Why You Should Use Book Reports
Book reports are something we can all remember writing in our time as a student.
Students tend to feel a certain way about book reports. Either they really enjoy them - or they really don’t enjoy them.
This opinion typically trends with the students who enjoy reading vs the students who do not enjoy reading.
But research shows that students who take the time to write about what they read become better readers and better communicators.
Is there a way to encourage all of our students to enjoy the process of writing a book report?
Why You Should Use Book Reports
As I’m sure you’ve experienced yourself, you can’t effectively communicate on a topic that you know nothing about. Therefore, students gain a better understanding of the content assigned by default when creating a book report.
I always found book reports to be one of the easiest methods of understanding how much my students were truly comprehending. Tests can give you information, but any time a student has to write out what they’ve learned is a time for you to gain some good information. Plus, book reports can be a way to break the monotony of testing and give students a chance to be creative.
In your classroom, you can choose what students include in their book reports. You can organize your ELA classroom around genres and use the book reports as culminating activities for each unit. Alternatively, you can focus the book reports on literature traits and start with the basic traits at the beginning of the year and slowly add in more advanced concepts.
Also, presenting a book report to the class is a great way for your students to practice speaking to an audience, building confidence in their public speaking skills. TIP: For students who are too shy or nervous to present to the whole class, allow them to present to a few students at first and slowly increase the audience size.
Types Of Book Reports
There are three different types of book reports that I liked to use in the classroom. They all have their own pros and cons, which I will list for you here.
Essays
An essay book report is a simple and effective way to understand what your students are learning.
The biggest pro is that you can vary the content or length of the report, giving you more of an opportunity to scaffold based on your students’ needs.
The con of essays is that, if used too frequently, they can feel incredibly boring and flat.
Craftivities
Giving your students a chance to jazz up their book reports is a fun way to change up the traditional essay format.
The pro to this type of book report is that you get to combine writing with art, which motivates some students who might not have cared as much before. Another pro is the chance to work on fine motor skills.
The con of craftivities is that they can be time-consuming. You could also find some students focusing too much on the craft portion and not enough on the book report portion.
Digital
A digital book report can be something super simple, like an essay in Google Docs. But it can also be more exciting and interactive.
My favorite pro of digital book reports is that they tend to be more interesting and less time-consuming than other options.
The con is that digital book reports take time to create and you need access to the technology.
Need Book Reports?
Do you want to use book reports but don’t want to make them yourself? I’ve created two different sets of book reports - one focused on genres and one centered on literary traits. The literary traits activities are available in both print and digital versions. Each bundle includes nine different resources.
I created them so they can be used with any book, making them far more versatile and easy to differentiate.
You can pick up your copy of my book reports by clicking on the photo below. They are available both individually and as a bundle. And, please, let me know if you have any questions about them; I’d love to help.
Do you have questions about book reports? Just shoot me an email!