This week I enjoyed this article, How To Enhance Book Reports Using Technology. Raise your hand if you remember completing one, or multiple, book reports in your K-12 education; having to meet page requirements, number of word requirements, getting more caught up on having the correct margin sizes and line spacing, rather than which events to mention....I've been there, I'm sure some or many of you have been as well.
There is no denying that book reports carry value. They do give you insight to how well your students comprehending what they read. They do give great practice in the mechanics of writing. But, if your students are dreading the task...how much value are they getting from a book report? These types of tasks turn students away from reading.
This article provided excellent examples of different ways to have your students create a book report, rather than just writing a book report. Some of my favorites included:
Having students pair up and create videos or podcasts interviewing one another about their books. I have my students do this informally and they LOVE it.
Create a website/blog. Students would use this all year, reporting on different books they read. They could include audio recordings, videos, drawings or photos. However they felt was the best way to get the important information across.
Virtual Book Shelf. Using a website such as, Goodreads, to review books and track what books they have read. How great would this be for students to look back on at the end of the year and see how many books they read?! What a great accomplishment!
Create a Book Trailer or Poster. This is similar to a movie trailer or poster. The goal is to try and persuade others to read the given book.
I thought about how great some of these alternatives would be for ELLs. Reading and Writing are already not the easiest tasks when learning a new language. Book reports require both. The flexibility in type of assignment could relieve a lot of anxiety, as well as build confidence.
So which alternative are you most likely to try?
Chloe,
ReplyDeleteWe don't actually have students create book reports in the classrooms I work in, but if I had my own classroom I would utilize these suggestions. What a great way to take an old, true activity and incorporate technology to make it more 21st Century!! Thank you for the ideas!
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ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a book trailer or poster. The students would love to create these. So many books today have fan trailers online for books that have not been made into movies yet. My students were terribly disappointed that the book we just finished, Unwind, had not been made into a movie yet, despite the trailers we watched. I think the trailer is a great way for the student to share his/her enthusiasm for a book. It sure beats the shoebox book reports I had to do in school!
ReplyDeleteThis article sounds like it had a lot of great points. I love the different alternatives to book reports. These all seem like great ways to motivate students and still provide the teacher with the information they are looking for. Using any of these alternatives would really allows the students creativity to come out.
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