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Free Book Report Templates: Printables for Grades 3-5 for Fiction or Nonfiction Books

Take a new spin on your book report assignment. 📚😍

The Nocturnals are fun-filled animal adventure books with companion nonfiction for elementary school classrooms. Check out The Nocturnals World , a resource hub with free turnkey printable activities and educator guides, and browse The Nocturnals bookstore!

Building lifelong readers is one of the most important things we can do in our classrooms. The benefits of reading are wide-ranging, from improving vocabulary skills to boosting cognitive development, concentration skills, and curiosity for learning. So, how do we get young learners excited about reading and sharing what they’ve learned? Check out our free book report template printables .

Four different activities are ready to print to help you take a new spin on your next book report assignment for fiction or nonfiction books. Students will love filling in their mini book report one-pagers or making their selections from the choice board to share details about what they read.

Worksheets Included:

My mini book report—fiction and nonfiction.

These book report one-pagers are a great way for students to reflect on their readings as they complete different sections of the worksheet. There’s a version for both fiction and nonfiction.

Book Report Choice Board

Give students choices on how they want to complete their book report assignment. This choice board offers eight fun options, from designing a comic to creating a playlist or writing interview questions, so students can let their creativity guide them.

Designing Water Bottle Stickers

Students are obsessed with stickers. In this unique activity, students will design water bottle stickers that the main character of the book would love to have, along with a short description of their choices.

Give students fun-filled books to choose from

Animal adventure books from The Nocturnals are the perfect way to get your upper elementary students excited about reading. Paired with nonfiction companion texts that explore nocturnal animal facts, this series is great for hi-lo readers. Visit The Nocturnals World for more free printable activities and educator guides.

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• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

15 Creative and digital book report ideas that will get your students excited to read

Not all students are excited to read a book. So how can you make reading a book more engaging and fun? This is a huge challenge for most teachers, so I hope I can help you out!

Here’s what you’ll find in this blog post (click on the title if you want to jump to the section directly)

5 tips to get your students excited about reading

• 15 creative and digital book report lesson plans (free & ready to use!)
• The complete collection of book report lesson ideas in one assignment (your students get to choose!)

Instructions on how to use these digital book report lesson activities

Before you dive into the book reports, you have to get your students excited about reading first. In this previous post about reading, I’ve listed 10 tips that will encourage your students to read . I’ve come up with 5 more amazing tips! Here we go:

1. Use AR apps

Here are a few apps with amazing storylines and AR books.

• Wonderscope , for example, is an excellent storytelling tool. It uses augmented reality to transform ordinary places into real-time stories. Students also learn to read with the app. They ask questions to the characters in the story and listen to the characters’ answers.
• The Ghostkeeper’s journal and field guide : This book is an immersive adventure for readers aged 10 and up, offering several AR experiences to enhance the storyline. These are accessed via a mobile app “ Ghost-o-Matic ”.
• Bookful creates an engaging reading experience and brings stories and characters in books to life. The app holds the world’s largest 3D/AR library with hundreds of titles from leading publishers and brands such as: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, DK’s Encyclopedia, and children’s favorites such as Barbie, My Little Pony, Thomas & Friends, Transformers, and The Smurfs.

2. Escape lessons

Here are 3 fun ready-to-use escape lessons to spark your students’ joy of reading:

• A Halloween Murder : Let your students investigate the murder of the victim: Brat Spook. When they find the murderer, they get their “inspector” badge. Let them look for evidence in the murder scene, talk to suspects, analyze lab results, and so on!
• Finding Rudolph : Save Christmas by helping Santa find back Rudolph. Students go through different challenges, talk to eye-witnesses, and follow Rudolph through a winter maze, so Santa can deliver all the presents to the children.
• Easter Bunny Substitute : Can your students find a good Easter Bunny replacement? In the last breakout game for the classroom, the Easter Bunny is hurt, so your students need to interview the possible applicants and take tests to replace the Easter Bunny themselves. If they succeed in the challenges, they get an Easter Bunny substitute badge.

3. Storytelling

If you bring cultural elements into your lessons by telling a story, your students will be more eager to learn. Storytelling makes students want to “live the story”. And they do this by reading it. If your story is strong enough, your students will love learning and reading. They will even remember the lesson content better.

Here’s a fun & ready-to-use example: The life of William Shakespeare

4. First chapters

5. Books & sleepovers

You can even add different parts to your sleepover. For example, let students read their favorite passage in a book of choice out loud, and 1 hour before bedtime, all your students take their book and read in silence. Or how about creating cozy themed corners? Fantasy, science fiction, detectives,… When your students are reading in themed corners, they get the full experience. They can even dress up as a character in their book whilst reading.

15 Creative and digital book report lesson plans

Step 1: Get your students excited about reading. ✅ Step 2: make sure they don’t lose their interest when you’re announcing the book report assignment! ☑️ This part can be demotivating.

As the lower grade students often still get fun book report assignments, the higher grade students often get a dull worksheet where they have to describe the characters and give a summary. Change up your book report assignments with these creative, free & ready-to-use lesson ideas.

Take a look at all these ready-to-use and free digital book report activities. They’re all made with BookWidgets . You can even make exercises like these yourself in your own BookWidgets account.

Keep on reading to find out how to use these exercises in your lessons.

How did your students experience the book? Let them fill the glasses with drawings of the storyline/the book. The glasses represent the view of the students. Students can get really creative and use the toolbar at the bottom to draw and type.

You can ask your students to present their book report artworks to the other students as well. This way, your students can explain what’s on their drawing.

2. Bookworm

3. Timeline

This interactive book report asks your students to create a timeline of the story. When did what happen, chronologically? The have to add the biggest events in the story to the timeline.

4. Comic book

In this book report exercise, your students have to write a comic book based upon the book they’ve just read. When they click on the “start” icon, they can choose fitting text balloons to go with their story.

Here are three other fun websites that let students create comic books: Storyboard That , Comic Life , and Toonytool . They already give you creative templates and drawings. This is a bit easier for students. This way, they don’t have to start from scratch.

5. Character portrait

6. Randomness task

Just… add a little spice. I’ve turned the ordinary book report task, where students have to describe characters, the setting, plot, etc., into an exciting one. Your students don’t know yet what they’ll have to describe. They spin the randomness wheel and their task appears. The fun thing about this one is that all of your students will write a different book report.

7. Book cover

Here, students get to be creative and invent their own book cover (front and back) of the book they just read. Or maybe just a cover for of a piece of text you’ve read out loud. They can use the whiteboard tools: pencil, type tool, switch colors, add images, etc.

8. Character family tree

This digital mind map exercise allows your students to add boxes with text and connect them to each other. This is perfect for a book report activity focusing on the characters in their book.

9. Facebook Profile

Modern days call for modern book report lesson ideas. Image the main character having a Facebook profile. What would be on it? That’s exactly what your students have to figure out here. Create a Facebook profile about the main character.

10. Book Collage

Here, students have to add 10 pictures or images that have to do with the book. They can do so by clicking on the photo icon and adding images into their collage.

11. Mirror selfie

In this creative book report, students have to dress up like the character in their book, including holding 3 attributes that refer to the personality of the main character. They have to take a picture or mirror selfie of themselves dressed up, and add that picture to the whiteboard. You can ask them to come forward and present their images and explain why they’ve chosen those specific attributes.

