Students must think critically to create comic strips highlighting six important scenes from a book they have read.
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students create book trailers using Microsoft Photo Story 3, a free downloadable software program for digital storytelling.
Students explore familiar literary characters, usually first encountered as adults, but whose childhood stories are only told later. Students then create childhoods for adult characters from books of their choice.
Students explore book covers of a variety of books then create a new cover for a book they have read.
Comic frames are traditionally used to illustrate a story in a short, concise format. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip frame to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read. Each panel retells a particular detail or explains a literary element (such as setting or character) from the story.
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students report on their novel choices using Facebook-like pages.
In this alternative book report, students identify the elements of fiction in books they have read by creating glogs, interactive multimedia posters, and then share their glogs.
Students select a book to read based only on its cover art. After reading the book, they use an interactive tool to create a new cover for it.
Students make bookmarks on computers and share their ideas with other readers at their school, while practicing summarizing, recognizing symbols, and writing reviews-all for an authentic audience.
Students identify the elements of fiction in a book they have read and share summaries of them by writing and illustrating their own mini-book.
Students write resumes for historical fiction characters. They first explore help wanted ads to see what employers want, and then draft resumes for the characters they've chosen.
A book review template from Read.Write.Think
Students work in groups to create annotated book reviews with links to topics of interest related to their book.
Book sharing is an activity that is enjoyable for all age groups. Reading, looking at and talking about the pictures, and making up a story to go with the pictures are some ways to share books with children. Here are some helpful tips to use when choosing or sharing a book with your child.
Students utilize their reading and writing skills as they think critically in order to sort books in multiple ways.
Use Scholastic’s Book Wizard to level your classroom library, discover resources for the books you teach, and find books at just the right level for students with Guided Reading, Lexile® Measure, and DRA levels for children's books.
You can browse titles if trying to find a particular level, or search a specific title to get a grade level and a guided reading level as well.
Teach your students how to use this site to help them learn how to find books they may be interested in at their reading level.
Bookopolis is a social network for kids that lets them log books and connect with other readers gr 1-8+. By creating an account, students create a virtual bookshelf and join a community of young readers who can discover new books, share book reviews and track their reading with a digital reading log. The site offers book recommendations ("Bookopolis Picks" and "What's Popular Right Now"), the opportunity to explore book reviews by other young readers, a featured book of the week, the opportunity to earn points and badges, plus the option to find books by grade (1-3, 3-6, 6-8, 8-12). You can sign in as an educator, a student or a parent. Choose the online version or download the app from your app store.
A case for books.
These half-hour chats with well-known middle grade authors are the perfect length to share with your classes. You can use these to inspire your students to read the books featured.
A family moves into an unpopulated area. With the ingenuity of one young girl, a town is established and grows. The idea of supply and demand is evident in this story. The businesses in town grow to include a tanner, a cooper, a miller, a blacksmith and a laundry.
This lesson provides teachers with support for using text-dependent questions to help students derive big ideas and key understandings while developing vocabulary from the biographical text, Boss of the Plains. This biography relates the life of John Batterson Stetson as a hatting apprentice until he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and decided to explore the American West. During his time with the people of the West, he invents a better hat, nicknamed "Boss of the Plains," - the first real cowboy hat.