A book report shares your understanding of a book with a reader. It should show that you have carefully read a book and come up with your own understanding of its meaning.
The book report that you're about to write will have five paragraphs. The first paragraph will introduce the title of the book, name of the author and the plot of the book. It should also contain a main idea. In a book report, the main idea is your understanding of the book. For example, you might introduce the main idea of your book report by saying, "The Secret Garden is a book about what people need to grow and live." The second, third and fourth paragraphs will show examples to support the main idea. As a sixth grader, you should focus on how the author uses images or situations to tell a story. You might notice certain images that are used throughout a book. For example, the image of flowers growing is repeated throughout in The Secret Garden. Does this image also suggest that the main characters are changing or growing? Thinking about why a certain image was used and how it contributes to the overall meaning of a book is a big part of writing a book report in sixth grade.
The fifth paragraph will conclude your book report by summarizing the points you have made.
ELA Standard 2.4
Before you write a book report,
1. Write the title of the book, the name of the author and the date it was written down. Think about what you want to say about the book. Spend a few minutes "free writing" about it. How do you "free write"? Just take a pen and a notebook and start writing your thoughts about the book. Keep writing for five minutes without stopping. Don't worry about spelling, neatness or punctuation. The aim of free writing is to get your ideas flowing. If you get stuck, try answering some of these questions:
2. Now reread what you have written. You might want to circle the sentences that you think are most important. Try to expand some of your ideas by re-reading parts of the book. When you re-read, think hard about your ideas. Write down notes about your new thoughts. Do any sentences or passages in the book stand out? You can make a note to quote them in your report. Now try to organize your ideas into an outline.
Use the graphic organizer, Main Idea Multiple Details, to write down your main idea, three supporting details, and your concluding thought.
The first paragraph should contain the title of the book, the name of the author and a very short summary of the book. Your first paragraph should also contain one sentence that tells your main idea about the book. The rest of your essay will explain this main idea in detail.
The second, third and fourth paragraphs should contain supporting details that support your main idea. For example, suppose you are writing about The Secret Garden and your main idea is that the book shows what people need to grow and live. You should use your middle paragraphs to discuss parts of the book that show what people need to grow and live. Each paragraph should discuss one detail or example from the book that supports your main idea. At least one of your paragraphs should discuss an image from the book and what it means Use your notes from free-writing to help you find good examples and details.
To support your comments, you should quote from the book at least once in every paragraph. You should always discuss any quotes you include in your book report. Write about what you think the quote means. Remember to put all quotes from the book in quotation marks and to give the page number. For example, you might write,
The Secret Garden may be about people caring for a garden, but it is also about magic. On page 62 of The Secret Garden, the author writes, "The garden had reached the time when every day and every night it seemed as if Magicians were passing through it drawing loveliness out of the earth and the boughs with wands." I think this quote shows that the author thinks that gardens are so beautiful that there is something magical about them.
Your concluding thought should summarize the points your main idea and supporting details. You might also think of a final detail to add or point to make.
Use the graphic organizer below to list arguments for and arguments against your thesis statement. Be sure to include evidence to support the arguments you list!
Now that you've made an outline for your book report, it's time to write a first draft! Use your outline to write one paragraph at a time. Each paragraph should contain a main idea, supporting sentences and a concluding sentence.
Try to make good links between your paragraphs. This way they will flow together well. Your teacher can show you good techniques to make sure that each paragraph fits well with the paragraph that came before.
Don't worry about any spelling or grammar mistakes. Since this is a first draft, you don't even need to make sure that your handwriting is neat!
Read your book report. You might even read it aloud to a friend or teacher. You and your friend or teacher should decide:
Rewrite your book report so that it fully answers these questions. You should also edit your work by checking your spelling and punctuation. Look up any words that you are unsure of in the dictionary.
Now copy out the final version of your book report in your best handwriting or print it out on a computer. Read through your final draft twice. The first time, check that the book report is exactly the way you want it. The second time, check that there are no spelling or punctuation errors. Be sure to put your name, the date and title on the first page. Now, you can share your book report with your friends! You can read your friends' book reports too.