Three Dimensional Reports

Book Report Ideas and Projects

Creative Suggestions
Creative Writing

Creative Writing; turn on inventiveness with 'Potato Possibilities' (4-6)

Daryl Cagle's Pro Cartoonists Index  Lesson plans include games like scavenger hunts, tic tac toe and cartoon bingo, which engage students as they explore and interpret the symbolism in cartoons.  Included are all necessary pages to print out as student handouts.
E-mail Classics Just for Fun  Puns, Parodies, Language Play, Bloopers, etc.
Integrated Vocabulary, Listening and Creative Writing Exercise (K-12)

"Just Sandwiches":   Creative Language Arts Activity (4-9)

Kids Cornfield Kidworld Magazine. A good example of kidsí writing on the internet, including particularly good games and puzzles in an online format.
Kidís Space. The site has rapidly developed into many sections, including creative activities communication pages and sections for learning basic computer skills. Good audio clips of music by kids are available in three options.

Stories That Grow on Trees:   Creative Writing Activity (4-8)

Critical Thinking
Resources  The Center for Critical Thinking has created a wealth of information including instructional guides and lesson plans to help educators implement Critical Thinking in every aspect of their teaching.

Debate
Suggestions to Consider    Suggestions are given here for teaching debate.
Forming an Opinion - Daryl Cagle's Pro Cartoonists Index  Click on "Forming Opinions" at your grade level (Elemenetary, Middle School and High School lesson plans are included.  This site includes developed lesson plans for using the editorial cartoons as a teaching tool in Social Sciences, Art, Journalism and English at all levels.Instruction starts at Grades four and five.
Debating Free Speech    The Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the  way we see free speech.  This lesson plan (appropriate for grades 4 - 10) teaches students the complex history of free  speech and invites debates over new  technological regulations.

Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Mythology
Lewis Carroll
Web Links  Biographical and critical information, e-texts and partial lesson plans 
Stories, Folklore, and Fairy Tales Theme Page  Twenty-six lesson plans to discover here!
Teaching Fairy Tales Across the Curriculum   General Suggestions that would work for any fairy tale are followed by specific  suggestion for teaching Alice in Wonderland. Units cover lessons in writing,  science, drama, geography, math, art, and spelling.

Following Directions
Following Oral Directions Using "Mystery Pictures" (1-6)

Grammar Usage
Appropriate Use of Helping Verbs  (3-12)

English Grammar.   A dictionary of English 
grammar.
Resources for Writers. Learn more about grammar and punctuation.
A Shower of Adjectives

Discovering Adjectives

Adverbily:  Practicing the Use of Adverbs (4)

Parts of Speech Review:  Hands-On Activity (3-6)

Imagery
Maya Angelou's "Mrs. Flowers" from I Know Why the Cage Bird SingsStudents read this excerpt and various poems and discuss the effective uses of  imagery.

Learning to Read
Sounding-out CVC words, 'The Blending Slide' (K-1)

Using Popcorn to Create a Reading Book (K-3)

Reinforcing Alphabet Names/Sounds (K-1)

Learning to Write
Color Code Writing; forming letters and numbers with colors (K-3)

Listening Comprehension
Mystery Pictures: Following Oral Directions
Make Me a Copy Please (Grade 5-6) Often times students are not able to communicate clearly what they would like to say. It is the purpose of this lesson to help student understand the need to be articulate and precise when explain steps to another student. In addition the student listening will learn to be a more effective listener. 
Creating Vivid Mental Imagery Through Description  One student describes a picture while another draws the picture based on the description given. (Assignment appropriate for Grades 4 - 12.)
Integrated Vocabulary, Listening and Creative Writing Exercise (K-12)

Literature
Activity to Understand Character's Personality (K-12)

Issac Asimov,  "The Fun They  Had"  (Grades 5 - 9) Students read the story then write a science fiction story of their own  about education in the future.

