Book Reports

Grade 7: B. McAuley
During the free-reading period of each day you
will be required to read books or prepare book
reports on books that you have read. During the
year, you must prepare at least 5 book reports to
be presented in at least 5 different ways. You
must do at least one report from each of sections
A to E. Extra credit will be given for extra
reports. Below are suggested ways to report.
SECTION A: WRITING
1. Write a diary as the main
character would write one to
explain the events of the story.

12. Compose a telegram, trying to tell about the

book in 15 words. Then expand it to a hundred
word overnight telegram.
13. Write a letter recommending the book to a
friend.
14. Keep a journal as you read the book where
you record your reactions, thoughts and feelings.
Read this to the class when you are finished.
15. Rewrite an incident in the book, simplifying
the words so a younger grade can understand.

2. Write a letter to your books

author telling your feelings about the story. Mail
it to the publishing company after your teacher
has checked it.
3. If you were bored or disappointed by the
book, write a paragraph telling why.

16. Write Chapter Titles for a book that has

chapters but no titles.
17. Summarize a book by writing it in outline
form.
18. Write at least eight different titles for a book.
Explain why each would make a good title. Be
sure to tell what your favorite choice is.

4. Write a description of one of the main

characters. Draw a picture to go with it.
19. Write one page on this
topic: Why (a specific
person) should not read this
book.

5. Write a feature news

article (with a headline)
that tells your story as it
might be found on the
front page of a newspaper
in the town where the
story took place.

20. Write one page on this

topic: Why (a specific
person) should read this
book.

6. Write a letter to a character in your book,

asking a question or making a protest or
suggestion.
7. Write a sequel to a book you have just
finished.
8. Write the plot briefly but completely. It takes
practice to do this in one paragraph.
9. Write an obituary, as it would appear in the
local newspaper, for a character in your book
that died.
10. Write a publishers blurb to sell the book.
11. Write a short account of the same story plot,
but use a different setting (time and place).

21. Write a book review for a newspaper.

22. Keep a journal as you read a book. After each
chapter, make a prediction about what you think
may happen later in the book. After you have
read the entire book, go back to see if your
predictions were correct.
23. Think about who the narrator is. Then write
one scene from the point of view of another
character and explain the switch.
24. Write a biography of a
character in your book. Use
details from the book as the
basis for your writing.

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Book Reports
Grade 7: B. McAuley
25. Pretend you are an advice columnist in a
newspaper or magazine. Write a question that a
character in your book might have. Then write an
appropriate response.
26. Write a letter from a character in your book
to the reader explaining his or her actions in the
story.
27. Create Who Am I? riddles from your book
by making 5 or 6 statements about one or more
characters from your book.
After other students have
guessed at the answer to
your riddle, use your
statements to help explain
what the book is about.
28.. Create What Am I? riddles from your
book by making 5 or 6 statements about one or
more objects from your book.
After other students have
guessed at the answer to your
riddle, use your statements to
help explain what the book is
about.
SECTION B: SPEAKING
29. Describe the problem or conflict existing for
the main character in the book. Tell how the
conflict was or was not resolved.
30. Tell about the illustrations in a book. Tell
how they influence the reader.
31. Suggest some changes which you think the
author might make to improve the book.

35. Give an oral book report

to the class.
36. Read orally an interesting
part, stopping at a strategic
point.
37. Tell the class why you did or did not like the
book.
38. Explain how the book could be used in
another subject.
39. Describe an interesting character to the class.
Make him come alive to the audience.
40. Describe how the main character is like or
unlike people you know.
41. Choose a monologue, a part of the story
where only one person speaks. Practice it and
present it to the class.
42. Pretend you are one
character from the book and
introduce other characters to
the class. Be sure to tell how
each character fit into the book.
43. Tell how you, as an interior decorator, would
decorate a characters bedroom and why.
44. Explain what the main character would like
for Christmas and why.
45. Pretend you are the author and explain why
you chose the title of the book.
46. Tell what you think happened before the
story began.

32. Participate in a panel

discussion
with
several
students who have read the
same book.

47. Describe what you think happened to the

main character after the book ended.

33. Participate in a pro and con

panel made up of some
students who liked the book
and some students who did not.

48. Explain why you think

the
book
should
be
contained in a time capsule
to be dug up in one hundred
years.

34. Arrange a conference with your teacher

where you can talk about the book and answer
questions about it in front of the class.

49. Describe an experience youve had that was

like the experience of a character in the book.

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Book Reports
Grade 7: B. McAuley
50. Explain why the book begins as it does.

64. Prepare a book jacket for your book.

51. Tell how the book changed your way of

thinking.

