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• Grades 6-12
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42 Creative Book Report Ideas for Students

Inspire your students to share their love of books.

Responding to what you read is an important literacy skill. Reading about other people’s experiences and perspectives helps kids learn about the world. And although students don’t need to dive deeply into every single book they read, occasionally digging into characters, settings, and themes can help them learn to look beyond the prose. Here are 42 creative book report ideas designed to make reading more meaningful for kids.

1. Concrete Found Poem

This clever activity is basically a shape poem made up of words, phrases, and whole sentences found in the books students read. The words come together to create an image that represents something from the story.

2. Graphic Novel

Have students rewrite the book they are reading, or a chapter of their book, as a graphic novel. Set parameters for the assignment such as including six scenes from the story, three characters, details about the setting, etc. And, of course, include detailed illustrations to accompany the story.

3. Book Snaps

Book Snaps are a way for students to visually show how they are reacting to, processing, and/or connecting with a text. First, students snap a picture of a page in the book they are reading. Then, they add comments, images, highlights, and more.

4. Diary Entry

Have your students place themselves in the shoes of one of the characters from their book and write a first-person diary entry of a critical moment from the story. Ask them to choose a moment in the story where the character has plenty of interaction and emotion to share in a diary entry.

5. Pizza Box Book Report

If you’re looking for creative book report ideas that use upcycled materials, try this one using a pizza box. It works well for both nonfiction and fiction book reports. The top lid provides a picture of the book cover. Each wedge of the pizza pie tells part of the story.

6. Book Jacket

Have students create a new book jacket for their story. Include an attractive illustrated cover, a summary, a short biography of the author, and a few reviews from readers.

7. Mint Tin Book Report

There are so many super-creative, open-ended projects you can use mint tins for. Teacher blogger Teacher Thrive describes the process of creating book reports using them. There’s even a free template for cards that fit inside.

8. Fictional Yearbook Entries

Ask your students to create a yearbook based on the characters and setting in the book. What do they look like? Cut out magazine pictures to give a good visual image for their school picture. What kind of superlative might they get? Best-looking? Class clown? What clubs would they be in or lead? Did they win any awards? It should be obvious from their small yearbooks whether your students dug deep into the characters in their books. They may also learn that who we are as individuals is reflected in what we choose to do with our lives.

9. Book Report Cake

This project would be perfect for a book tasting in your classroom! Each student presents their book report in the shape of food. Learn more about book tastings .

10. Current Events Comparison

Have students locate three to five current events articles a character in their book might be interested in. After they’ve found the articles, have them explain why the character would find them interesting and how they relate to the book. Learning about how current events affect time, place, and people is critical to helping develop opinions about what we read and experience in life.

11. Sandwich Book Report

Yum! You’ll notice a lot of our creative book report ideas revolve around food. In this oldie but goodie, each layer of this book report sandwich covers a different element of the book—characters, setting, conflict, etc.

12. Book Alphabet

Choose 15 to 20 alphabet books to help give your students examples of how they work around themes. Then ask your students to create their own Book Alphabet based on the book they read. What artifacts, vocabulary words, and names reflect the important parts of the book? After they find a word to represent each letter, have them write one sentence that explains where the word fits in.

13. Peekaboo Book Report

Using cardboard lap books (or small science report boards), students include details about their book’s main characters, plot, setting, conflict, resolution, etc. Then they draw a head and arms on card stock and attach them to the board from behind to make it look like the main character is peeking over this book report.

14. Act the Part

Have students dress up as their favorite character from the book and present an oral book report. If their favorite character is not the main character, retell the story from their point of view.

15. T-shirt Book Report

Another fun and creative idea: Create a wearable book report with a plain white tee. Come up with your own using Sharpie pens and acrylic paint.

16. Bookmark

Have students create a custom illustrated bookmark that includes drawings and words from either their favorite chapter or the entire book.

17. Rays of Sunshine Book Report

This is great for biography research projects. Students cut out a photocopied image of their subject and glue it in the middle. Then, they draw lines from the image to the edges of the paper, like rays of sunshine, and fill in each section with information about the person. As a book report template, the center image could be a copy of the book cover, and each section expands on key information such as character names, theme(s), conflict, resolution, etc.

18. Reading Lists for Characters

Ask your students to think about a character in their book. What kinds of books might that character like to read? Take them to the library to choose five books the character might have on their to-be-read list. Have them list the books and explain what each book might mean to the character. Post the to-be-read lists for others to see and choose from—there’s nothing like trying out a book character’s style when developing your own identity.

19. Character To-Do List

This fun activity is an off-the-beaten-path way to dive deep into character analysis. Get inside the head of the main character in a book and write a to-do list that they might write. Use actual information from the text, but also make inferences into what that character may wish to accomplish.

20. Collage

Create a collage using pictures and words that represent different parts of the book. Use old magazines or print pictures from the Internet.

21. Book Reports in a Bag

Looking for book report ideas that really encourage creative thinking? With book reports in a bag, students read a book and write a summary. Then, they decorate a paper grocery bag with a scene from the book, place five items that represent something from the book inside the bag, and present the bag to the class.

22. Timeline

Have students create a timeline of the main events from their book. Be sure to include character names and details for each event. Use 8″ x 11″ sheets of paper taped together or a long portion of bulletin board paper.

23. File Folder Book Report

Also called a lap book, this easy-to-make book report hits on all the major elements of a book study and gives students a chance to show what they know in a colorful way.