The fun thing about all of these exercises is that they work on smartphones as well. So in this case, students can just open the exercise on their smartphones, take a mirror selfie with their phones and add it to the mirror in the digital whiteboard exercise.

12. Email to the author

Your students have the chance to write a friendly email or letter to the author of the book they just read. Students have to share:

• their opinion;
• the character in the book they liked most, and why;
• their favorite part of the book and why;
• questions that they have about the book.

If you have an email address of the author, ask your students to submit their works to you, the teacher, first. After having given feedback on their letters, they can make some changes and send it over to the author.

If you have the author’s postal address, it’s much more fun to write a classic letter.

13. Conversation between characters

There is something called a “texting thumb” or a “smartphone pinky”. This shows that students like to send texts. A lot of them. So why not include it in your book report lesson plan? In this digital book report, students have to invent a conversation between two characters in their book.

14. Movie vs. Book

A lot of books have a movie version too. If your students choose a book that also has a movie, it’s interesting to let your students make a comparison. With this book report exercise, you’re also sure your students actually read the book instead of just watching the movie and write a summary of the movie and not the book.

15. Emoji summary

The last exercise is also one students can relate to. Nowadays, we use emojis after almost every sentence when we’re communicating with friends. Emojis also have a strong meaning and can be used to express feelings or say something without actually saying it.

The complete collection of book report lesson ideas in one assignment

All these book report exercises are so much fun and yet they don’t take up a lot of time. Perhaps they just ask your students to only describe a certain part about the book. Cue… the planner widget.

With this type of BookWidgets activity, you can combine several lessons into one. You can let your students take matters into their own hands and choose which book report activities they’d like to finish.

It’s actually pretty easy. Your students read the instructions in the instructions widget and then start adding at least three book report activities to their planner. They finish the activities, submit them to their teacher, check off their planner, and that’s it!

Above, you can find the 15 ready-to-use book report activities. You can use these lesson examples for free. Since they’re all made with BookWidgets, I’ve listed them in this BookWidgets group . Here’s what you need to do:

• Click on this link . It will immediately bring you to the group with all of the book report activities. If you don’t have a BookWidgets account yet, you’ll have to sign up first for free .
• Duplicate all the book report activities. Click on the settings wheel , select all widgets , click on the settings wheel again, choose duplicate selected widgets . Choose where you want to save the activities in your BookWidgets account.
• Go to your saved book report lessons. You can now click on the black dropdown arrow next to the ‘Show’ button of a particular exercise and select Edit . You can make some changes to this activity (if you want). If it’s perfect for you, click on Share in the upper right corner.
• Share this link with your students. When they click on it, they can fill it out. A lot of the book report examples above have been made with BookWidgets’ Whiteboard widget, in which students can use the tool menu at the bottom to switch tools (draw, type,…), and to switch colors. When done, they can submit the book reports to you by clicking on the envelope in the upper right corner.
• As a teacher, you go to “Grades & reporting” in BookWidgets to find your students’ answers.

Of course, now that you’ve got your own BookWidgets account, you can also create book report activities or other assignments yourself!

Attention! Once your free trial runs out, you’ll only be able to use the widgets you’ve already finished/shared with students. While your BookWidgets account will still work and you’ll still get your students’ results with the free BookWidgets version, you won’t be able to duplicate widgets nor create new widgets yourself anymore.

So that’s it! I hope these lesson ideas are useful for your classroom or at least give you lots of new ideas for your book report lessons! You can even create ones yourself!

Create your first digital book report with BookWidgets

Have fun, share this with fellow teachers and keep on rocking your classroom!

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BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

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Book Report Project Ideas and Forms: Trading cards, book mobiles, and more.

May 8, 2015 by Evan-Moor | 1 Comment

Use these free printables for creative book reports from Evan-Moor’s How to Report on Books :

•   A character trading card project: This book project focuses on recalling facts about a character and creating trading cards.

• Book mobile project: This book project guides students in identifying setting/characters and problem/solution, and in creating a mobile.Tips: glue white paper to backs of construction paper for the illustrations (step #1); add a length of construction paper to increase the long strip to form a ring (step #2.)

• An exciting event pop-up: This book report project focuses on summarizing an exciting event from a fiction book and includes instructions on making a pop-up book report form.

Other engaging book report ideas include:

• Cereal box book report
• Trivia/board games
• Sandwich book report

See our Book Report Fun Pinterest board for more book report ideas such as making character puppets, comic strips, posters, story bags, puzzles, and awards.

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12 Creative Book Report Projects Your Students Will Love

Whether you’re teaching a whole-class novel, or finishing a round of independent reading or literature circles, post-reading assessments are always more engaging when they’re more than just a test or essay.

Below, you’ll discover a dozen fun book report ideas for your middle or high school ELA students, curated by a team of experienced English teachers.

Choose your favorite projects to offer to students as options on a book report project choice board.

Create a Board Game

When I gave “create a board game about the book you read” as a book report option for my students, I was pleasantly surprised at the results! Quite a few students excitedly chose this option and created some really fun-looking games centered on their books. 

This is a great project choice if you’re looking for something that students can’t create by just Googling the book.

Here are some tips and suggestions for assigning a board game book report:

• Give clear parameters and requirements to keep students on track, such as requiring game elements to represent certain literary elements of the book they read.
• Provide suggestions for game components and materials – encourage students to consider the game play and elements of their favorite board games and to use materials they already have at home to create them.
• For a whole-class novel study, consider allowing students to work in teams to create the novel-based board games, then setting aside a class period for students to play each others’ games and see who wins!

If you’re looking to save time… clear directions handouts, lots of suggestions, and a handy grading rubric for a board game post-reading assessment are all included in this resource . Take a look! 

For more independent reading response ideas, check out this post with ideas for fun post-reading projects.

Create a Journey Box

Engaging students in authentic conversations about books is a passion for Carolyn of Middle School Café .  In traditional oral book reports, students simply get up in front of the class and read a summary of the book they read.  Carolyn found this method of oral book reports painful for both her and her students.

Wanting to find a way to help her students talk about their book and keep her class engaged, Carolyn began incorporating Journey Box Book Reports.  A journey box is a shoebox (or bag) that contains artifacts from the story that help the reader share important events from the story. 

Students predetermine what events of the story are most important to share, then they create an artifact to share with the class or small group as they explain the plot.  As an example, Carolyn had a student who read The Diary of Anne Frank.   He created a small 3D tree that he displayed on the desk as he shared about how Anne looked out the window and dreamed of her former life.  It’s a small piece of the story that helps the student explain the plot point and gives the audience something visual to look at and stay engaged. 

Journey Box Book Reports have been successful for Carolyn in both her middle school and high school classrooms.  She does suggest, if using Journey Boxes in older grades, to have students share their stories in small groups.  

Create a Literary Food Truck

If there’s one thing kids love, it’s food – especially high schoolers – and with this in mind, one of Simply Ana P’s favorite ways to recap a class novel or an independent reading unit is with Literary Food Trucks. This is definitely not a new idea, but it’s one that will have you coming back for seconds 🙂 

Ana first tried this project at the end of The Odyssey , where students were able to decide which book(s) they wanted to make the focus of their trucks. The main requirement was that every single choice made had to be intentional and clearly relevant. With this in mind, students could start the planning process. 