Bibliotherapy:  Studying the Perils of Prejudice (3-6)

Creative Thinking, Writing, Reading & Character Analysis Using "Frog and Toad are Friends" (2)
Fable Writing  (Grades 3 - 8).  Students write their own fables using models from literature.
Horror Stories  (Grades 7 - 9) Students write their own stories using Mary Shelly and Edgar Allan Poe as models.

Inferring Character Traits (all grades)

"An Irritating Creature":   Poetry Lesson (3-4)

The Middle Ages and Children's Literature  (Gifted, 2-5)

Morning Girl and Star Boy by  Michael Dorris  (Grades 5 - 7) lesson plans for teaching this novel. 
Myths for Kids (Grades 4 - 9)  Students use the Encarta Encyclopedia to study mythology.  Then they create a book of mythology for younger children.

"Poetry Cubes":   Develop an Appreciation for Different Styles of Poetry (2-4)

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt  (Grades 5 - 7) lesson plans for teaching this novel. 

Use of Literature in SDMPS (3-5)

Revenge in Edgar Allan Poe's "The  Cask of the Amantillado."  (Grades  8 - 12 )

Zoo Animal Poetry:  Activity Involving Field Trip and Video (K-3)

Pen Pals
The Diary Project. It is a way for young people around the world to share their personal thoughts, feelings, and dreams with one another near and far . . . to ask questions and find answers about growing up at the turn of the 21st century via the Internet. Requires plugins.
 Cyberkids Connection. A virtual place for young people from all over the world to share their thoughts and ideas with each other.
Cyberteens. Mountain Lake publishes educational software as well as the CyberKids and Cyberteens Web sites. Their goal is to create and promote youth community worldwide and to give teens a voice and an interactive place to express their creativity. Young people all over the world make Cyberteens a sharing, caring space.

Personification
Ray Bradbury,  "There Will Come  Soft Rains"  Lesson Plan appropriate for grades 8 - 12 for  teaching the element of personification with this short story.

Poetry
Robert Frost  (Grades 5 - 12)  Lesson  Plans on Frost's poems.  All poems are linked to an online version.
Semantic Rhyming Dictionary. You can use it to write bad poetry or even good poetry. Using the three query functions described in this site, you can find words that rhyme with, almost rhyme with, or sound exactly the same as a certain target word.

Teaching Guides for many works listed by grade level

Picture Books
David Wiesner  June 29, 1999

Quotations
The Quotations Page. Search for a quote or read the quote of the day! Great links to other quotation sites.Reading Activities
Book Reports  Hundreds of creative ways to make books reports fun.
More Book Report Ideas  Three  dimensional reports for the lower grades.
Charlotte's Web, E. B.White  Fifty-two Activities to teach Charlotte's Web!

Recommended Books
Readinga-z.comDownloadable materials to teach guided reading, phonics, the alphabet, and much more
Books ï Lesson Plans ï Worksheets ï Flashcards ï More

Recommended Web Sites
KidsConnect: Ask a Question. Are you a K?12th grade student looking for information on the Internet for a report or project to do for school? Let KidsConnect, the online question answering and referral service, help you out!
KidsConnect Favorite Web Sites. Point-and-click your way to the Web sites our KidsConnect school library media specialists have found most helpful for K?12 students! 
Knowledge Adventure Encyclopedia. Search for information on a variety of really cool subjects.
The Super Sitter. Being a babysitter is a lot of fun, and itís a nice way to make some money. Itís also a great way to learn about responsibility. The Super Sitter is a guide that can come in handy not only for babysitters but parents as well. And be sure to check out the Baby Safety Checklist, which has valuable pointers on how to keep children safe.

Research Paper
Learn a topic through research & drawing - Alphabet Book  (K-12)

Enigmas: Activity to Encourage Research & Creative Thinking Skills (4-5)

Similes
Introducing Similes

"Busy As A Bee":  Working with Similes (3-6)

Spelling
Spelling Test of the Top Fifty Most Misspelled Words

A Spelling Test. Test yourself and learn some techniques to improve your spelling.