24. Public Service Announcement

If a student has read a book about a cause that affects people, animals, or the environment, teach them about public service announcements . Once they understand what a PSA is, have them research the issue or cause that stood out in the book. Then provide a template for a storyboard so they can create their own PSA. Some students might want to take it a step further and create a video based on their storyboard. Consider sharing their storyboard or video with an organization that supports the cause or issue.

25. Triorama Book Report

Who doesn’t love a multidimensional book report? This image shows a 3D model, but you can also try an accordion-folded book report, a quadrama, or an info-sphere.

26. Character Cards

Make trading cards (like baseball cards) for a few characters from the book. On the front side, draw the character. On the back side, make a list of their character traits and include a quote or two.

27. Book Report Mobile

This creative project doesn’t require a fancy or expensive supply list. Students just need an ordinary clothes hanger, strings, and paper. The body of the hanger is used to identify the book, and the cards on the strings dangling below are filled with key elements of the book, like characters, setting, and a summary.

28. Fact Sheet

Have students create a list of 10 facts that they learned from reading the book. Have them write the facts in complete sentences, and be sure that each fact is something that they didn’t know before they read the book.

29. Dodecahedron Book Report

Creative book report ideas think outside the box. In this case, it’s a ball! SO much information can be covered on the 12 panels, and it allows students to take a deep dive in a creative way.

30. Be a Character Therapist

Therapists work to uncover their clients’ fears based on their words and actions. When we read books, we must learn to use a character’s actions and dialogue to infer their fears. Many plots revolve around a character’s fear and the work it takes to overcome that fear. Ask students to identify a character’s fear and find 8 to 10 scenes that prove this fear exists. Then have them write about ways the character overcame the fear (or didn’t) in the story. What might the character have done differently?

31. Charm Bracelet Book Report

What a “charming” way to write a book report! Each illustrated bracelet charm captures a character, an event in the plot, setting, or other detail.

32. Mind Maps

Mind maps can be a great way to synthesize what students have learned from reading a book. Plus, there are so many ways to approach them. Begin by writing a central idea in the middle of the page. For example, general information, characters, plot, etc. Then branch out from the center with ideas, thoughts, and connections to material from the book.

33. Book Report Booklets

This clever book report is made from ordinary paper bags. Stack the paper bags on top of each other, fold them in half, and staple the closed-off ends of the bags together. Students can write, draw, and decorate on the paper bag pages. They can also record information on writing or drawing paper and glue the paper onto the pages. The open ends of the bags can be used as pockets to insert photos, cut-outs, postcards, or other flat items that help them tell their story.

34. Letter to the Author

Have kids write a letter to the author of the book. Tell them three things you really liked about the story. Ask three questions about the plot, characters, or anything else you’re curious about.

35. Cardboard Box TV

This cardboard box TV book report project is a low-tech version of a television made from a cereal box and two paper towel rolls. Students create the viewing screen cut out at the top, then insert a scroll of paper with writing and illustrations inside the box. When the cardboard roll is rotated, the story unfolds.

36. Board games

This is a great project if you want your students to develop a little more insight into what they’re reading. Have them think about the elements of their favorite board games and how they can be adapted to fit this assignment.

37. Foldables

From Rainbows Within Reach, this clever idea would be a great introduction to writing book reports. Adapt the flap categories for students at different levels. Adjust the number of categories (or flaps) per the needs of your students.

38. Timeline

Create a timeline using a long roll of butcher paper, a poster board, or index cards taped together. For each event on the timeline, write a brief description of what happens. Add pictures, clip art, word art, and symbols to make the timeline more lively and colorful.

39. Comic Strips

If you’re looking for creative book report ideas for students who like graphic novels, try comic strip book reports. Include an illustrated cover with the title and author. The pages of the book should retell the story using dialogue and descriptions of the setting and characters. Of course, no comic book would be complete without copious illustrations and thought bubbles.

40. Movie Version

If the book your students have read has been made into a movie, have them write a report about how the versions are alike and different. If the book has not been made into a movie, have them write a report telling how they would make it into a movie, using specific details from the book.

41. Wanted Poster

Make a Wanted poster for one of the book’s main characters. Indicate whether they are wanted dead or alive. Include a picture of the character and a description of what the character is “wanted” for, three examples of the character showing this trait, and a detailed account of where the character was last seen.

42. Wheaties Box Book Report

Recycle a cereal box and create a book report to look like an old-fashioned Wheaties box that features sports heroes. Include a main image on the front side of the box. Decorate the sides of the box with information about the book’s characters, setting, plot, summary, etc.

Come share your own creative book report ideas in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, dont’ miss 100 famous children’s books every kid should read (plus free printable).

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15 Creative and digital book report ideas that will get your students excited to read

Not all students are excited to read a book. So how can you make reading a book more engaging and fun? This is a huge challenge for most teachers, so I hope I can help you out!

Here’s what you’ll find in this blog post (click on the title if you want to jump to the section directly)

5 tips to get your students excited about reading

• 15 creative and digital book report lesson plans (free & ready to use!)
• The complete collection of book report lesson ideas in one assignment (your students get to choose!)

Instructions on how to use these digital book report lesson activities

Before you dive into the book reports, you have to get your students excited about reading first. In this previous post about reading, I’ve listed 10 tips that will encourage your students to read . I’ve come up with 5 more amazing tips! Here we go:

1. Use AR apps

Here are a few apps with amazing storylines and AR books.

