Chances are when you were younger, you had a set of summer reads for an English class and were asked to write a book report. You dutifully churned out your required paragraphs or pages to prove that you read the book and turned it in, expecting your points to hit the gradebook. The question is, did that really help you as a writer, as a reader, or as a student in general? The answer is probably no.
Luckily enough times have changed and teachers are ditching the boring book report and creating fun projects for students of all ages. What is even more interesting is that these projects can help children master language arts skills. Below are projects appropriate for kids of all ages.
Pre-Reading: Preschool and Kindergarten – Conversations
Children don’t have to be able to read in order to discuss literature! It seems odd but by relying on book reports to build language arts skills you are wasting valuable time that students can learn simply because they haven’t developed their writing and reading skills. Preschool and kindergarten age students are capable of the following skills:
- Discussing a story
- Making predictions
- Draw conclusions
First Grade: Early Elementary – Practice
The early elementary grades such as kindergarten and first grade also set up foundational work for students as they begin to practice putting their thoughts to paper and begin reading on their own. For many students, teachers, and parents the goal here can be simple. Keeping a log of books read and attaching a three sentence summary to it are great ways to get students to learn their language art skills along with reading and writing. It’s important to note that this stage is just practice. Setting up the foundational knowledge to be able to excel into the future.
Second – Fifth Grade: Elementary – Repetition and Mastery
The elementary years are when things can become boring for students. The novelty of reading and writing wears off and the rate of learning begins much slower. For many students it is easy to become discouraged and disenfranchised with education and school when they repeat the same thing over and over.
The trick here is to give students new and novel ways to complete the same task as they work their way towards mastering literary skills. By creating new tasks with the same goal things can be kept fresh and exciting for students.
Cereal Box Book Reports, School Lockers and More
The best way to help students reach mastery through repetition is to give them many opportunities to practice. To keep student interest it is imperative to give them new and fun ways to stay engaged. Below are some awesome projects to keep students practicing!
- Cereal box book reports are a great way to keep students creative by allowing them to create a cereal inspired by their newest book.
- School lockers allow students to transform a shoe box into a school locker decorated by their favorite character.
- Comic strips allow students to illustrate their favorite scenes and bring them to life.
These are just quick examples but there are a myriad of fun and exciting ways to help students master their literary skills all while ditching the boring book report.