Three Great Techniques for Weekly Spelling Lists (3-6)

Teacher Resources
Encarta Concise Free Encyclopedia.  A free abridged version of Microsoftís CD-ROM encyclopedia.
Kids Zone. A collection of Web sites and activities that range from teaching the ABCís to researching homework topics. Also includes resources for parents and teachers. Requires plugins.
The Middle Web Index.   Links and documents specific to middle school.
Merriam-Webster Online.   Aside from  the wonderful access to the dictionary, this site  offers words games and a word for the day.
NCTE Elementary School Page.    Tools and Resources specific to Elementary School teachers of English. 
5-6 Connection is a group of teachers from all around the world who have come together to form a 'virtual teachers' lounge' and share ideas from management to subject lessons to recipes! We intend to present some of the ideas we have come up with to you... but if you want more, maybe you should think about  joining us!

Thematic Teaching Units
The Gypsy Game / The Egypt Game:  Grades 4-7

The American DreamThis is designed as an interdisciplinary project for upper elementary. The flexibility inherent in this project will allow teachers to adapt the project to their classroom needs.

Topics for Themes

Vocabulary and Language Development
Word Walls

ARTFL Project: Rogetís Thesaurus Search Form.   Find synonyms (words that mean the same thing), antonyms (words that have the opposite meaning), and similar words and phrases. 
Increasing Vocabulary for primary students (1-3)

Integrated Vocabulary, Listening and Creative Writing Exercise (K-12)

A Web of Online Dictionaries. Provides an easy-to-use search engine for words and the results are quite detailed. Also offers 400 different language dictionaries.
Vocabulary& Language Concept Development (PreK-2)

Vocabulary & Language Comprehension using "Land Before Time" (4-6)

Whole Language
Whole language experience using "Casey at the Bat" (3-5)

Whole Language Story for Developmental Activities (K)

Whole Language; Oklahoma Indian History: Spiro Mounds (3-6)

Reading, Whole Language; Story Pyramid

Writing
Writing for Publication
Childrenís Express. This site is for sharing news stories written by kids for everyone.
Descriptive/Persuasive Writing 'My Pyramid - Preparing for a Journey" (4-6)
KidNews. This is a free news and writing service for students and teachers around the world. Anyone may use stories from the service for educational purposes, and anyone may submit stories. It invites comments about the news gathering, teaching, and computer-related issues in the Discussion sections for students and teachers. A tremendous source of all kinds of magazines for student-published work.
Kidpub. More than 10,000 stories written by kids from all over the planet!
New Moon. This is a site for the magazine for girls writing of their dreams and aspirations. Provides a set of guidelines for writers.
Positively Poetry. This site is made up of poems submitted by kids from around the globe. Children can send their poems to Positively Poetry and all work will be displayed for people on the Internet to view.

"Read In":   Unique Story Writing Involving Two Grade Levels (K-6)

Scriptitoís Place. Especially for young people ages 7?15. Vangar publishes things that people your own age have written to spotlight young talent, and to show you that you can do it too.
School News

Writing Activity Using Fairy Tale Structure to Identify Elements of a Short Story (4-6)

Writing 'Auto-Bio' Poems (4-12)

Successful Paragraphs for Grades 4-6

Young Writer Online. Young Writer is a magazine that publishes creative writing from children aged 6?16 from around the world.  Fun, instructive, and designed to build a writerís confidence, Young Writer is a forum for young peopleís writingófiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry.
 The Young Writers Club. This club aims to encourage children of all ages to enjoy writing as a creative pastime by getting them to share their work and help each other improve their writing abilities. The online magazine is called Global Wave.
Young Writerís Clubhouse. Created by Deborah Morris, the author of the Real Kids, Real Adventures series. This site offers a great deal of sound information and opportunities for young people through writing. 

Writing HELP
Writing Den. This is designed for students grades 6?12 who want to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills. Writing Den is divided into three levels of difficulty: Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs. Includes plugins.
Writing a Basic Essay. An essay can have many purposes, but the basic structure is the same no matter what. You may be writing an essay to argue for a particular point of view or to explain the steps necessary to complete a task. Steps to guide you in writing an essay. 
Writing - A Photo Essay (2-4)