United StatesClassmate Book Report Icebreaker
Grade Levels: 3 - 6
Objectives
- Students will become familiarized with a book report format.
- Students will write book reports modeling the format.
- Students will share with a partner information about an interesting summer event or incident.
- Students will speculate on what part of the story really happened vs. what is made up.
Materials
Procedures
- Students meet with a partner and share an exciting summer event.
- The partner records details, using an outline if necessary.
- Students work in pairs to convert the shared summer events into a story format complete with a setting, characters, and a plot. For fun, allow them to exaggerate.
- Students write, illustrate, or present their partner’s summer event in the form of a book report as if it were based on a book they read.
- The basic elements of a story:
Setting: the place where the action in the story occurs, including time period
Characters: the person(s) in the story
Plot: the central problem of the story
Climax: the moment at which the action in the story reaches its highest point of conflict or tension
Resolution: the solving of the problem in the story
Note: Distribute a story map to help students organize their report.