• Wonderscope , for example, is an excellent storytelling tool. It uses augmented reality to transform ordinary places into real-time stories. Students also learn to read with the app. They ask questions to the characters in the story and listen to the characters’ answers.
• The Ghostkeeper’s journal and field guide : This book is an immersive adventure for readers aged 10 and up, offering several AR experiences to enhance the storyline. These are accessed via a mobile app “ Ghost-o-Matic ”.
• Bookful creates an engaging reading experience and brings stories and characters in books to life. The app holds the world’s largest 3D/AR library with hundreds of titles from leading publishers and brands such as: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, DK’s Encyclopedia, and children’s favorites such as Barbie, My Little Pony, Thomas & Friends, Transformers, and The Smurfs.

2. Escape lessons

Here are 3 fun ready-to-use escape lessons to spark your students’ joy of reading:

• A Halloween Murder : Let your students investigate the murder of the victim: Brat Spook. When they find the murderer, they get their “inspector” badge. Let them look for evidence in the murder scene, talk to suspects, analyze lab results, and so on!
• Finding Rudolph : Save Christmas by helping Santa find back Rudolph. Students go through different challenges, talk to eye-witnesses, and follow Rudolph through a winter maze, so Santa can deliver all the presents to the children.
• Easter Bunny Substitute : Can your students find a good Easter Bunny replacement? In the last breakout game for the classroom, the Easter Bunny is hurt, so your students need to interview the possible applicants and take tests to replace the Easter Bunny themselves. If they succeed in the challenges, they get an Easter Bunny substitute badge.

3. Storytelling

If you bring cultural elements into your lessons by telling a story, your students will be more eager to learn. Storytelling makes students want to “live the story”. And they do this by reading it. If your story is strong enough, your students will love learning and reading. They will even remember the lesson content better.

Here’s a fun & ready-to-use example: The life of William Shakespeare

4. First chapters

5. Books & sleepovers

You can even add different parts to your sleepover. For example, let students read their favorite passage in a book of choice out loud, and 1 hour before bedtime, all your students take their book and read in silence. Or how about creating cozy themed corners? Fantasy, science fiction, detectives,… When your students are reading in themed corners, they get the full experience. They can even dress up as a character in their book whilst reading.

15 Creative and digital book report lesson plans

Step 1: Get your students excited about reading. ✅ Step 2: make sure they don’t lose their interest when you’re announcing the book report assignment! ☑️ This part can be demotivating.

As the lower grade students often still get fun book report assignments, the higher grade students often get a dull worksheet where they have to describe the characters and give a summary. Change up your book report assignments with these creative, free & ready-to-use lesson ideas.

Take a look at all these ready-to-use and free digital book report activities. They’re all made with BookWidgets . You can even make exercises like these yourself in your own BookWidgets account.

Keep on reading to find out how to use these exercises in your lessons.

How did your students experience the book? Let them fill the glasses with drawings of the storyline/the book. The glasses represent the view of the students. Students can get really creative and use the toolbar at the bottom to draw and type.

You can ask your students to present their book report artworks to the other students as well. This way, your students can explain what’s on their drawing.

2. Bookworm

3. Timeline

This interactive book report asks your students to create a timeline of the story. When did what happen, chronologically? The have to add the biggest events in the story to the timeline.

4. Comic book

In this book report exercise, your students have to write a comic book based upon the book they’ve just read. When they click on the “start” icon, they can choose fitting text balloons to go with their story.

Here are three other fun websites that let students create comic books: Storyboard That , Comic Life , and Toonytool . They already give you creative templates and drawings. This is a bit easier for students. This way, they don’t have to start from scratch.

5. Character portrait

6. Randomness task

Just… add a little spice. I’ve turned the ordinary book report task, where students have to describe characters, the setting, plot, etc., into an exciting one. Your students don’t know yet what they’ll have to describe. They spin the randomness wheel and their task appears. The fun thing about this one is that all of your students will write a different book report.

7. Book cover

Here, students get to be creative and invent their own book cover (front and back) of the book they just read. Or maybe just a cover for of a piece of text you’ve read out loud. They can use the whiteboard tools: pencil, type tool, switch colors, add images, etc.

8. Character family tree

This digital mind map exercise allows your students to add boxes with text and connect them to each other. This is perfect for a book report activity focusing on the characters in their book.

9. Facebook Profile

Modern days call for modern book report lesson ideas. Image the main character having a Facebook profile. What would be on it? That’s exactly what your students have to figure out here. Create a Facebook profile about the main character.

10. Book Collage

Here, students have to add 10 pictures or images that have to do with the book. They can do so by clicking on the photo icon and adding images into their collage.

11. Mirror selfie

In this creative book report, students have to dress up like the character in their book, including holding 3 attributes that refer to the personality of the main character. They have to take a picture or mirror selfie of themselves dressed up, and add that picture to the whiteboard. You can ask them to come forward and present their images and explain why they’ve chosen those specific attributes.

The fun thing about all of these exercises is that they work on smartphones as well. So in this case, students can just open the exercise on their smartphones, take a mirror selfie with their phones and add it to the mirror in the digital whiteboard exercise.

12. Email to the author

Your students have the chance to write a friendly email or letter to the author of the book they just read. Students have to share:

• their opinion;
• the character in the book they liked most, and why;
• their favorite part of the book and why;
• questions that they have about the book.