65. Create a poster advertising the book.

52. Explain what the main character would be

least likely to do and tell why.

66. Draw mini or life-size costumes for a few of

the characters in your book.

53. Did any character change during the book?

Explain how and why.

67. Make sketches of some of the action

sequences.

54. Pretend you are a character in

the book. Leave a phone message
for another character in the book.
Then explain how this message
would fit into the overall plot of
the book.

68. Dress paper dolls as characters in the book

for a bulletin board display.
69. Create a banner advertising your book.

55. If you could change places with one of the

characters, who would it be and why.
56. Tell which character is most like you and
explain why.
57. Explain how the story would have been
different if some major event had happened
differently.
58. Retell an event from your book from the
viewpoint of two or more characters involved in
the event.
59. Choose one or more illustrations from your
book. Explain the similarities and the differences
in the written text and the illustrations. Tell
whether the illustrations just support the text or
do they tell something more.
SECTION C: ART

70. Make a WANTED POSTER

for one of the characters in your
b67. Make a bookmark that tells
about your book.
71. Write out your
title
decoratively and for each letter, write a phrase
about the book.
72. Use a computer to draw a scene from your
book. Include captions to tell what the scene is
about. Tell how this scene fits into the book.
73. Make a collage to tell about a character in
your book or the main plot. Tell the class why
you have included each part of your collage.
74. Make a mural to illustrate the book. Get
others who have read the book to help you.
75. Draw a cartoon that tells about the book.
76. Create an Open Mind Portrait of a character
in your book by doing the following: After
reading the book, fold a large blank sheet of
paper in half. On one half draw a portrait of one
of the characters. Trace the outline of the portrait
on the other half of the sheet without facial
features. Then record words or pictures onto the
portrait that describe feelings and thoughts of the
chosen character.

60. Make a map showing the storys location.

61. Design costumes for some of the characters.
62. Make a travel poster inviting tourists to visit
the setting of the book.
63. Draw several illustrations to accompany the
book. Tell the story to the class, using the
pictures as aids.

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Book Reports
Grade 7: B. McAuley
SECTION D: DRAMA

SECTION E: HODGEPODGE

77. Dress up as one of the main characters and

tell the story from a first-person point of view.

88. Invite three celebrities to a party for the main

character and explain your choices.

78. Act out in pantomime events

from the story. Let the class try to
guess the story. Be prepared to tell
how your drama fits into the main
plot.

89. Find a quotation applicable to your book and

tell how it applies.
90. Bring a collection of items associated with
the book. Tell how each object relates to the
book. You may join these objects together with
string or yarn to make a story braid. Make sure
the objects are arranged in the proper order.

79. Dramatize an incident from the

book. You may do this with others
who have read the book.
80. Make a sales talk, pretending that members
of your audience are clerks in a bookstore and
you want them to push a new book.
81. Write a movie script of
a part of a book to sell to
Hollywood.
82. Construct puppets and
present a show of an
interesting part of the story.

91. Make a TV commercial for your book to

show to the class.
92. Make a friendship quilt out of cloth or paper.
You may do this with others who have read the
same book. Each square depicts an incident in
the story. Put the squares together to make a
quilt.
93. Make a dictionary containing some important
words from the book and their definitions. Tell
how those words are related to the overall plot.
The words should be arranged alphabetically.

83. Dress as one of the main characters and act

out the part you play.
84. Do impromptu drama for a part of your book.
Assume the role of a character in the book and
act along with the teacher who will play another
part. Check with your teacher first so he can
familiarize himself with the book.
85. Prepare a taped drama of a part of a book.
Include sound effects on the tape.

94. Make a list of ten important facts you learned

from the book you read.
95. Read two books on the same subject.
Compare and contrast them using a Venn
diagram.
96. Be on the hot seat! Tell a little about the book
and then answer questions from the class about
the book.

86. Build a miniature stage setting for part of the

story.

87. As a movie producer

explain why you will not
make your book into a
movie.

97. Demonstrate how to make or do something

that you learned from your story.
98. Write or tell about the most humorous
incident, the most exciting happening or the most
interesting event, or the part you liked best.
99. List interesting new words or expressions
from the book. Tell why each is interesting.

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Book Reports
Grade 7: B. McAuley
100. Give a brief overview of the book but dont
give away the climax. Try to make other students
want to read the book after you have described it.

113. Create another character for the story. Tell

how things would change with this characters
presence.

101. Write or tell a different ending to the story.

114. Research to find new facts about the

authors life. Tell how you think these facts
influenced the authors writing of the story.