You can make the truck’s requirements as simple or as detailed as you prefer, but Ana recommends having students plan: 

• Truck name, design, and branding colors
• Menu design and items (5 items minimum)
• Employee uniforms
• Merch 

Ana includes a writing component by having her students defend all of their selections in the form of a proposal. This is later used in their presentations, and the better (more intentional) their proposal is, the more likely they will win the class vote. This proposal can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages, depending on what writing goals you have for them, and should definitely include text evidence. 

Part of the beauty of this type of project is that it can be done digital or paper-based. Ana likes to walk her students through a Canva tutorial, where there are even menu templates that students can use so they don’t feel overwhelmed starting from scratch. Or, for more creative students, they can create their trucks on chart paper, poster board, or even 3D dioramas.  After students finish making their food trucks, it’s always fun to take a day for the in-class Food Festival, where students are invited to bring in items from their menus or simply some type of snacks. Some students get super hype about this day and even make/wear aprons or themed employee uniforms. Students are able to walk around, visiting each of their trucks, and casting their votes for Best Food, Most Relevant, and Most Detailed. Have fun and bon appetit !

Create a Mood Board

It can be hard to come up with creative post-reading assessments for your students when they’re done with a full class novel, literature circles, or a choice reading unit. In an attempt to combine 21 st century skills with literary analysis, Samantha from Samantha in Secondary decided to try something a little different. Enter: The Mood Board.

A mood board combines images to elicit a feeling from a viewer much like a writer does with words. The possibilities for using a mood board with your class are endless. Students can create a mood board for an overall book, a character, an event, a theme, a poem, etc. Then, have your students carefully curate a board that is aesthetically pleasing and considers color, space, and design in the execution. As students explain why they’ve made the choices they have, the upper-level thinking comes naturally.

Canva is an excellent tool to use to create your mood boards. Having students interact with software they may be unfamiliar with is a meaningful learning experience in and of itself. If you want to learn more about how to use mood boards in your own classroom, click here to read Samantha’s blog post about it or check out the resource she created that includes done-for-you student instructions, examples, and a rubric here .

Create a New App

How would a character’s life change if there was just the perfect app to solve their conflict??

This is the question Krista from @whimsyandrigor poses to her students as they finish a novel and begin to reflect on the character’s journey. Students begin by discussing all of the details surrounding the protagonist and what they experienced. In small groups and in whole-class discussions, students discuss the conflicts, both internal and external, and then brainstorm all of the realistic and not-so-realistic ways the character could have addressed their problems.

Once students have generated a healthy list of ideas, Krista tells them they get to become an app developer and they must create an app that would greatly benefit a character from their reading.

The requirements are:

• The app cannot already exist.
• The app can be totally unrealistic/not probable.
• The app developer must be able to explain how its features would benefit the character.
• The developer must also create an icon for the App Store.

Here is a print-and-go handout students use to get designing. 

Here are some example apps students could create: to help Will from Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down , maybe an app that predicts his future would help him decide what to do once he steps off the elevator. Or maybe Romeo from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet would have benefited from a life-detection app that would accurately determine whether or not someone was actually dead.

When students sette on the conflict they want to address and the app that would help, they write a Spill the TEA paragraph, as explained by Krista in this YouTube video .  Using this paragraph organization strategy, students will introduce their app, use evidence to explain how it is necessary for the character, and explain how the app would have benefited or changed the protagonist’s journey.

Now they get to be a graphic designer as they design the app’s icon. Students may want to peruse the actual App Store to get ideas about how an icon is designed, what elements must be present, and how to create something that is eye-catching.

If space allows, Krista encourages you to display the icons and Spill the TEA paragraphs in the hallway for other students to see the in-depth critical thinking and character analysis your students did after finishing a novel. 

Who says technology is only a distraction for our students?! This activity proves technology can help students dive deep into a text and its characters!

Write a Vignette

Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12 often focuses on character-based activities for novel studies including a character profile activity , character conversations through text messages , or the writing of a good vignette. 

Vignettes can be a great way to assess students’ literary analysis skills and understanding of the text. Students write a short piece of about 500 words that is descriptive of a particular moment in time focusing on one of the book’s characters. These moments could be placing the character in a new setting, writing about a particular moment in the story that was less developed, or even extending to a moment beyond the book’s conclusion. Lesa provides students with some mentor texts, including “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros in The House on Mango Street or “The Prisoner Van” by Charles Dickens in Sketches by Boz or even one from a novel being read in class. Review the stories for structure, language choice, sentence structure, use of figurative language, and so on. This helps to co-create the criteria for the assignment. Then students write their own vignette. Build in some peer review as an accountability piece and voila!

Create a Character Collage

It’s safe to say that most English teachers have a bin of cut-up magazines somewhere in their classrooms. While these tattered copies of People and Us Weekly have definitely seen better days, they live on in the many collage creations of our students.

Katie from Mochas and Markbooks loves to use collages as visual representations of comprehension. After reading a novel or short story, creating a character collage to show how a character has evolved from beginning to end requires students to use higher order thinking skills to analyze, synthesize and demonstrate their understanding of characterization by dividing their page in half and choosing words and images to represent the character at the start and conclusion of the story on each side.

The results will show the depth of your students’ interpretation of character as well as their ability to use critical and creative thinking skills to represent their knowledge.

Other ways to use this idea instead of showing character evolution are to show two different sides to a character, for example, who they are with different people in their lives. 

If you are looking for other ways to incorporate collage and magazines into your post-reading assessments, check out this blog post for more ideas!

Design Shoe Charms

Crocs are not Olivia ’s shoe of choice, but when she noticed her students bedazzling their plastic footwear with shoe charms, it was a learning opportunity she just couldn’t pass up. Here’s how to make it work in your classroom:

First, have your students choose a character from the book they have finished reading. Then encourage them to find quotes from the book that reveal the character’s interests, values, or personality. Once they have found their quotes (she has her students find 4), tell them to design and color shoe charms that represent those interests, values, or personality traits. This helps students with inferencing, textual evidence, and even symbolism!

When your students have finished making their shoe charms, they can either tape the charms to their shoes for a fabulous, foot-themed fashion show, or they can glue them to a picture of a Croc for quirky classroom décor. Check out this Instagram post to see the charms Olivia’s students came up with!

Create a Movie Poster

When was the last time you went to the movies? Did you notice the posters along the way? If yes then you have walked down the movie studio promotional lane. Like trailers, studios create movie posters to grab the attention of movie-goers before they even enter the theater. Yes, you may have already purchased your movie ticket, but those posters were created for the future. After you finish watching Sonic 2 , what movie will you see next? You probably already pointed to that poster on the way into the theater and said, “That looks like it is going to be good. I want to see that!”   As a post reading idea, Sharena from The Humble Bird Teacher has her students create movie posters based on the text read in class. This allows her to complete a formative assessment on what the students learned from the text. Before having her class create a movie poster, she shows them examples of posters from different genres such as drama, action, family-friendly, and comedy. Then she hands out a piece of construction paper and goes over the basic requirements. On the movie poster, the students are required to have their actors names or image (characters), the title of the movie, a visual (setting or symbol from the story), and a tagline, and a short two to three sentence summary of the movie. Once her students are finished with the assignment, she displays them outside the classroom, so the students can have their own movie studio promotional lane.  If you are looking for more after reading ideas, click here .