If you have an email address of the author, ask your students to submit their works to you, the teacher, first. After having given feedback on their letters, they can make some changes and send it over to the author.

If you have the author’s postal address, it’s much more fun to write a classic letter.

13. Conversation between characters

There is something called a “texting thumb” or a “smartphone pinky”. This shows that students like to send texts. A lot of them. So why not include it in your book report lesson plan? In this digital book report, students have to invent a conversation between two characters in their book.

14. Movie vs. Book

A lot of books have a movie version too. If your students choose a book that also has a movie, it’s interesting to let your students make a comparison. With this book report exercise, you’re also sure your students actually read the book instead of just watching the movie and write a summary of the movie and not the book.

15. Emoji summary

The last exercise is also one students can relate to. Nowadays, we use emojis after almost every sentence when we’re communicating with friends. Emojis also have a strong meaning and can be used to express feelings or say something without actually saying it.

The complete collection of book report lesson ideas in one assignment

All these book report exercises are so much fun and yet they don’t take up a lot of time. Perhaps they just ask your students to only describe a certain part about the book. Cue… the planner widget.

With this type of BookWidgets activity, you can combine several lessons into one. You can let your students take matters into their own hands and choose which book report activities they’d like to finish.

It’s actually pretty easy. Your students read the instructions in the instructions widget and then start adding at least three book report activities to their planner. They finish the activities, submit them to their teacher, check off their planner, and that’s it!

Above, you can find the 15 ready-to-use book report activities. You can use these lesson examples for free. Since they’re all made with BookWidgets, I’ve listed them in this BookWidgets group . Here’s what you need to do:

• Click on this link . It will immediately bring you to the group with all of the book report activities. If you don’t have a BookWidgets account yet, you’ll have to sign up first for free .
• Duplicate all the book report activities. Click on the settings wheel , select all widgets , click on the settings wheel again, choose duplicate selected widgets . Choose where you want to save the activities in your BookWidgets account.
• Go to your saved book report lessons. You can now click on the black dropdown arrow next to the ‘Show’ button of a particular exercise and select Edit . You can make some changes to this activity (if you want). If it’s perfect for you, click on Share in the upper right corner.
• Share this link with your students. When they click on it, they can fill it out. A lot of the book report examples above have been made with BookWidgets’ Whiteboard widget, in which students can use the tool menu at the bottom to switch tools (draw, type,…), and to switch colors. When done, they can submit the book reports to you by clicking on the envelope in the upper right corner.
• As a teacher, you go to “Grades & reporting” in BookWidgets to find your students’ answers.

Of course, now that you’ve got your own BookWidgets account, you can also create book report activities or other assignments yourself!

Attention! Once your free trial runs out, you’ll only be able to use the widgets you’ve already finished/shared with students. While your BookWidgets account will still work and you’ll still get your students’ results with the free BookWidgets version, you won’t be able to duplicate widgets nor create new widgets yourself anymore.

So that’s it! I hope these lesson ideas are useful for your classroom or at least give you lots of new ideas for your book report lessons! You can even create ones yourself!

Create your first digital book report with BookWidgets

Have fun, share this with fellow teachers and keep on rocking your classroom!

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8 Creative Book Project Ideas to Replace the Traditional Book Report

Books can often inspire a lot of creativity! This is why when thinking about assessment I lean toward book projects instead of traditional reports. The creative assignments that my students come up with still astound me.

From videos to online comic strips, there are many options that students can use to share what they learned from a book. So, why not ditch the book report and try these fun book project ideas for middle school and high school students instead?

End-of-Novel Project Ideas Your Students Will Love

1. make movies.

Let’s start with movies. Kids love them! From my experience, when I told the students they were going to make a summary movie as opposed to writing a full-fledged book report, they were beyond ecstatic.

Many began brainstorming right away. I then let them know that a written shorter summary would accompany the video, but by that time, they were so excited about their main plots and cinematography that they didn’t seem to mind.

As long as you have a clear set of expectations (a detailed rubric worked best for me), you can cater movies to various topics around literature.

Here are some ideas to make movies inspired by books:

• Focus on the character: Show how that character developed, their inner thoughts, and their importance to the outcome of the story.
• Explore the main themes of the book: Some students struggle with this concept; seeing various visual examples on the screen can make it easier for them to understand and internalize those themes.
• Draw on the History: Make a movie about the setting and background history related to the book. For example, if students are reading To Kill A Mockingbird , one video could examine major trials that occurred during that time period, or explore how racism manifested itself in the judicial system. Students could do this recording reenactments or monologues.

2. Make online comic strips

Another example of a successful novel study project idea is when my students created their own comics. Kids can get their graphic design on by using easy-to-learn (but beautiful) programs such as Pixton .

You can pull this off in many ways, but I assigned comic summaries after every chapter. This reaffirmed the reading by creating a visual overview of what students just read. Plus, the kids loved to share their finished products, which kept everyone up to date on what was happening in the book.

3. Make dioramas

You may remember dioramas from when you were a kid. I created one on dinosaurs that’s stuck in my memory ever since. This old-school classic still resonates with students.

For those of you unfamiliar, a diorama is a scene created inside a cardboard box. You could assign every kid in the class a major scene from the book and then have them present it to the class with a diorama. It’s possible to integrate a writing component, too. Have kids whip up a short description of a scene while also focusing on one aspect of grammar, such as comma usage.

