Cereal Box Book Reports

     Another fun thing we do in my classroom, is cereal box book reports! However, we add a special twist. Students read a biography about an athlete of their choosing and have to come up with a creative name for their "cereal" based on either what their athlete does for a sport, their name, or the team they play for.
     Students decorate the front of the cereal box with a picture of the athlete in their uniform and with any equipment the athlete would need to play their sport, as well as the cereal name and the athlete's name.

     On one side of the box, they list their athletes' ingredients: this is a listing of facts about the athlete: parents, siblings, date of birth, place of birth, teams played on, current age, awards, etc.
On the other side of the box, students list the "nutritional value" of their athlete. This is something they come up with on their own. EX: 60% determination, 10% great coaching, 20% parental support, 5% faith, 5% practice time = 100% great athlete. On this side, students also glue on their bibliography.

     On the back, students write a four to five paragraph essay in chronological order about their chosen athlete. They are given a research packet to help guide them on finding information and what should go in each paragraph. One of the main parts is about learning how their athlete "gives back" to help others.

     Inside the cereal box, students make "cereal". They use strips of paper to write down the awards and achievements of their athlete.

     On the day of sharing our reports, students get to wear their pajamas and bring in cereal, a bowl, and spoon. (I provide the milk.) This always makes the first big oral presentation of 5th grade a lot more relaxing. Students only share at their table and everyone is having fun eating the cereal so it helps calm down the nerves about oral speaking.

     I started doing this with one other teacher on my team, and now almost all of our 5th grade teachers do this as the first project of the year. Usually, our principal and assistant principal come around and look at all the projects too and listen to some of the speeches which is fun for the kids. Finally, I take pictures of all of them to post for curriculum night next to their projects. Which makes something easy to share too.