If you are a teacher looking for fresh ideas to stimulate your 5th graders, the following projects will get you started in the right direction. Using creativity and visualization will help students to retain what they read long after the book report is done. Getting students to interact with the characters in the books they read is a perfect way to make life-long readers out of them.
Create a Scrapbook
Have each student choose a book that interests them. Once they have finished reading, have them pick 5 characters from the book to create a scrapbook. Each of the five pages should be dedicated to one character. Have them use magazines to find pictures that relate to each character's style, personality and role in the book. Additional materials may be used if desired. For instance, if the character is an angel, including feathers would be appropriate.
Glossary and Word Search
Creating a keyword glossary and word search is a simple way to help students better understand the book they have read. Have students choose 20 words that are related to the books characters, plot and to when and where the story takes place. After writing out the definition for these words, students should find a sentence from the book that includes each word and write it down. Have students then create their own word search using the 20 keywords that they chose.
Brown Bag Report
Once students have finished reading a book, provide each of them with a large brown paper bag. They should then find 5 items that are relevant to the story's plot, characters or setting. Have students prepare a book report to present to the class. During their presentation they pull the items out of the bag, one at a time, to use as props. This will give listeners a visual aid to keep them interested while the student giving the report analyzes and explains key information from the book.
Act it Out
This assignment works best if students are placed into small reading groups. Once each group has finished reading their book, have them assign a role from the book to each person in the group. Props, costumes and backgrounds should be used to recreate the setting of the book. The group can then choose two or three scenes from the story to act out in front of their classmates. Allow each group 10 minutes to complete their skits.