Try Novel Engineering

Whether you’ve been hoping to collaborate with another department, or just really want to try something new, Novel Engineering is an amazing way to get students thinking outside of the box ! Staci from Donut Lovin’ Teacher has found that Novel Engineering requires students to actively comprehend and interact with a novel and get creative about how to help improve the lives of characters! Basically, students work to create a product that will help solve a character’s problem. Here’s how it works…

Before reading : Choose a narrative text where the character faces tangible conflicts. Model and practice the design process in small ways. Try using picture books like Mucha! Muncha! Mucha! in order for students to see and practice what they’ll be doing with a text at grade-level.

While reading : Emphasize the conflicts characters face and give students time to brainstorm possible products that would help solve said problem. Make sure students record evidence from the text so they can later justify the need for the product they design.

After reading : Give students time to draft, craft, and improve their designs that will help solve a problem faced by a character. You can give students options where they draw their creation, make their creation, or even plan a digital app like this, depending on time and resources. Whatever you choose, students will be sure to be pushed to use some skills they may not always practice in an ELA classroom!

Staci has some FREE Novel Engineering Digital Planning Pages or you can read more about her experience with novel engineering on the Donut Lovin’ Teacher blog .

Create a Tik Tok Video

How many times have you passed a group of students filming a TikTok in a hallway? Have you had students ask to film in your class once they finish assignments? You are not alone. Students love TikTok and Yaddy from Yaddy’s Room has figured out how to get students using TikTok for academic purposes!

Yaddy likes to challenge students to create TikTok videos that track a character’s development, encapsulates the main theme of the story, or that exemplifies a key conflict. These easy, low stress videos are great at getting even reluctant students to participate.

To incorporate TikTok videos as a means of assessing students after a novel or story, try the following steps:

1)      Get students to brainstorm which part of the novel they would like to use for their video.

2)      Ask students to start combing TikTok for an audio that fits with the portion of the text they chose

3)      Ask them to plan out how they will realize their vision

4)      Rehearse and film!

5)      Bonus: ask students to upload their videos to Google Drive and share the link with you so that you can make QR codes to post around your classroom!

Want to get started using TikTok videos for book reports? Check on Yaddy’s free planning sheet here !

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How to Write a Book Report (+ a FREE Step-by-Step Printable for Your Kids)

Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. You can read my full affiliate disclosure  HERE .

We read a lot of books (homeschool moms, can you relate?). Right now, we are reading the Harry Potter series together as a family, and as my kids have grown, it’s been fun to see them become more interested in reading for fun. As part of our homeschooling this year, we have been learning how to write a book report, which has been a great way for me to evaluate how well my kids are understanding what they read.

My son is in 3rd grade this year and recently had a book report as one of his assignments in English. While there were a couple of steps given to him, he struggled with the process and actually putting the book report together. So I decided to create a step-by-step book report printable to help him learn how to write a book report.

I hope these printables will be a big help to your kids, too! They will walk your kids through the steps of organizing their book report, writing a draft, revising and proofreading, and writing a final copy. Plus, I’ve included a rubric for you that you can use to give helpful feedback if you’d like.

Not only will this template help your kids learn how to write a book report, but they will be fun to add to your homeschool portfolio and look back on in the future.

Why Should You Use Book Reports in Your Homeschool?

Writing a book report or using an organizer to respond to what they have read is a great way to help your kids with their reading comprehension . It’s also fun to see their unique writing styles come to light and learn what they think about the books they have read.

Plus, I have found that incorporating book reports into our homeschool is a fun way for my kids to practice their writing skills because they get to write about a book they have loved. My son doesn’t necessarily love to write, so making the writing topic interesting is really important in our current season.

They also will obviously get to practice their handwriting, and you can include an oral presentation component if you’d like to as well!

Teach Your Kids How to Write a Book Report

A book report is just what it sounds like – a detailed report your kids will write after reading a book. In the report, they will give a summary of the book and share some of the important plot points, as well as share their opinion of the book.

When my son first attempted to do his book report from his English assignment, he struggled with what to write, and how to pull it all together in one cohesive report. I wanted to really lay out the process for him, to break it down into manageable steps .

If your child is new to writing book reports, I would recommend doing the first one together . Choose a book you have been reading aloud as a family (or a new one to read together), so you can then walk through the template and process with them.

If you are reading the book together, model how to take notes of important characters and plot points as you read . These notes will be great to reference later when writing the report.

Once you are finished reading and taking notes, grab your book report template and work through the process of putting together the report ( this printable makes it so easy! ).

My Book Report Template for Kids

There are many options out there with ideas for creative and different styles of book reports (I love these ideas from We Are Teachers), but if you are looking for a simple way for your elementary-aged student to organize their thoughts into a basic book report, these are for you.

The pages include:

• 2 Book Report Planning Pages where your kids will organize their thoughts about the main characters, important plot events, and what they learned and liked about the book. They will also have space to draw out their favorite scene from the story.
• First Draft Pages where they will write a rough draft. These sheets also include checklists that will walk them through the revision and proofreading process.
• My Book Report Pages where your kids will write their final copy of their book report.
• Book Report Rubric which is a sheet you can use to offer comments and suggestions on their work, if desired.
• Reading Log page that your kids can use to keep track of what they are reading (great for your homeschool record keeping as well!)

Using a template like this will help your kids organize their thoughts in the planning pages, so it’s easier for them to put the final review together. They will see all of the important parts that need to go into their book reports, which will help them learn how to write effective reviews and recommendations.

Printable Book Report Template

I’d love for this book report template to be a blessing to you and your family as well! Grab it below when you join my subscriber list – I love to send out freebies, homeschool tips, inspiration and more as I go through my own homeschooling journey.

Grab your FREE Book Report Printables!

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And if you love all of those, take a peek at my shop where I share some other helpful printables I’ve created for your home and homeschool.

Drop a comment below and let me know – what are some of your kid’s favorite books they have read, or what are they reading now?

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How We Do Book Reports- 4th Grade Literature

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What do you do for literature? Do you do book reports for 4th grade?

This year, after discussing with our teacher, we decided to take a different approach to the traditional comprehension questions by focusing on book reports instead.

Marc doesn’t like writing, and writing composition is difficult for him. So, book reports aren’t one of his strong points yet, even though he is a capable reader and his comprehension is great.

Pin this image to read the article later. 📌

We chose these four books for literature in 4th grade:

• Around the World in 80 Days
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• Charlotte’s Web
• Lincoln and His Boys

I was a bit confused as to what a book report entailed until our teacher sent us some samples. I managed to create a “process” that works for us, which enabled me to “hold his hand” and make sure he gets the most out of it. Here’s how we do it:

Step 1: Read the book

The first step is obviously reading the book. I planned the year so he would read a long and a shorter book per semester. We started with Around the World in 80 Days because it was the longest. It was full of descriptions in Jules Verne’s style that tired Marc after a while, but he managed to finish it and, surprisingly, he liked it so much that he listened to the audiobook versions of all Jules Verne’s famous books!

To avoid reading fatigue, I split the book into bits, asking him to read 3 chapters per week. This worked great because he didn’t need to do much at once. I did that for all the books, but if he wants to read them faster, I am okay with that, too. He finished Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH in a week.

Ideally, I would have asked him questions after every chapter or given him small writing assignments every few chapters. However, because this was the first year we were doing it and I didn’t want it to be overwhelming (or push him into hating reading), I just let him read as he pleased.

