Book Report of Choice Project

     Another book report project I enjoy doing with my students is the book report project of choice. Students all fill out the same packet which asks them to find publishing information, describe main characters and setting, summarize the main events, identify/illustrate the problem and solution, and write a book recommendation.

    In presenting the book, the project is differentiated in that students select which style they want to use to present:

• Scrappy - make a scrapbook of the main character's life
• Artistic - create a poster showcasing the main events in the character's life
• Dramatic - act out the major events from the book
• Constructive - build a scene using materials of choice
• Choice - students can submit other ideas - most of mine choose to create a Power Point or a Windows Movie Maker file

This is a fun project, because it's always so neat to see what the students come up with for their projects. This is usually the second project my students do during the year.

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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.

Wax Museum

One of my favorite things I do in my classroom (and that we all do in fifth grade now) is Wax Museum. Each student selects a person to research (in my room the topic is Famous Americans - they must select a figure in American history who has made a positive contribution to our country). They research using books, news articles, and the Internet. The final project includes a science board complete with a hand drawn "headshot", timeline, biography, family tree, and 10 fun facts about their chose person.  Students then dress up as their person and give a speech. The "wax" part comes in here - students must remain frozen solid until someone puts a ticket in their bucket to make them come to life. Once they come to life they are to remain in character of their person and give their speech. We invite the whole school to come around on the day we present our wax museum. It is always a lot of fun. After doing this for 5 years at my school, kids come to my class now on open house all ready to tell me who they will be for a project we don't usually do until April/May. I love that this makes them so excited to learn! Plus, it incorporates social studies, language arts, reading, memorization, creativity, technology, and so much more.