Book Responses

The following is a list of options for book responses. Be creative! If you have an idea for reporting about the book you are reading, discuss it with the English/Reading advisor and set up the rubric together. Then go for it! Many of these alternatives would also include art or technology credit.

If you have any questions – ask first so you don’t waste time on something that won’t get you the credit you need.

¨     Choose two characters from the story and write about a conversation they might have.

¨     White a letter to a friend recommending the book (like Reading Rainbow).

¨     Keep a vocabulary log of the new words you learn while reading the book.

¨     Prepare a television commercial about the book.

¨     Draw a cartoon strip using characters and situations from the book.

¨     Write a different ending to the story. Explain why you like yours better than the author’s.

¨     Write ten questions that could be used in a Literature Circle about the book. You could actually run your own Lit. Circle.

¨     Explain why you think this book will be read one hundred years from now. Support your opinion by stating actual events in the story.

¨     Write a letter to the author of the book.

¨     Discuss one particular episode in the story that you remember most. Describe why you think that particular one remains so clear to you.

¨     Design a poster or book jacket of your book to be displayed in the resource room.

¨     Using the title of the book, write a phrase about the book for each letter.

¨     Draw a mural depicting the major scenes from the book.

¨     After reading an information book, make a scrapbook about the subject.

¨     Write a movie script for one of the scenes in the book. You could videotape it and play it during Symposium Week.

¨     Create a puppet show based on the story.

¨     Create a month long diary for two of the main characters.

¨     Write a sequel to the story.

¨     Construct 3D models of the main settings in the book.

¨     Demonstrate a procedure from a how-to book. Teach someone else what you learned.

¨     Select your favorite poems from a book of poetry and read them to a group. Explain the significance of your choices.

¨     Construct a mobile representing the main characters of your book.

¨     Write a letter to the publisher and give your impression of the book.

¨     Rewrite a historical novel with a significant change in events or bring it into the present day.

¨     Create the front page of a newspaper with articles about events and characters in the book.

¨     Compare two or more books by the same author.

¨     Rewrite a scene as a radio play (like the olden days) with sound effects.

¨     Make an illustrated time-line of important events in the book.

¨     Compare and contrast two characters.

¨     Write a series of letters from one character to another or from one character to the author asking for changes.

¨     Create a board game about the book (rules, packaging, game pieces, cards, etc.).

¨     Pretend you are a reporter on the scene at two different points in the book. Create the interview and report that would be broadcast on the 10:00 news.

¨     Create and model costuming from a historical novel.

¨     Interview favorite characters.

¨     Write a ballad or song about the characters and events in the story. Set the words to music and perform it.

¨     Give a dramatic reading of a scene in the book.

¨     Describe in detail three characters from the story. List the reasons why these characters would be nice to know or have as a best friend. Or explain why they are the most memorable ones in the book.