Step 2: Listen to the audiobook and see the movie (if available)

I got this idea because I stumbled upon the Audible Audiobooks for some of the books we needed to read. We played them at night, as bedtime stories.

They are so worth it! Here’s a list of the ones available:

• Around the World in 80 Days – on Audible. If you want to listen to this book, buy this version! It was a delight to listen to, with all the characters coming to life.
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – on Audible. Another beautiful audiobook, unabridged.
• Charlotte’s Web – on Audible. You have to get this version narrated by Meryl Streep, we LOVED IT!

I also rented the movies I could find from Amazon Prime. You can either rent them, buy them, or buy the DVDs depending on where you are in the world.

• Around the World in 80 Days – you can buy the DVDs from Amazon or, if you have a USA card, you can rent the movie.
• The Secret of NIMH – Amazon DVD or Prime.
• Charlotte’s Web – DVDs or Prime video from Amazon

By listening to the audiobooks and watching the movies after reading the original book, we could discuss the differences. It was a great exercise for Marc, and I used this opportunity to tell him never to judge a book by its movie.

Step 3: Make an outline of your book reports

The third step actually meant that I would get more involved. We usually start with diagramming and writing down the main idea and supporting details.

I used some teacher guides to help me, and Marc either filled them in or I just asked some questions to see his comprehension. The best ones for our books were:

• Around the World in 80 Days Guide – FREE pdf
• Lincoln and His Boys Guide – FREE pdf
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Guide – Amazon (I got the Kindle version)
• Charlotte’s Web Guide – from Amazon

Then, I take a piece of paper and start asking him step-by-step questions. As he answers them, I write them down for him. After we are done, we read it together, make tweaks, and bring it to a final form.

This is the step where I help him the most, and I hope that in time he will get used to creating his own outlines and first drafts.

Step 4: Book reports – final form

We are actually going to submit two final forms: one is handwritten by Marc, and one is typed.

I created our 4th grade book report template in a PDF form for anyone who wants to download it below:

The second one is a typed one. This one takes forever to type because Marc is still not used to all the keys, but I saw it as a good opportunity to use the computer in a practical way and let him learn things freely, as we go.

He is learning how to research information about the author online, how to extract it and reword it, how to look for and save images, how to edit a text on a computer, how to print, and more.

I also created a full guide for elementary-aged kids to show them book reports can be fun where I talked about the importance of book reports and provide them with more guides (for grades 2-5). If you want, you can check it out below:

Step 5: Grading and presentation

I am required to use a rubric for grading his reports, and our teacher from Bridgeway Academy was kind enough to send me one. We just love how helpful she is!

At this point, I am checking for comprehension, ability to remember details, and ability to detect the main idea. I am less concerned about him being able to put it all together because I realize it’s a long process that we will continue over the years, and he will get better at it by seeing it modeled.

I would have liked to make him present the whole project to us, but I felt like it would be too much. Maybe from next year, we will start working on this aspect as well.

How do you approach book reports in your home? Let me know in the comments.

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I'm a homeschool mom and photographer that loves reading, traveling and writing about our homeschool adventures.

I live in Europe with my 13-year-old son who is a handful to raise and educate. He is gifted in STEM and my opposite in every way. So life is never boring for us.

I've been homeschooling for 7 years ⭐️ now and I feel I still have so much to explore and learn but at the same time, I've gathered a lot of information during these years.

I want to share my ideas and discoveries with you and I love talking to other homeschool parents and learning from them.

"We rise by lifting others" is my favorite motto. That's why I love sharing and helping whenever I can. So don't shy away from dropping me a line. I always love hearing from you 🤗

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How to Write a Book Report (+ Book Report Example) 

Download for free, specific tips for writing effective book reports..

Write better book reports using the tips, examples, and outlines presented here. This resource covers three types of effective book reports: plot summaries, character analyses, and theme analyses. It also features a specific book report example for students.

How to write a book report (+ book report example) 

Whether you're a student looking to show your comprehension of a novel, or simply a book lover wanting to share your thoughts, writing a book report can be a rewarding experience. This guide, filled with tips, tricks, and a book report example, will help you craft a report that effectively communicates your understanding and analysis of your chosen book.

Looking for a printable resource on book reports? See our Printable Book Report Outlines and Examples

What is a book report? 

Book reports can take on many different forms. Writing a book review helps you practice giving your opinion about different aspects of a book, such as an author's use of description or dialogue.

You can write book reports of any type, from fiction to non-fiction research papers, or essay writing; however, there are a few basic elements you need to include to convey why the book you read was interesting when writing a good book report.

Types of book reports 

Three types of effective book reports are plot summaries, character analyses, and theme analyses. Each type focuses on different aspects of the book and requires a unique approach. These three types of book reports will help you demonstrate your understanding of the book in different ways.

Plot summary

When you are writing a plot summary for your book report you don't want to simply summarize the story. You need to explain what your opinion is of the story and why you feel the plot is so compelling, unrealistic, or sappy. It is the way you analyze the plot that will make this a good report. Make sure that you use plenty of examples from the book to support your opinions.

Try starting the report with a sentence similar to the following:

The plot of I Married a Sea Captain , by Monica Hubbard, is interesting because it gives the reader a realistic sense of what it was like to be the wife of a whaling captain and live on Nantucket during the 19th century.

Character analysis

If you choose to write a character analysis, you can explore the physical and personality traits of different characters and the way their actions affect the plot of the book.

• Explore the way a character dresses and what impression that leaves with the reader.
• What positive characteristics does the character possess?
• Does the character have a "fatal flaw" that gets him/her into trouble frequently?
• Try taking examples of dialogue and analyzing the way a character speaks. Discuss the words he/she chooses and the way his/her words affect other characters.
• Finally, tie all of your observations together by explaining the way the characters make the plot move forward.

In the novel Charlotte's Web , by E. B. White, Templeton the rat may seem like an unnecessary character but his constant quest for food moves the plot forward in many ways.

Theme analyses

Exploring the themes (or big ideas that run throughout the story) in a book can be a great way to write a book report because picking a theme that you care about can make the report easier to write. Try bringing some of your thoughts and feelings as a reader into the report as a way to show the power of a theme. Before you discuss your own thoughts, however, be sure to establish what the theme is and how it appears in the story.

• Explain  exactly  what theme you will be exploring in your book report.
• Use as many examples and quotations from the book as possible to prove that the theme is important to the story.
• Make sure that you talk about each example or quotation you've included. Make a direct connection between the theme and the example from the book.
• After you have established the theme and thoroughly examined the way it affects the book, include a few sentences about the impact the theme had upon you and why it made the book more or less enjoyable to read.

In the novel Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry , by Mildred Taylor, the theme of racial prejudice is a major catalyst in the story.

How to write a book report

1. Thoroughly read the book

Immerse yourself in the book, taking the time to read it in its entirety. As you read, jot down notes on important aspects such as key points, themes, and character developments.

2. Identify the main elements of the book

Scrutinize the book's primary components, including its main themes, characters, setting, and plot. These elements will form the basis of your report.

3. Formulate a thesis statement

Compose a thesis statement that encapsulates your personal perspective about the book. This should be a concise statement that will guide your analysis and give your report a clear focus.

4. Create a detailed outline

Plan the structure of your book report. This outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs each focusing on a different aspect of the book, and a conclusion.

5. Craft the introduction

The introduction should provide basic information such as the book's title and author, and present your thesis statement. It should engage the reader and make them interested in your analysis.

