Voyages Ch. 5: How to Write a Book Report

How to Write a

Book Report

ELEMENT

A basic part of a whole

Sample Book Report Excerpt

What might be some elements of a book report?

Open Ended

What might be some of the elements of a book report?

Prompt

Think about the characters
and the setting from your book.

List 10 things you know about the characters and the setting
that you might want to include in your book report.

Read the following plot summaries of the book A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements. Tell
which one would be better in a book report and why.

A.

At first Mark remains aloof from others. Why should he take the trouble to make friends
when he'll be going to an expensive boarding school next year? Mr. Maxwell thinks Mark is a
know-it-all and seems to be punishing him for it. The approach of the fifth-grade
environmental camping trip makes Mark realize how he's been acting. He changes his ways
and makes new friends. But unexpected events follow when Mark gets into trouble. What
will this do to the relationship between Mark and Mr. Maxwell? Read this book to find out.

B.

Mark doesn't try to make friends at first because he'll be going to a boarding school next
year. Mr. Maxwell doesn't give Mark a chance. When Mark realizes he's been acting
stuck-up, he changes and makes friends. The fifth-grade camping trip begins well. But when
Mark takes the blame for Jason, things take a turn for the worse. Leaving the car instead of
waiting for Mr. Maxwell to drive him home, Mark starts on a dangerous adventure. Mr.
Maxwell follows and gets hurt. Mark rescues him, and Mr. Maxwell apologizes for the way
he treated Mark. They return to the camp as friends.

Multiple Choice

Read the following plot summaries of the book A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements. Which one would be better in a book report?

• A. At first Mark remains aloof from others. Why should he take the trouble to make friends when he'll be going to an expensive boarding school next year? Mr. Maxwell thinks Mark is a know-it-all and seems to be punishing him for it. The approach of the fifth-grade environmental camping trip makes Mark realize how he's been acting. He changes his ways and makes new friends. But unexpected events follow when Mark gets into trouble. What will this do to the relationship between Mark and Mr. Maxwell? Read this book to find out.

• B. Mark doesn't try to make friends at first because he'll be going to a boarding school next year. Mr. Maxwell doesn't give Mark a chance. When Mark realizes he's been acting
  stuck-up, he changes and makes friends. The fifth-grade camping trip begins well. But when Mark takes the blame for Jason, things take a turn for the worse. Leaving the car instead of waiting for Mr. Maxwell to drive him home, Mark starts on a dangerous adventure. Mr. Maxwell follows and gets hurt. Mark rescues him, and Mr. Maxwell apologizes for the way he treated Mark. They return to the camp as friends.

Open Ended

Why?

At first Mark remains aloof from others. Why should he take the trouble to make friends
when he'll be going to an expensive boarding school next year? Mr. Maxwell thinks Mark is a know-it-all and seems to be punishing him for it. The approach of the fifth-grade environmental camping trip makes Mark realize how he's been acting. He changes his ways and makes new friends. But unexpected events follow when Mark gets into trouble. What will this do to the relationship between Mark and Mr. Maxwell? Read this book to find out.

Purpose

Show a clear understanding of their purpose.

What do you want the reader to know about?

Present your information to make it interesting and memorable.

Introduction

Begin by telling what the title and name of the author.

Tell who the main characters are.

Where does the story takes place?

Give an idea of what the book is about.

Body

Gives more details about the plot.

Theme of the book.

Doesn't give away the ending.

Otherwise, why would your audience want to read the book?

Conclusion

Tells the reader your opinion of the book.

Give reasons and examples to support your opinion.

What is a personal opinion?

Tells whether or not you liked the book and why.

Often appears in the conclusion of a book report.

Sometimes it appears in the introduction.

Use examples from the book that support it.

Tell whether or not you recommend the book.

Features of a Book Report

Multiple Choice

Name the kind of paragraph:

This book helps readers understand the true nature of words, especially that they are important and are needed by everyone. The dictionary endures, as do words, and it changes and grows through the years and never goes out of date.

• Personal Opinion

• Plot Summary

• Title, Author, Characters

• Theme

Multiple Choice

Name the kind of paragraph:

Trying one of his tricks ot distract the teacher at the end of class so she won't assign homework, Nick innocently asks where words come from. Mrs. Granger's answer inspires Nick to invent a new word. He calls a pen a frindle, and soon everyone in the school, the town, and beyond does the same. Mrs. Granger is up ot Nick's challenge. The local paper hears about it, and it becomes important news. A local businessman becomes involved. Where will it end? Nick finds out but not until 10 years later.

• Personal Opinion

• Plot Summary

• Title, Author, Characters

• Theme

Multiple Choice

Name the kind of paragraph:

Frindle by Andrew Clements is a clever story about a creative boy named Nick Allen. Nick lives with his parents in a small New Hampshire town and is known for turning classrooms upside down. Will fifth grade be different with Mrs. Granger, a language arts teacher who doesn't let anybody get away with anything?

• Personal Opinion

• Plot Summary

• Title, Author, Characters

• Theme

Multiple Choice

Name the kind of paragraph:

I thought this was a very good book. It was really neat that a fifth grader could make up a word that became known all over the world. Nick, an ordinary kid, became wealthy because of his creativity and persistence. All kids could relate to Mrs. Granger and her X-ray vision. It was ordinary, yet extraordinary! I liked the illustrations pictures, but these pencil sketches emphasized the book's humor.

• Personal Opinion

• Plot Summary

• Title, Author, Characters

• Theme