4. Make scrapbooks

You’ve probably never heard of Sabrina Ward Harrison or Dan Eldon , but these are two published scrapbook writers. Scrapbooks are an awesome way to ditch the book report and add some life to literature projects.

You can let students choose if they want to do an online scrapbook with a free tool or make a traditional one with colored paper, glue, and glitter. My students really got into these projects.

5. Make newspapers

One of my top book club project ideas was asking my students to create their own newspaper while reading “The Outsiders”. Not only is this a compelling book for middle schoolers, but students also had the freedom to design their own newspaper around various writing prompts, character descriptions, literary term analysis, and so on. The possibilities are endless!

I allowed students to choose from provided newspaper software such as Canva . The kids enjoyed the integration of technology, images, and writing.

6. Make author studies

You can kick off an author study at the beginning or end of a book unit. After all, the author’s personal experiences tend to affect their written work in a multitude of ways. Charles Dickens’s classic “Great Expectations”, for example, contains many events, characters, and themes from his own life that he shares through the protagonist.

Here’s what worked for me:

• I provided students with a checklist of author information they had to research.
• It was up to them how they were going to display their findings.

This allowed student choice while still meeting those benchmarks. Students performed skits, created collages and paintings, and much more. At the end of the project, we put all the projects in a circle and had a gallery walk where students viewed each other’s work. It was a smoking success!

7. Put on a play

Students can create a modernized play on a classic book. You can create a whole unit around this objective. Sure, this is a lot of work, but so worth it! In all honesty, would you rather write a report on “Romeo and Juliet” or modernize it and act it out?

8. Make tableaus

You may have heard of tableaus — which is just a fancy term for frozen scenes.

Here’s the process:

• Two students hold up a sheet of paper or a curtain. Behind it, a group of students pose as characters from a scene in the book.
• Then, the “curtain” drops, and the rest of the class views the freeze-frame and tries to identify it as it relates to the book.

You can make this more complex by integrating costumes. And you can add a writing component that describes the process of creating the scene. Alternatively, students can record the relevance of the scene to the entirety of the book in writing.

If you have students interested in theater and fashion, this activity will hook them in an instant!

Fun Book Projects Motivate Students to Read AND Learn

There is always a place for the traditional book report, but I also believe that there are creative ways to meet the standards with more engaging projects.

According to a paper by the National Research Council , 40% of students are disengaged from school. You read that correctly! And countless research points to the positive correlation between motivation and student performance.

Assigning end of  book project ideas that get kids excited about reading and writing proves to be a fun change for both the student and the teacher. 

This article was adapted from a blog post initially developed by the education technology company Classcraft, which was acquired by HMH in 2023. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.

Find more lesson plans and classroom resources on Shaped .

12 Exciting Ideas for a Book Project for High School Students

Searching for new ideas for a book project but not sure where to start? If you are like me, you love finding new engaging ideas for your students. However, finding projects specifically for a novel can be tough. I don’t want to give a test or assign a book report. I really love when students can share their creativity because they always surprise me. But making sure my students are completing standards based assessments on the same level can be difficult. If you are ready to update your novel project ideas, check out my list of 12 projects that you can implement right away in your classroom! 

Hey teacher, before I share my book project ideas, I wanted to give you a shortcut to starting your novel projects. Check out my Novel Study Project Ideas resource so your students can start their creativity right away. Students have access to 12 project choices with the Novel Project Choice Board. Each novel project includes a Project Requirement handout that includes a place to brainstorm ideas. Each creative assessment also comes with a detailed rubric for easy grading. Want to know more about each project option, keep reading below. 

Why Book Project Ideas Are Better

When chapter tests don’t work.

When I first started teaching, I thought that I needed to quiz my students. How was I supposed to know that they are understanding the novel? Plus chapter tests and a big exam at the end of the novel were easy to grade. But memorizing information about the plot is not higher level thinking. It certainly does not allow for creativity or show a deeper understanding of a text. I wanted something more for my students but it took quite a few years to find something that worked. That’s where these ideas for a book project were born. 

Why You Should Switch to a Novel Study Project

You are an awesome teacher who is looking for more for your students. I know you are ready for a change, and I have the perfect ones. You do not need to spend hours changing your curriculum or searching for the perfect project. All you need is to have your novel and a few days to commit to project work time. If you want your students to share their understanding of the main characters, conflicts, events, and themes from the novel, then novel projects are for you. Give your students a chance to show off their skills and creativity. Without restrictions or info regurgitation, your students will exceed your expectations. Ready to start with novel projects, then keep reading to learn about each of my 12 novel study project ideas.

12 Projects for Novels

Novel project #1: twitter posts.

Students choose the main character and their conflict for this project focus. Over the course of 12 tweets, students show the protagonist’s progression. The tweets include specific examples from the story to show understanding. While following the proper character format, each tweet can stand alone as a character’s thought. However, all tweets connect together to show the progression of a character.

Novel Project #2: TikToks

Allow students to combine the latest trends with their love of social media. What better way to showcase a main character and their struggles than with a TikTok series? Students create four TikToks videos that show the protagonist’s main conflict. By including specific examples from the novel, students show reading comprehension. Expect your students to bring the razzle-dazzle of music, voiceovers, captions, and more with this project. 

Novel Project #3: Netflix Show

Think your students are binge-watching pros? Then creating their own Netflix show should be no problem. Students create a drama-filled show that focuses on the main character and their struggles. Students will create a show overview to tease the reader about their overall concept. The show will also include a set of eight episode overviews. Each episode will include a part of the protagonist’s story, an image, and an episode title.