6. Write the body of the report

In the body of your report, discuss in detail the book's main elements that you identified in step 3. Use specific examples from the text to support your analysis and to prove your thesis statement.

7. Write a strong conclusion

Your conclusion should summarize your analysis, reaffirm your thesis, and provide a closing thought or reflection on the overall book.

8. Review and edit your report

After writing, take the time to revise your report for clarity and coherence. Check for and correct any grammar or spelling errors. Ensure that your report clearly communicates your understanding and analysis of the book.

9. Include citations

If you have used direct quotes or specific ideas from the book, make sure to include proper citations . This is crucial in academic writing and helps avoid plagiarism.

10. Proofread

Finally, proofread your work. Look for any missed errors and make sure that the report is the best it can be before submitting it.

Book report example 

Below is a book report example on the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

In  To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee presents a thoughtful exploration of racial prejudice, morality, and the loss of innocence. Set in the small, fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression, the book centers around the Finch family - young Scout, her older brother Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus. Scout's character provides a fresh perspective as she narrates her experiences and observations of the unjust racial prejudice in her town. Her honesty and curiosity, coupled with her father's teachings, allow her to grow from innocence to a more profound understanding of her society's inequalities. The plot revolves around Atticus Finch, a respected lawyer, defending a black man, Tom Robinson, unjustly accused of raping a white woman. As the trial progresses, it becomes clear that Robinson is innocent, and the accusation was a product of racial prejudice. Despite compelling evidence in Robinson's favor, he is convicted, symbolizing the power of bias over truth. The theme of racial prejudice is a significant part of the book. Lee uses the trial and its unjust outcome to critique the racial prejudice prevalent in society. For example, despite Atticus's solid defense, the jury's racial bias leads them to find Robinson guilty. This instance highlights how deeply ingrained prejudice can subvert justice. The book also explores the theme of the loss of innocence. Scout and Jem's experiences with prejudice and injustice lead to their loss of innocence and a better understanding of the world's complexities. For example, Scout's realization of her town's unfair treatment of Robinson demonstrates her loss of innocence and her understanding of societal biases. Overall,  To Kill a Mockingbird  is a compelling exploration of the harsh realities of prejudice and the loss of innocence. Harper Lee's intricate characters and vivid storytelling have made this book a classic.

The above is an excellent book report example for several reasons. First, it provides a clear, concise summary of the plot without giving away the entire story. Second, it analyzes the main characters, their roles, and their impacts on the story. Third, it discusses the major themes of the book - racial prejudice and loss of innocence - and supports these themes with evidence from the text. Finally, it presents a personal perspective on the book's impact and overall message, demonstrating a deep understanding of the book's significance.

Book report checklist

Always  include the following elements in any book report:

• The type of book report you are writing
• The book's title
• The author of the book
• The time when the story takes place
• The location where the story takes place
• The names and a  brief  description of each of the characters you will be discussing
• Many quotations and examples from the book to support your opinions
• A thesis statement
• The point of view of the narrator
• Summary of the book
• The main points or themes discussed in the work of fiction or non-fiction
• The first paragraph (introductory paragraph), body paragraphs, and final paragraph
• The writing styles of the author
• A critical analysis of the fiction or non-fiction book

Don't forget! 

No matter what type of book report you decide to write, ensure it includes basic information about the main characters, and make sure that your writing is clear and expressive so that it’s easy for audiences in middle school, high school, college-level, or any grade level to understand. Also, include examples from the book to support your opinions. Afterward, conduct thorough proofreading to complete the writing process. Book reports may seem disconnected from your other schoolwork, but they help you learn to summarize, compare and contrast, make predictions and connections, and consider different perspectives & skills you'll need throughout your life.

Looking for more writing resources? You can find them in our creative writing center .

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How to make a lap book - a free lapbook template.

Lap Books are everywhere!  If you like hands-on projects, interactive notebooks, or creative ways to engage your students in learning, then you may want to give lapbooks a try. Today’s post is on  how to make a lap book with just a few simple items!  Plus, download a  FREE Book Report Lapbook Template  for teachers and homeschooling families for use with your students!

When I first heard of lapbooks and saw some samples that other teachers had made, I was afraid it would be too time-consuming and project-heavy without a focus on real learning.  I was wrong .  (Don’t tell my husband I said that…he may write it down for future reference!) 😉

Lap books do not have to be huge, multi-paged contraptions. They are actually quite  simple  to make. Here is how to create a basic lap book, using  ONE file folder . 😀 I’m a simple gal at heart!

Materials needed:

• 1 file folder
• 1 sheet colored construction paper (or cardstock)
• colored pencils, crayons, extra paper

Place the file folder open flat on the table.

STEP  2:

Fold each side of the folder inward toward the center fold. Crease strongly on the 2 new folds. (It should look like a French Door.)

Cut a piece of heavy construction paper or card stock and glue it to the inside back wall of the lap book. This not only reinforces and strengthens the back wall, but it also adds some color to the project.

Add interactive notes, titles, research, and any desired features to your lap book.

That’s all there is to it! Simple, easy, and fun. There are so many different projects for which you can use lapbooks – book reports, famous person project, history report, all about me, math display, creative writing project, and so much more!

Interested in trying a lapbook with a FREE printable template?   Click HERE to download the FREE Book Report Lapbook !  It includes photo examples, easy-to-follow directions, and ALL the printable templates you need to complete the project with your kiddos. Here are some photos of the completed project:

Looking for other book report ideas? Check out this blog post on Cereal Box Book Reports . They are a hit with students and a nice change of pace from the traditional book report. Also take a look at 10 Book Report Ideas that Kids will Love . I think you’ll like it!

OTHER LAP BOOK PROJECTS TO TRY:

Save This Lapbook Tutorial for Later

Pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board  so you can come back for this tutorial on how to make a lapbook!

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Hi, I’m Shelly! Thank you for being here. I love helping third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers with fun and engaging activities that require no to little prep! Let me help you by taking some of the stress and work off your plate.

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Home » Blog Posts » Book Ideas » The 10 Best Novel Studies for 4th & 5th Graders

The 10 Best Novel Studies for 4th & 5th Graders

Reading novels is a wonderful way to build a love for reading! Here you will find the 10 best novel studies for 4th and 5th graders. These 4th and 5th-grade chapter books keep students engaged because they are interesting and fun to read.

You will also find a FREE printable list of each chapter book with their reading level, Lexile level, and other good-to-know information at the end of the post.

*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which do not cost any extra for you. Please see the  full disclosure here. *

This post is one part of a series on helpful content geared toward literacy instruction in upper elementary classrooms. Here are the other posts to checkout once you’ve read all of this post:

• Why You Need to Have Literacy Centers in Your Upper Elementary Classroom
• 4th Grade Literacy Centers
• Teaching Strategies for Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Classrooms
• Ideas to Help Older Students Who Struggle with Spelling*
• Read Alouds for Upper Elementary Students*
• How to Use Choice Boards to Run Literacy Centers*
• 8 Clever Ways to Get Students Writing More*

Posts with * beside their titles have free downloads available!

Why I Recommend Novel Studies for 4th & 5th Graders

I looked across my classroom and couldn’t believe my eyes.

Other than the sound of one selected student reading out loud, you could’ve heard a pin drop.

Every single one of my 4th-graders were glued to their books. Some of them were crying. A few of them had red faces or dropped jaws.