102. Have a friend who has read the story try to

stump you with questions. Then switch spots.
103. Write questions you think anyone should be
able to answer after reading the book; then try
them on others.

115. Make a calendar to

show the important events
in the story.
116. Make a list of
questions to ask someone
who has read the same
book. Then interview that person and record his
or her answers.

104. Read to the class parts

of a short mystery story
containing clues and let them
try to solve it.
105. List ten new words you
learned from your book,
define them, and give the
sentences in which you found them.

117. Make comparisons with the movie version

of the same book. How is the book the same as
the movie? How is it different?

106. Find a poem which applies to your book.

Write it out and explain how it applies.
107. From the yellow pages of a phonebook,
pick out businesses you think the main character
would be interested in and explain why.
108. Make a crossword puzzle
using key words from your book.
109. Make a word search puzzle using key words
from your book. Tell the class why you included
each word. You may use the following site to
help you create your puzzle.
http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com
110. Create a special greeting card for a
character in your book. Tell why you would give
it to that character.
111. Pretend you are a character in your story
and write a poem from that persons point of
view.
112. Research to find some additional facts
related to your book. State the facts and explain
the relationship between them and the book.

118. Make a clay, soap or wood model to

illustrate part of the book.
119. Build a diorama
(table
exhibit)
to
represent a part of the
story.
120. Make a transparency that tells about your
book.
121. Make a timeline of the events in the life of
the main character.
122. Compare and contrast
where you live with the
neighborhood or town in the
book.
123. Write a rap to tell about
your book. Present it to the
class.
124. Find an Internet website
that a character in your book would be interested
in. Tell the class why your character would most
like that site.
125. Make up five interview questions for a
character in your book. Tell how you think that
character would answer each question.

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Book Reports
Grade 7: B. McAuley
126. Prepare a short multimedia presentation to
tell about the book.
127. Make up a game based on your book. Make
it so it can be played by other students.
128. Develop a questionnaire for other readers to
complete before reading a book, to see if the
book would be suitable for them.
129. Make a movie of a part of the book.
130. Develop an award for your book. Explain
the criteria for the award
and why this particular
book was elected to
receive it. You may find it
helpful to check out the
Newberry and Caldecott
awards.
131. Compose a song based on the book. Present
it to the class with the help of any willing
volunteers.
132. Create a brochure to tell about your book.
You may use a computer to help in your creation.

139. Create a report card for a character in your

book. Determine the appropriate subject areas,
assign a grade and make a comment about the
character.
140. Create a Plot Profile to determine the main
events of your story. List the events in order.
Then determine the excitement level of each
event. Then plot your results on a grid to create a
profile of the plot.
141. Create a Goodies and Baddies Rating Scale
for one or more characters in your book. Then
rank the characters according to a criterion of
your choice (meanest, kindest, smartest, funniest,
etc.). Justify to the class your rating for each
character based on the words and actions of the
character in the book.
142. Create a Character Web for your book.
Place the name of the main character or
characters in the middle of the page. Then place
the names of several other characters in the book
around the central figure according to the
closeness of the relationship between them. Use
arrows, key words, pictures, or jottings to
represent the interrelationships between them.

133. Make a computer slide show

to tell about your book.

134. Make a time capsule for one of the

characters. Explain what is in the capsule.
135. Make a job application for the main
character and fill it in.
136. Make a clip art collage to tell about your
book.
137. After reading a book, predict a future for
one of the characters where they are, what they
are doing, who they are with, etc. Predictions
should be based on the text.
138. Write or tell ways that a character in your
book is like or unlike a person you know or
another character in a book.

143. After reading a book make up a series of

Who Would Say? statements. These are
statements that a character in the book might
typically say, but that is not a direct quote. Have
other students who have read the book guess
which character would have said it. Then explain
why each quote would be typical of the
different characters.

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Book Reports
Grade 7: B. McAuley
144. Complete an Admiration Rating for three or
more characters in your book. Rank the
characters from most admirable to least
admirable. Be ready to justify your ranking with
information from your book.
145. Research to find information about the
author of your book. Consider questions such as
the following: Is the author male or female?
When was the book written? Was the author
young, middle-aged
or elderly? Where
did the author live
when writing the
book? Then explain
how you think this
information about
the author affected
the content of the
book.
146. Create a Drammy Award for a character
in your book. Select a character and determine
an appropriate award. List the criteria for
winning the award and justify from your book
why your character deserves it.
147. Create a Regret and
Rewind for a character in
your book. Assume the
role of a character.
Consider something in the
book that you would do
differently if you could
rewind the text and suggest the impact this might
have on the final outcome.
148. Create your own way to present a book
report to the class and then give it. Check with
your teacher first.

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