Novel Project #4: Original Song

Music is such a great outlet for students. I am always surprised by the level of talent that some of my students have. Allow your students to take on the persona of the main character and have them create an original song. With two verses and a chorus, students will share the story of the protagonist’s struggle. They will set their song to music and then record themselves singing it. I always offer bonus to the bold students who want to sing it live to the class.

Novel Project #5: Spoitfy Playlist

For my nonmusically talented students who still love listening to songs, I have the Spotify Playlist project. Students map out the main character’s conflict and how they overcome it, and they tell that story through songs. In this character playlist, students choose 12 songs that show the progression of the protagonist struggle and how it ends up for them. Students create the playlist on Spotify and then add comments to each song explaining how that song relates to a specific part of the story. By pulling lyrics from the songs, students will also practice their citing and analyzing skills.

Novel Project #6: PSA Video

Have a student who deals better with facts and statistics? The PSA Video is the project for them. Students create their own Public Service Announcement based on the conflict of the main character. Formatted like a PSA, the 45-60 second video must include researched information, a call to action, and the next steps for the viewer. While the video itself must have a professional quality to it, students do not have to be in front of the camera for this project.

Novel Project #7: Diary Entries

If your students are more creative writers, they can step into the mind of the protagonist. First, students create 10 diary entries that provide insight into the character’s struggles and how they try to resolve them. Then, students will write these entries in first person point of view and in the classic diary form. Finally, students will show they understand the thoughts of their characters by adding specific examples from the story. 

Novel Project #8: Children’s Book

Combining arts and creativity is a great outlet for your students with a children’s book. Students will take the main character and the lesson that they teach to create a story. Next, students design an eight page set that includes illustrations on each page and simple sentences to tell the protagonist’s conflict. The book should target a young audience that presents a clear theme.

Novel Project #9: Magazine Article

Some students who think logically will find the appeal of a magazine article. First, students will consider the protagonist’s main conflict and write a nonfiction piece on that conflict. Students should include research and facts about this topic. The article should also include an interview with the protagonist sharing their experience with this problem. I require the article to contain 750-1000 words, subheadings, images, and easy-to-read font.

Novel Project #10: Podcast

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular and make a great character project. Students have the choice of conducting an interview with the character or creating the podcast as the character. The show must focus on the protagonist’s main conflict and their journey. The podcast has to be at least two minutes long and follow the format of a show with intro music, altro music, and a cover image. Students will need to make sure that they have clear audio for this project.

Novel Project #11: Poet’s Notebook

Some of my students excel at poetry and hardly ever get the chance to share it. In this project, students create a poet’s notebook of at least four poems. First, the poems must combine to be at least 40 lines but can follow any structure. And, the only requirements are that the poems relate to the main character and are written in poetic verse. Finally, the poems should connect in some way as they are a series. Finally, students should create a cover image for their collection.

Novel Project #12: Visual Art

For the artists in your class, challenge your students to create a visual art piece. Students have the freedom to create a visual piece in any medium. The focus of the piece should be the protagonist and their conflict. All artwork must be 100% created by the student. Finally, students need to include a one paragraph artist statement. The statement will provide insight into the artist’s choices and how it relates to the protagonist.

More Creative Ideas for Book Project

How to Teach a Novel Unit That Engages High School Students

5 Alternatives to Writing an Essay

3 Fresh Ideas You Can Use To Teach Characterization

Amp Up Your Class with the Powerful Strategy of Collaborative Classroom Projects

I hope these novel study project ideas help you to start thinking creatively. As you finish up your novel, start planning what projects you want your students to create in your classroom. One of the benefits of creative projects such as these ideas is that grading is so much more fun. Seeing your students show a deeper understanding of the characters and show off their skills.

 I hope you love these ideas for a book project and you try them out with your students. And, I would love to hear what new ways you use these novel project ideas. If you have some new ideas for a book project, tag me or send me a DM @theteacherrewrite on Instagram. You can always see what other great things I am working on in my classroom by checking out my blog . 

If you are ready to rewrite your novel project curriculum right away, check out my Novel Study Project Ideas resource. In this print or digital resource, I include all 12 novel project ideas from this post. Each project comes with a detailed description, a place to brainstorm, and a detailed rubric. These novel projects work with any novel so you can get started tomorrow. You are ready to start working on these novel projects right now.  I can’t wait to hear all your ideas for a book project!

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The Children's Picture Book Project

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

In this lesson students plan, write, illustrate, and publish their own children's picture books. First, students review illustrated children's books to gain an understanding of the creative process and the elements that help make a children's book successful. Next, students use graphic organizers to brainstorm ideas for the character, setting, and conflict of their own stories. Students then pitch their stories to their peers and use peer feedback as they develop their stories. Students create storyboards to plan the relationship between the illustrations and text. Finally, students use a variety of methods to bind their books in an attractive manner and present their books to their peers.

Featured Resources

Children's Book Review Guide : This handout contains instructions and guidelines for reviewing a children's picture book.

Story Map : Use this online tool to analyze the character, conflict, and setting of a picture book.

Plot Diagram : Students can use this online tool to plan the plot of their children's picture book.

