Amanda Nehring, a veteran grade school teacher and blogger for Scholastic.com, shares with her peers ideas for “bringing book reports to life” to reinvigorate the oftentimes one-dimensional assignment.

"Instead of using the same old reading response projects year after year, why not try a new, creative and crafty approach to student book reports?” Nehring asks.

She offers three different suggestions for educators looking for said creative and crafty approaches: storybook dioramas, wax museums and character cans.

While storybook diorama might be more self-explanatory (Nehring urges educators to encourage their students to use three-dimensional representations to bring their book to life) you might be asking yourself what a wax museum book report could be.

"Wax museums are another great way to give your students creative liberty in sharing what they have learned from an assigned book,” Nehring says.

" First, allow your students to choose a grade-level appropriate biography of someone they find both interesting and important. Encourage students to pay special attention to the descriptions of how the character looks, feels, and acts. They can use this graphic organizer to help them as they read,” she says.

Have students bring their book to life when the time comes and host a “wax museum” of historical figures in your classroom. This is also a great way to engage parents and the community to invite them to check it out.

"The students will love getting to share what they have learned about their selected historical figure and the visitors will be amazed by the museum your class has created. “

As for character cans, all you need is an empty can and some art materials and students can choose their favorite character from their book and bring them to life right away.

"Students love getting the chance to show off their adorable and creative character cans and talk all about why they love their book. Best of all, the character cans go in our school’s front entry display case for everyone to see and enjoy! It is always a memorable project and a great alternative book report,” she said.

Read her full post here.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

1/21/2016