If you’re finishing up a novel study or a round of independent reading, consider one of these alternative projects for a post-reading assessment.

Book Talk

A book talk, or oral book report, is a great way to provide students with an opportunity for public speaking.

Have students take turns speaking 2-3 minutes each about the book they read.

To be successful and help calm any nerves, be sure you’re very specific with your requirements ahead of time. This post about oral book reports gives lots of detailed information and suggestions on how to successfully implement book talks in your classroom with even the shyest of students.

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.

As with the book talk, give clear parameters and requirements to keep students on track. Providing suggestions for game components and materials will also help them be more successful.

Clear directions, lots of suggestions, and a handy grading rubric are all included in this resource. Take a look!

Slideshow

After the stretch of digital learning the past year or so, most students are more competent than ever using apps such as Google Slides. Assigning a slideshow presentation about their book is an easy way to incorporate technology and creativity in your ELA classroom.

If you want to keep it simple, provide students with a colorful template like this one. They can add their information and their own touches, but they won’t have to put hours into an in-depth project.

Author Interview

This is a fun post-reading project that will allow students to work in pairs, as well as explore other communication mediums.

Have each student compose a list of questions and detailed answers for the author of his book. Questions and answers should be very specific to the work, such as,

“Mr. Larson, why did you decide to write Hattie as a sixteen-year-old?”

“Well, I feel if Hattie had been any younger, her overcoming the challenges she did to prove up her homestead wouldn’t have been believable; and any older, I feel like readers would be saying, ‘Sure, but she’s basically an adult anyways.’”

Writing both the questions and answers for their author will really push students to analyze the work and the effect the author’s choices had on it.

To complete the project, have students create skits, podcasts, or videos of the author interview, with one student playing the author and other playing the interviewer. Share the media students create with the rest of the class, as time allows.

For a fun bonus opportunity, give students the option of adding in little commercial breaks in their interview. Encourage them to advertise a product (real or imagined) related to their book.

This money-saving bundle of book report projects includes everything you need to teach, assign, and grade 5 different types of post-reading assessments.