Alternatives to a Traditional Book Report

For more details and suggestions, visit:

http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports

1. Create a Cartoon version of the book

Use Creaza http://creaza.com, Piki Kids http://pikikids.com, or Kerpoof http://kerpoof.com to create a comic book summary.

2.C reate a short video clip about the book.

Use Creaza http://creaza.com, Kerpoof http://kerpoof.com, and Xtra normal text to movie http://xtranormal.com to create short movie clips. Students can interview characters in the book, create a movie trailer ore reenact portions of the book

3. Create a virtual poster advertising the book.

Use Glogster http://glogster.edu or any online digital drawing tool to create a real or online book poster that acts as an advertisement for the book they just read.

4. Students can create their own virtual bookshelves with Shelfari http://shelfari.com.

Shelfari can be used for book reports and reading logs. Students can create a virual book shelf, share recommendations and review the books. They can also use it to create book clubs.

5. Book Adventure http://bookadventure.org is an online reading motivation program.

Students can create book lists to take to the library, sorted by their reading level, age, and interests. Students can earn prizes by taking quizzes and the teacher can receive results.

6. Record a Bookcast, an audio podcast of a book report.

Create a movie trailer-like audio review of a book that students using Audacity http://audacity.com, G Cast http://gcast.com, or Pod Bean http://podbean.com . B

7. Create a timeline of events in the story they just read using an online timeline.

Capzles http://capzles.com is an interactive timeline creator. Students can add photos, video, audio and text to their timeline to support telling the story sequentially. More Timelines are listed here.

8. Use Wikis to share book reviews.

Wetpaint http://wetpaint.com, PBWorks http://pbworks.com, and Zoho Wiki http://zoho.com/wiki and Wikispaces can be used to create a classroom book review wiki where students can share reviews.

9. Use http://bookwink.com.

For students in grades 3-8, motivates them to read using podcasts and web videos. Students can create their own videos and share on Viddler http://viddler.com or Fliggo http://fliggo.com so that other students can watch and comment on the book or topic.

10. Use VoiceThread http://voicethread.com

Students can create a slideshow of their book with images, audio, and text. Other students can leave text or audio comments on the book reviews.

11. http://www.bookdrum.com/ allows students to create an online book report that includes maps, artifacts, synopses and more.