We were engaged in our novel study–a chapter book by Christopher Paul Curtis–titled Bud, Not Buddy. We were only a few chapters in as students listened to the part where Buddy, an orphaned 10-year-old black boy, was being abused by his foster parents.

I use a special bell in my class to get my students’ attention and signal that reading time is over. My hand reluctantly rang the bell and all across the room I heard:

“Noooooo, please let’s have more time!”

“Ms. Marshall, is this book based on a true story? Is there a movie to go with it?”

“Can I take this copy home to read for my reading homework tonight?”

As the loud groans and constant question filled the air, I knew we had ourselves a new favorite chapter book!

This is why I recommend these novel studies for 4th and 5th graders: they keep students engaged and in love with reading !

What Are The Best Chapter Books for 4th and 5th Graders?

When selecting novel studies for 4th and 5th-grade students, I consider the following criteria:

• Word or Chapter Count (to decide how long it may take us to complete the novel)
• Reading and Lexile Level
• Whether it’s an Accelerated Reader book or not (our school is an AR school and I heavily push it in my class)
• Gender/ Race /Life-Situation of the main character (I want books that appeal to all my students)

Once I check out these factors, then I read it myself before introducing it to my students.

Each of the 10 books in this list has gone through this process, and have been read several times with my students.

These 10 novel studies for 4th and 5th-graders also have some of the highest ratings on goodreads.com, Amazon book reviews, and other sites. Many of them have even won numerous awards in children’s literature.

Now that you know my process for chapter book selection, let’s dive right into this juicy book list!

First Best Novel Study: Holes by Louis Sachar

I was honestly nervous about introducing this book to my students at first. I knew it would make a great novel study for teaching theme and sequence. But I didn’t know if my students would be able to understand some of the experiences of the main character Stanley Yelnats.

Boy was I wrong!

My students ADORE this book–every single year. Plus, it has been made into a movie. My kids really enjoy comparing and contrasting the novel and the movie once we finish both.

The movie for Holes is FREE for Prime members. You can get 30 Days FREE with my code HERE .  #AmazonAd

Second Best Novel Study: From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

This chapter books starts off a little slow (as far as “kid” action is concerned). Once you get a few chapters in, the plot hooks you into the mystery.

If you have students who love solving riddles or reading mystery chapter books, they will love this novel study.

Each year that I’ve read it with my students, I catch a new clue or detail that I didn’t see before. It’s great for teaching plot!

Third Best Novel Study: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

I could write an entire blog post on nothing but Christopher Paul Curtis books! Especially Bud, Not Buddy!

Every year that I introduced this chapter book as a part of our class novel studies, my students display emotions all across the board.

When students’ emotions are activated by what they’re reading, then you know that they are truly engaging with and understanding the text.

I love using this chapter book to teach characterization because the characters in this book are so real and multi-faceted. It is hands-down one of the best novel studies for 4th and 5th-grade students of all reading levels!

Related Posts for Reading Instruction:

• Teaching Strategies for Reading Comprehension for Upper Elementary Students
• Literacy Centers for 4th Grade
• The Best Read-Alouds for Upper Elementary Classrooms
• Using Life Lesson’s to Teach Children’s Literature

Fourth Novel Study: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

This book was recommended by one of my students after she purchased it from our school book fair.

This novel study is wonderful for teaching empathy and kindness in the classroom. I even incorporated it into our Golden Rule classroom practice. 

I also love how the main character is a 5th-grade boy who experiences struggles with fitting in. This is great for helping students feel a sense of connection to the novel.

Being able to relate what they are reading to real-life helps students stay engaged with reading longer texts.

You Might Want to Check Out: How to Help Your Boys Fall in Love with Reading

Fifth Novel Study: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Having a dog as the main character makes teaching personification and other figurative language elements a breeze!

My students (and I) absolutely love this novel. The reading level is 3.9 (as you will see in the FREE printable below),  so I often use this as our introductory novel study at the beginning of the school year.

Which works great because I need to teach them the procedures for our novel studies, and they need to ease back into reading deeply after being out all summer.

The first-person narrative of the book makes both of those goals super easy.

Sixth Novel Study: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

This classic chapter book provides rich details and descriptions that are great for teaching imagery.

Students enjoy visualizing the main character’s adventures through the wilderness.

One of my favorite things about this chapter book for 4th and 5th graders is that the main character keeps a journal of his adventures.

So I encourage my students to keep a journal while we read the novel. They are more motivated to write about their daily and weekly lives to compare with the journal entries of the character.

Anything I can do to combine reading and writing practice is a bonus in my book!

Seventh Novel Study: The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

I told you that I love this author right?

All of my students who read Bud, Not Buddy as a 4th-grader can’t wait to read this chapter book as a 5th-grader.

The historical fiction setting gives vivid details about life during the 60’s for African-Americans, from the perspective of a 10-year-old boy.

This author has an amazing way of detailing uncomfortable topics in a kid-friendly way that’s accurate, but also full of humor. My students always give rave reviews about this book.

Eight Novel Study: One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Ivan, a silverback gorilla, steals your heart as the narrator and main character of this amazing read-aloud for 4th and 5th-graders.

He is caged, and his experiences help you see life from an animal’s perspective in a whole new way.

Be sure to check out these reviews on this book from other readers.

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Ninth Novel Study: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Initially, when my students looked at the cover, they whined about reading it. They assumed that it would be “boring” based on the cover illustration.

But this novel is far from boring.

It is one of the best books for novel studies with 4th and 5th graders because it teaches so many essential lessons. I especially like to emphasize having a growth-mindset through the main character of this book.

Esperanza is a wealthy Hispanic girl whose life is turned upside down due to tragedy in her family; her father is unexpectedly murdered. She and her mother are forced to flee their country and become migrant workers in California.

I use this novel study with current events to help students better understand immigration issues in our country.

Plus, building a culturally responsive classroom ranks HIGH on my list as a teacher! One of the ways to do that is by showcasing diversity through book selections.

This novel helps to achieve that goal!

Tenth Novel Study: Mr. Popper’s Penguins by  Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

Besides the very funny book-based movie starring Jim Carrey, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is hilarious!

I definitely think it is the most fun book for a novel study.

Even though it is far from being realistic fiction, my older kiddos enjoyed the over-the-top scenes of Mr. Popper taking care of his penguins.

Before teaching 4th grade, I taught 2nd grade for four years and I read Mr. Popper’s Penguins with my 2nd graders.

Here’s why I recommend it in this list of novel studies for 4th and 5th graders:

• My 2nd graders could NOT read this book independently. The word selection and meaning were too complex.
• 4th and 5th graders CAN read and understand the content of this book independently.
• This novel has many high-frequency words and vocabulary words that are recommended for older students.

Bonus Book– Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen

This book is a new edition to my list of novel studies for 4th and 5th graders, because I just recently read it at home with my son who is now in 5th grade.

Even though it’s new for us, I highly recommend it as a novel study in the classroom.

My son Caleb could not put it down! He actually finished it in four days. We both enjoyed the deep plot twists and unexpected surprises throughout the story.

My only caution is that it contains content about magic . If your school doesn’t allow books like Harry Potter, then this book probably wouldn’t qualify either. You can check it out here to see for yourself.

Reading and Lexile Levels of 4th & 5th-Grade Chapter Books

For many teachers, novels must be chosen based on their Lexile and reading level. So I created a chart that lists all the information for each chapter book featured in this post.

