Motivating Readers with Book Projects for Any Novel

My students LOVE to talk about what they read. They LOVE to show their classmates their favorite books. They LOVE projects! Does this sound like your students?!

This is why I started using book projects in my classroom.

Basically, when my students finish a novel they get to complete a project showing what they read. They then share this project with the class. When they share the project it gets other kids excited about reading that novel too. So, then my students motivated other students to start a new book. It is a WIN WIN and they have fun doing it!

I have 20 different projects I let them choose from. When it is time for them to choose they come back to my book projects binder and choose one. Each project also has a planning sheet they have to fill out.

They plan out their project and bring it to me to get checked. If I say they are good to go then they get to complete the project. Each project has a paper that details everything they need for the project and step by step how to complete it. I give them this sheet and they check off each step as they go.

The 20 projects I use are:

1. Presentation– They create a presentation on Google Docs or using PowerPoint. (grab this one for free below)

2. Board Game– They make their own board game that has questions related to the story. This project will have to be presented, but can only be played with people that have read the book.
3. Diorama– They create a diorama to show off one scene in the book.
4. Make a Kahoot– Always a favorite! They make a Kahoot and then all the kids get to play it. This is another project that has to be played or presented with people that have read the book.
5. Movie Maker– They record a video where they act out a few scenes from their novel. This one requires technology and good technology knowledge.
6. Book Review– This is a simple project! They write their own book review!
7. Mobile– They use a hanger and some magazines to make a mobile showing off parts of the book!
8. A Newspaper– They make their own newspaper that would be distributed in the time of the novel. So, they get to act like they are apart of the novel when they write their newspaper.
9. Comic Strip– They create a comic strip that shows off parts of the novel.
10. Poster and Dress Up– They make a poster showing off different parts of the novel and then they get to dress up like a character to present it.
11. Diary– They will create a diary for one of the characters in the book. They will act like they are that character.
12. Illustrator- They illustrate a part of the novel.
13. Travel Brochure– They create a brochure for the setting of the novel.
14. Song– They write their own song about the novel and get to sing it with the class.
15. News Report– They create a news report on two major stories in the novel. I typically let them record this news report and then share the video with the class.
16. Kid Blog– Here they get to create a blog post or a blog page about their novel.

17. Write a Play– They make a play for one scene in the novel. They get to pick people to help present the play, which they love!
18. Finish the Book– Here they get to write an alternate ending to the novel or just add more detail to the end of the novel.
19. Children’s Book– They turn the novel into a children’s book. They illustrate and shorten the book.
20. Collage– They use magazines or the computer to create a collage that summarizes the book!

 

I use these projects in a few ways:

1. Group Projects– If we all read a novel as a class then I will pick one of these projects to use as a group project. This could be for a read aloud book or a novel study that we completed.
2. Friendly Reads- You can read about how I do Friendly Reads here! After the students read a novel together they get to pick a book project out and complete it to share with the class.
3. Individual Projects– Typically if they read a book and want to do a project on their own I have them do it at home. Once a quarter or semester they all get to do a project on a book that they read in the classroom.
4. Family Projects– I like to have families read a book together over a quarter or semester and then complete a project. It is a great way to make sure that parents are reading with their kiddos!

If you want all of the planning sheets and information sheets you can grab all 20 book projects here!

If you want to just check them out, you can grab the presentation project for FREE by signing up below!