As a 6th-grade teacher, sometimes you may want to add different types of teaching methods to your instruction so that your students don’t get bored and also so that you can address a variety of learning styles.
Brainstorming some good book report ideas for 6th graders is one way to do so.
Give a break to traditional literacy assessments that many students dread. Instead, assign fun book reports that 6th graders will actually enjoy completing.
The biggest issue you may be thinking about right now is how to make a book report fun for sixth graders since they have most likely done a ton of them up to this point in their schooling.
That’s where this collection of fun book report ideas for 6th grade comes in.
Here you will find some of the best sixth-grade book report ideas that are sure to engage all levels of learners: gifted students, students who struggle academically, and everyone in between.
Book Report Ideas For 6th Grade
Following you will find some of the best book report ideas for 6th grade students.
Write a Series of Diary Entries.
By 6th grade, students have been exposed to a variety of literacy genres.
That’s why this is a great time in their school lives to take a deep dive into some of those genres.
One option is to have students explore writing diary entries … from the perspective of a book character.
Students will take on the persona of a character in a chosen book and write a series of journal entries that reveal the thoughts, feelings, motivations, worries, joys, frustrations, etc. of that character.
It will take deep thought and critical thinking for students to identify with the character. They will have to step outside of themselves in a way that they haven’t done before.
To make this project more challenging, request that students draft a series of diary entries that cover a period of seven days or even a month!
Your advanced and gifted/talented learners may appreciate this greater task.
Design a Set of Themed Bookmarks.
This is a practical reading project that students can use once they complete it.
For this project, students will use bookmark templates to create a set of themed bookmarks.
First, they need to think about the central themes and messages presented in their books.
Then they will capture these themes in their bookmarks in the form of phrases, quotes, images, etc.
Sketch and Label a Comic.
If you’re seeking creative book report ideas for 6th grade students, this one is a great fit.
By 6th grade, students can do so much with different types of genres.
Challenging them to create a comic is a good way to stretch their literacy abilities.
Before starting, share with students how comics are structured and discuss what elements they include. Show examples if possible.
Doing so offers guidelines to which they should adhere when drafting their own comics.
After providing them with a comic template, students will choose a moment from their books to make into a comic.
This moment could be a chapter, section, page, or scene from the book. The point is to capture that moment within the comic.
Because comics are usually funny, students may have to retell their moment from a different angle in order to give it a humorous spin.
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Draft an Email to the Author.
An email is a form of text that is common today. So why not leverage it as one of your book report ideas for 6th graders?
For this project, students will write a pretend email (in paper form, not digital) to the author of their chosen book.
Email topics to consider…
- Tell the author what they liked about his/her book.
- Give the author recommendations for writing a sequel.
- Ask questions to the author that would help the student clarify any confusing parts of the book.
- Tell how many stars (1 to 5, with 5 being the best) they would give the author’s book and why.
- Inquire about the author’s life and ask what motivated him/her to become an author.
These are just a few examples of different assignments that you could attach to this book project idea.
The options are numerous.
This is a very authentic, meaningful, and purposeful way for sixth graders to improve their literacy skills.
Assign Character Awards.
Motivate students to evaluate characters in the book based on the characters’ actions.
To get started with this project idea, provide students with a list of award ideas.
Though your sixth graders may already have some award ideas in mind, sharing other titles gets their creative juices flowing even more.
Now, after listing all the characters in their books, they will think about what two awards they would give to each person and why.
Provide them with a graphic organizer to record this information.
Compose a Song or Jingle.
Songs and jingles communicate a message through rhythm and sound.
It will be a fun challenge to have your sixth graders experiment with this type of literacy genre.
They will compose a song or jingle about their book.
To help them jumpstart the process, ask them how their book makes them feel. What emotions does it evoke?
The songs they create should convey these emotions.
As support, allow students to write a song using a melody from a song that they already know. They will then just add their own lyrics.
Your more artistic and musically-minded students may actually enjoy the challenge of creating their own melodies.
Because songs are a type of poetry, it might be helpful to spend some time reviewing the elements of poetry before students begin this book report project.
Create a Jeopardy Game.
For this sixth-grade book project idea, instruct students to create an online Jeopardy game using their chosen book as the source of topics.
They will brainstorm a collection of questions and answers that pertain to their books and then record the information on a Jeopardy template using the online platform JeopardyLabs.
Before assigning this digital book report, review with students how Jeopardy works, explaining how the answers are given first (with the questions being revealed as contestant responses) plus discussing the structure of the different difficulty levels of items presented in the game.
Final Thoughts On Book Report Ideas For 6th Grade
There is no need for you to any longer search all over the Internet trying to find really good book report ideas for 6th grade students.
Here you have some really great ideas that are more than enough to get your 6th graders engaged and excited about showing what they know about the books they’re reading.
Whether you’re an English Language Arts teacher or a core teacher who desires to integrate more literacy into your curriculum, these book report ideas for 6th grade are sure to serve your needs.
They address a range of student ability levels and equally important … save you planning time.