From Theory to Practice

Diana Mitchell explains why lesson plans that focus on children's literature are so successful in the classroom: "When picture books appear in a secondary classroom, students behave differently. They paw over the books, oohing and aahing at the illustrations, the colors, and the topics. Enthusiasm creeps into their talk. They become unabashedly interested in the books . . ." (86-87) Mitchell explains that eventually students question why they are being asked to work with "baby" books, but she asserts that these texts are useful tools in the classroom because they build literacy skills and excitement simultaneously. As she concludes, "Since this is one genre accessible to all of our students, the payoff in terms of what they learn is usually great." Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
• Recommended Children's Picture Books  
• Children's Book Review Guide  
• Plot Pitch Template  
• Brainstorming the Conflict  
• Tips for Writing a Children's Picture Storybook  
• Publishing Tips  
• Grading Rubric for the Children's Picture Storybook

Preparation

• Ask students to bring in their favorite illustrated children's book from childhood for the first session.  
• Gather enough copies of illustrated children's books for each student in your class. Use the books students brought in or check out multiple copies of illustrated children's books from the public library. It is important, however, that you select only acclaimed picture books that have been proven to be successful with young children. Refer to the Recommended Children's Picture Books list to identify books to use for this activity.  
• Make copies of the handouts that are used in the lesson.  
• Test the Story Map and Plot Diagram interactives on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• plan, write, illustrate, and publish their own children's picture books.  
• analyze and evaluate a work of literature.  
• participate in a review of a story written by a peer.  
• use literary devices in an original work of fiction.

Session One: Favorite Book Presentations

• Arrange students into groups of three members each.  
• Have group members take turns reading their favorite picture books out loud to the other two group members.  
• After reading the book, each reader should share three reasons why the book is their favorite from childhood.  
• After the reading of each book ask group members to share concrete examples of how the book was or was not effective in each of the following three areas: plot, characterization, and illustrations.  
• Encourage students to develop their own guidelines for the characteristics of effective plots, characterization, and illustrations.  
• Gather the class and review students' findings, noting the details on chart paper or the board. Save this information for later reference, as students compose their own books.

Session Two: Book Reviews

• Review the guidelines that the groups compiled as they reviewed their favorite books in the previous session.  
• Pass out the Children's Book Review Guide and additional books for students to review.  
• Ask students to review a children's book and explore the general characteristics of children's books.  
• If possible, move students to a larger area or a location where they can read the books out loud to themselves.  
• After students have completed the review, return to the classroom and arrange the class in groups of three.  
• Have students to identify the similarities among all of the books reviewed in the group.  
• Gather the class, and have groups share their findings, comparing the results to the list from the previous session.  
• Note the details as students share to create a revised list that the class can consult while writing their own texts.

Session Three: "I Remember" Journal Entry

• Explain the writing project that students will complete: composing the text and illustrations for their own children's picture books.  
• Share the Grading Rubric and discuss the expectations for the activity. Answer any questions that students have.  
• Ask students to brainstorm themes that they noticed in several of the books.  
• Acceptance of others  
• Concern of family dynamics  
• Physical growth (especially size)  
• Fear of the unknown
• Once the class has compiled a list of several themes, review the list and make any additions or revisions.  
• Ask students to hypothesize why these themes resonate with young listeners, encouraging students to share any connections that they recall to the texts or to their own experiences.  
• Have students describe the memory as a journal entry. Encourage students to address all five of the senses when recounting their memory.  
• Explain that the memory does not have to be complete. If desired, encourage students to imagine or make up details that they cannot remember.  
• If additional time is needed, have students complete their journal entries for homework.

Session Four: Brainstorming Sessions

• Ask volunteers to share summaries of their memories from their journals.  
• After each volunteer reads, connect the memories to the themes from the previous session.  
• Remind students of the expectations of the assignment using the Grading Rubric .  
• Overview the steps that students will follow: gathering details about their stories, developing plots, storyboarding, writing and illustrating, and then publishing the book.  
• Explain that during this session, students will expand on the information from their memory journal entries by brainstorming additional details.  
• character map  
• conflict map  
• resolution map  
• setting map  
• Read through the Tips for Writing a Children's Picture Storybook handout and compare the observations to the books that students have read. Add or revise the guidelines as appropriate based on students' experiences with picture books. Have students complete the Brainstorming the Conflict chart to test out potential conflicts by identifying the complications that would or could result from attempting to solve them. Encourage students to discuss their findings with one another as they work.

Session Five: Developing a "Plot Pitch"

• Allow time for volunteers to share their work from the previous session with the class. Make connections to the class list of characteristics of effective plots, characterization, and illustrations as appropriate.  
• Distribute the Plot Pitch Template , and have students follow the information on the sheet to develop the basic layout and details of their stories.  
• Encourage collaboration and sharing as students develop their ideas. Circulate through the room, providing support and feedback during this work time.  
• Once the basic templates are complete, have students graph their plots using the ReadWriteThink interactive Plot Diagram .  
• If time allows, have students draw a sketch of their main character and the setting in which the story takes place. Encourage students to use colors in their sketches as well as labels that identify certain characteristics or details that might be revealed through the text of the story.

Session Six: Pitching the Plot

• Review the activities that the class has completed so far and the expectations for the project. Answer any questions.  
• Arrange the class in pairs and have partners present their "plot pitch" to their each other.  
• Ask students to answer the questions included on the Plot Pitch Template to provide written feedback to their partners.  
• If time allows, students can exchange their work with more than one partner.  
• Have students review the responses and add details or revisions to their work so far in the time remaining. Alternately, have students continue their work for homework.

