.

Alternative Book Report Formats

Sitting the student in front of a blank notebook can be intimidating. Of course, he/she can ask someone to write my paper, essay, composition, etc. Instead, try one of these creative book report formats. These are not only creative but they are fun, and if completed properly they encompass all the information of a conventional book report.

  1. Create a fictional newspaper about the book. Include short stories and images from within the book that speaks to the plot, characters, and setting. Encourage students to include a review article that tells whether they liked or disliked the book and why.

  2. Write and star in a skit about the book. Be sure to tell the full story and play the role of a narrator as well as the main character. By adding the role of a narrator it is possible to set the scene and plot of the book as well as add dimension to the skit.

  3. Design new front and back covers for the book. Draw the images and include a write-up about the book on the back cover. Make sure to include the author’s name on the front cover.

  4. Using a camcorder, create a movie about the book. Friends can be cast as characters and sets can be constructed using household furnishings and supplies.

  5. Make a passport for the main character in the book. Create and keep a travel log of the character’s trips and locations portrayed in the book. Be sure to address the setting, plot, and other significant characters.

Important Ideas to Include

There is some information that should be covered in every book report. Homeschooling parents may wish to prepare their children for school so they are to offer an outline before their child begins to write the report. Be sure to include:

  • The key settings

  • Main characters

  • The plot

  • A brief retelling of the story

  • One or two key passages from the story

Art-Based Book Reports

For artistic children, these different projects allow for visual representations of a story’s plot and characters. These assignments can include as few or as many words as desired – incorporating a child’s interests and learning style as well as a parent’s interest in evaluating their child’s vocabulary, spelling, and grammar.

  • Draw a cartoon strip of the entire book (if it’s short) or illustrate the most important scene(s) in the story. With more time, create a short comic book for the book.

  • Design a bookmark that tells something about the story. The parent can determine how much text they want the bookmark to include. Incorporate a ‘collect them all’ marketing tactic and have the child create a bookmark for each of the major characters.

  • Create a model from soap, wood, clay, chenille stem, etc to illustrate a character from the book.

  • Make a puppet to represent a character in the book.

  • Make a poster advertising the book. Children can look at movie posters to see how words and images tend to be pared down to allow a viewer to get a quick sense of a movie in a glance. Have the child create three-to-five miniature posters on 8 ½” x 11” paper and then discuss with the parent or with other homeschoolers how the image in each of the posters characterizes the movie’s essential points.

  • Videotape an interview in which the child acts as the author of the book. The child can come up with the questions that the interviewer, a parent, or another child, will ask.

  • Craft a diorama depicting the most exciting part of the book.

  • Embroider a stitchery sampler to illustrate a scene from the book.

  • Make a mobile from a coat hanger and string. Each hanging element can depict an image of a character, setting, or event on one side of an index card and a description of its part in the book on the other side of the card.

  • Look for objects that represent different parts of the book. Set them in a box or a bag decorated with the book’s title and author. The child then gives a presentation about the book, showing items from the box or bag to prompt their talk.

  • Create a concentration game by drawing or finding online twelve images that represent characters, settings, or events from the story. Make two copies of each image. Glue the pictures onto twenty-four index cards. To play concentration, shuffle the cards and flip them face down. Players take turns flipping over two cards and looking for a match. Turn over cards that don’t match and collect pairs that do.

Writing Based Book Reports

Writing a book report doesn’t have to be limited to listing who, what, when, where, and why. These creative ideas for writing about literature show off a child’s overall understanding of a story’s elements.

  • Write a different ending for the story.

  • Have the child compare a character in the story with a person they know. Write a paragraph or two in which they describe how the character and the friend are alike and how they are different.

  • Make a word search puzzle.

  • Make a timeline of events in the story.

  • Make a crossword puzzle using words from the book.

  • Write a letter to a friend recommending the book.

  • Pretend to be the main character and write several diary entries describing important events in the book.

  • Write a one-act play based on the book.

  • Write a review of the book for a magazine or newspaper.

Whether as a drawing, sculpture, puzzle, or performance, children can show off their understanding of characterization, plot, and these in the books that they’ve read.

Overall, book reports can be used to gauge a child’s reading comprehension, ability to identify key information, and reading level. They are a great way to introduce students to report writing from an early grade level since they can be as simple or in-depth as their age or grade allows.

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