You can access that free list by entering your email below. Please be aware that many school servers automatically block outside senders. You may have a better chance of grabbing this guide with a personal email address.

22 Responses

With remote learning being the optimal choice I am trying to set up a homeschool curriculum to make sure my child will not miss out on what they would normally get in the classroom. I am not sure how the material will be presented 2020 – 2021 but if it is anything like last year I will be responsible for teaching and the teachers will provide sheets and websites. When doing a novel study do the students read on their own and come prepared to discuss it in class or is it done as a read aloud?

Any feedback is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Erika, Novel studies can be done both ways depending on your kids’ reading level. If your child is motivated to do the reading own his/her own, then you will focus on reading comprehension and activities around what has been read. If this approach doesn’t work for your kid, then set up times to read aloud together. While you read together, pause and ask questions to gauge his/her understanding. Then at the end of your read aloud time together, give him/her an activity related to that chapter OR give a quiz to see what they learned from that reading. Hope this makes sense! Thanks for all you do to help your kids with reading at home. 🙂

I appreciate your list and would love to look at your additional information on each novel. Thank you for sharing!

I was to order the novel for my 10yr old son how can I order please n from where

Hi Daisy, You can order any of these novels using the Amazon links I provided in the post. These are affiliate links that pay a small commission to this site, but they do not cost you anything. I also emailed you more info about books for your son. Enjoy 🙂

Thank you for your novel study suggestions would love to see yourchart that lists all the information about each chapter book.

Thank you in advance

Sure Cara, When you enter your email, you should receive the book list. If you have trouble with it, email me directly: [email protected] Thanks!

Hello, lots of great information. Do you use a basal reading program along with your novel studies?

Hi Cheryl, I used both. Our school requires the basal reading program. I use it to teach specific reading skills.

Then we extend the practice of those reading skills with our class novel studies. -Tanya

Not a bad list- but I’m very shocked by Mr. Popper’s Penguins being on the list. I read that aloud to my 2nd grade class – who followed the story with ease. I would see Mr. Popper’s Penguins as a 2nd/3rd grade novel- not 4th/5th – especially as far as content goes.

Hi Elissa, I also read Mr. Popper’s once when I taught 2nd grade, but–just like you–I also had to read it out loud to them; they were not able to read it on their own fluently with solid comprehension. This novel is great as independent reading with older students, so that they can complete it without the teacher reading it to them. 🙂

Tanya- I teach 3rd, 4th , and 5th grade ELA at a French immersion school. I have a wonderful job and I love the kids. I have a dilemma this year and would love your feedback. I need to teach a whole group novel to guide them through the novel study process and help set up the rest of the year, but then I would like to transition into self selected novel groups. I have some amazing readers as well as some lower readers. I love teaching in small groups and using literacy centers.

My question for you is if you have taught both whole group and small group…and how did you set up your novel selection for the kids if you taught in small groups (all different novels).

Thanks so much! Erin

Erin, I did one novel as a whole class assignment each grading period. But I also had each student complete a self-selected novel study each month with my monthly book reports. Each student had to choose books from a certain genre each month, but they could pick any book within that genre. Then they would complete a different book report project for their book each month. I hope this gives you some ideas of how I did whole class and self-selected novels. Thanks for your question! 🙂

Thanks for the novel study ideas and information on each book.

THANK YOU! I currently teach 4th grade and would love to implement novel studies with my students. I bought a resource for James and the Giant Peach, but couldn’t afford a class set and no one in my school had copies 🙁 I plan on buying a few copies of books each month. I thought about Donor’s Choose as well. Again, thank you for the recommendations and synopsises!

Angela, James and the Giant Peach is a great book choice! I hate it that you couldn’t find a class set. I will do more research on how teachers can get class sets of books for great prices! 🙂 Thanks Angela

Thank you Tanya for this detailed list of grade appropriate novels! I’ve also used Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH with success. Happy reading!

Cathy, This sounds like a really interesting book! I will check it out. Thanks for suggesting it. 🙂

What a great reading list! Thanks for sharing. I especially love that you included a synopsis and why the book is appropriate for 4th/5th grade. Very valuable. I was thinking of reading Fish in a Tree as a novel study. Have you read it?

Becky, Yay! I am so happy this reading list with the synopsis is helpful for you. If you didn’t get a chance to grab the free list with more info on each book, be sure to sign up for that freebie. I haven’t read Fish in a Tree, but I will certainly check it out! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

This has been very helpful as it is my first year teaching 5th grade reading. Thank you!

Maria! Congrats on your first year teaching 5th! I’m glad this list has been helpful for you. Thanks for sharing.

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Book Reports Lesson Plan: Self and Peer Evaluation

Submitted by: angela watson.

In this lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades K-12, students use BrainPOP and/or BrainPOP Jr. resources to identify the elements of a comprehensive book report. Students then create a book report and present it to the class. They will also use a class-generated set of criteria to self-assess and evaluate the book reports of peers.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:.

• Identify the elements of a comprehensive book report.
• Create a book report and present it to the class.
• Use a class-generated set of criteria to self-assess and evaluate the book reports of peers.
• Computer and projector to watch BrainPOP as a class
• Printed class set of BrainPOP Worksheet
• Printed class set of student-generated book report criteria for scoring and assessment

Vocabulary:

Preparation:, lesson procedure:.

• Brainstorm what students know about formal book reports. What is their purpose? Guide children to understand that book reports are a chance to share stories and information you enjoy, and help other people discover books they might love, as well.
• What do students think makes a compelling report on a book? If students do not have prior experiences with reports, talk about the information they would typically share when recommending a good book to a friend. Share real-world examples of book reports in the form of online book reviews and blog posts, or even clips from the book reports given on the former show Reading Rainbow . Encourage students who do have background knowledge and experience to think of outstanding presentations they've seen and talk about what made them interesting. Record their responses.
• Show either the BrainPOP Jr. or BrainPOP Book Report movie (depending on your students' ability levels.)
• Ask students to consider what they learned from the movie and revisit their original list of book report criteria. You may want to include criteria for being an attentive audience member during others' reports and discuss specifically what that looks like. Students who have more experience with book reports may want to talk about original and creative book report ideas; use the "In Practice" Related Reading page as a springboard for discussion.
• Tell students that they will have the opportunity to create and present a report on the book of their choosing. Explain any deadlines or special instructions you have for the assignment. You may wish to type the class' list of book report components and provide each student with a copy. The list might also include a grading scale that explains how many points each component is worth.
• Provide very young students and/or those who are emerging English readers/writers with the BrainPOP Jr. activity page as a guide for their reports. More advanced students may use the BrainPOP Worksheet to help them organize their thoughts and ideas prior to writing a formal report.
• Check in with students regularly as they read their books and form their reports. Keep the class list of components displayed for student reference. You can use various BrainPOP resources to reinforce expectations and keep students motivated and excited about sharing their reports.
• When students are ready to present their reports, review the criteria for book reports as well as audience participation. Have students assess themselves as well as their classmates through informal class discussion and/or by writing down feedback on photocopies of the report criteria that students generated.
• Display the reports (and, if possible, a copy of the books students read) in your class library to encourage students to read the books their peers recommended. You could also take a digital photo of each child holding his/her report and book and display it online or in the class library as a reminder of each book title and the person who reported on it.

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