Session Seven: Storyboards

• Have students prepare storyboard pages by dividing several 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper into four to six boxes. Suggest folding the sheets to create the lines easily. There should be enough boxes to represent each page of the book as well as the cover.  
• Ask students to use only one side of the paper so that all thumbnails on the storyboard can be seen at once.  
• Have students to sketch the illustrations and text for each page and the cover in a pane of the storyboard. The students' goal should be to create a balance of text and illustrations that tell their story.  
• Remind students that these are rough sketches, not their final illustrations. Getting the idea across is the goal.  
• Encourage students to experiment with the location, size, and amount of text and illustrations on each page.  
• Once students have completed their storyboards, arrange the class in pairs or threes to discuss the planned layout for the books.

Session Eight: Producing the Book

• Review the expectations for the assignment using the Grading Rubric .  
• Provide an overview of the publishing techniques that are available, using the information on the Publishing Tips handout and the Websites listed in the Resource s section.  
• Allow students to continue their work on their pages, writing and illustrating during this session.  
• Station yourself near the materials for binding the books. Provide help with the bookbinding process as students reach this stage.  
• As the books are completed, encourage students to read their stories to one another as a whole class or in small groups.  
• Allow more than one session for this final publication work if appropriate.

Arrange to visit a Pre-K, Kindergarten, or 1st grade class, and have your students read their books to the students. Select the best 5 to 8 books submitted. Divide students into groups of three and assign the following tasks to be completed during the visit: reader, page-turner, and master of ceremonies. Each group can also develop short skits, costumes, or other visual props to enhance the quality of their presentations.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Informally assess students’ participation in group and brainstorming sessions, book presentations, and journal writing.  
• Use the Grading Rubric to evaluate students’ picture books.  
• Rely on the informal feedback from younger listeners to the stories to provide additional assessment if you complete the extension.
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

The Plot Diagram is an organizational tool focusing on a pyramid or triangular shape, which is used to map the events in a story. This mapping of plot structure allows readers and writers to visualize the key features of stories.

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Undertaking Capstone Projects in Education: A Practical Guide for Students 1st Edition

Purchase options and add-ons.

Undertaking Capstone Projects in Education provides students with all of the information required to successfully design and complete a capstone project.

Guiding the reader in a step-by-step process, this book covers how to create a question, select a topic of interest, and apply the best possible design solutions. Structured in a way that will help readers build their skills, chapters explore all aspects of the capstone project from the inception of the idea, to laying the foundations, designing the project, analysing the data, and presenting the findings.

Filled with examples and written in a friendly and collaborative style, this key guide uses simple language and easy-to-understand examples to unpack complex research issues. This book is essential reading for students and anyone interested in undertaking a capstone project in the field of education.

• ISBN-10 0367748444
• ISBN-13 978-0367748449
• Edition 1st
• Publisher Routledge
• Publication date December 31, 2021
• Language English
• Dimensions 6.85 x 0.39 x 9.69 inches
• Print length 164 pages
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

"This book is a page-turner. At last we have a book that sets out a comprehensive range of useful issues in planning, doing and reporting a capstone project. The authors’ experiences of working on capstone projects shines clearly. Its positive style and graphics are first class for students and their supervisors: clear, down-to-earth, focused, practical and thought-provoking for every stage and type of capstone project. The advice is constructive, memorable and important. This book is a breath of fresh air, promoting and rewarding reflective practice. It should be the number one call for students doing capstone projects." Professor Keith Morrison, Vice-rector and Professor of Education, University of Saint Joseph, Macau, China

"Undertaking Capstone Projects’ is an extremely valuable addition to education research. Supervisors everywhere will be thrilled to find an approach which brings together theory and practice for teachers and shows the huge benefits of evidence-based research. For teacher-researchers themselves, the book provides a self-study journey leading to research which applies evidence-based solutions to their work-related issues. Capstone projects are practical, flexible, and practice-based. I strongly recommend using this book as the key text for those embarking on research projects in education." Professor Elizabeth Rata, Director of Knowledge in Education Research Unit, University of Auckland, New Zealand

"This is an excellent book for the early career researcher. Drs Burke and Dempsey have taken a really innovative fresh approach to education research methods for practitioners. Their book will fill the void missing in the current extensive range of publications for the students who are just about to embark on a research journey. At the early-stages students can be overwhelmed by the plethora of new language and ideas they encounter. By the time the novice researchers get to the end of this great book, they will know what phenomenology, mixed methods, quantitative analysis and much more are and where they fit in the big picture, leaving the new researcher ready to dig deeper and refine their own research journey." Dr Elaine Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK

At last, there is a comprehensive body of work on how to undertake capstone projects in education. This much-needed resource not only fills a gap in the literature but also has a place in addressing the knowledge gap of students and staff who seek to understand the purpose and process of a capstone. Dr Kelly-Ann Allen, School of Education, Monash University, Australia

About the Author

Jolanta Burke is a Chartered Psychologist specialising in positive psychology applied in education and Assistant Professor at Maynooth University, Ireland.

Majella Dempsey is Associate Professor and Strand Leader for the professional doctorate in curriculum studies at Maynooth University, Ireland.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (December 31, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 164 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0367748444
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0367748449
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.9 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.85 x 0.39 x 9.69 inches
• #1,649 in Education Research (Books)
• #14,125 in Education (Books)
• #20,782 in Higher & Continuing Education

About the author

Majella dempsey.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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