Second Grade Book Reports: Three Unique Ideas for Templates
My Favorite Character and Me
Instead of the usual book report format which covers the story grammar–setting, plot, theme, point of view, characters–have your students zero in on their favorite book character and how similar or different they are to that personality. Here’s what the book report will include:
1. Cover Page - The cover page illustrates the student’s own version of what the cover should look like.
2. He/She Rocks! - The next page shows a drawing of his/her chosen character. Below the drawing is a description of that character–personality, wishes, dreams, values.
3. I Rock! - The third page shows the student’s “self-portrait” and a description of himself/herself–personality, wishes, dreams, values.
4. My Favorite Character and Me - Refresh your students on Venn diagram lessons. On this page, the student presents a Venn diagram of himself/herself and his/her chosen character. Make sure to guide students accordingly on how to accomplish a Venn diagram.
My Book Field Trip
Another task for book reports is having your students select their favorite scenes from their chosen book and share why they like those scenes. This template will include:
1. Cover Page - The cover page illustrates the student’s own version of what the cover should look like.
2. Summary page - This page contains a summary of the book your student chose. The summary includes the book title, book author, and the summary.
3. Three Scenes - The class is then taken on a “book field trip” as the student shares her three favorite scenes. Each of these three pages contains a drawing of the scene with a description below it.
If I Were in the Book…
Pose these questions gradually to the students: Recall one problem that the main character/s met in the book. Recall what the characters did. How about you? If you were in the story in that instance, would you have done the same thing the characters did? Why or why not? What would you have done? The students will answer these through a book report that will contain the following:
1. Cover Page - The cover page illustrates the student’s own version of what the cover should look like.
2. Drawing of the scene in question - It must contain the drawing of that scene and a description of what happened.
3. If I Were in the Book - This page will now contain what the student should have done to address the problem in that scene. It includes a drawing of the scene with an additional character–the student–and how the scene would look with the proposed solution of the student. A description should also be included below the picture.
They key to requiring book report outputs from second graders is to make the task not seem a “requirement.” By tapping into their own opinions and interests and by acknowledging what they have to say about the book (instead of forcing them to churn out the plot, conflict, climax, etc), you make book reports and class book report sharing very enjoyable and meaningful to your students.
Aside from these 2nd grade book report templates, check out this link for more templates and select the ones that you can tweak and apply in your second grade classroom.
Photo credit: https://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=17371&cmd=tc
