How to Help Your Child Write Book Reports Part II

Before you encourage your child to write his/her book report, they should already have put together a concise outline, which will highlight their main points, as well as help them organize their thoughts.

Once they are satisfied with their outline, otherwise known as a thesis outline, then can they write the final draft. Most book elementry and middle school book reports are 5-8 paragraphs in length.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Have your child find a quiet and comfortable place to write their book report without distractions. With their thesis outline nearby, have your child elaborate on each and every one of the outline's points. Since they have their introduction's points, for instance, have them expand on the main story's theme in only 1-2 sentences. Make sure that they have their language arts and grammar books nearby so that they know how to properly capitalize book titles and author's names.

2. Have your child really be descriptive in their report. The outline helps organize their thoughts, but writing the actual report allows them to be more creative. One way to get children to be more descriptive in their writing is to constantly ask them how the character feels & what is the tone/mood of the book? Paragraphs 3-4 should really focus on being more descriptive.

3. Make sure that your child is using transitional phrases as he/she goes from one paragraph to the next. Transitional phrases are, "First," "Next," "Afterwards," "Finally," and "In conclusion."

4. Have them use examples within their report when elaborating on any special events that have taken place in the story. Once your child has successfully elaborated on all points within their report, have them read it aloud. It is highly suggested that children read their book report aloud so they can hear how it flows. They will also hear any incomplete thoughts or sentences as well.

5. Now, have your child make any necessary grammatical or spelling errors. As a parent, you are encouraged to look over your child's report for last mistakes. If your child is writing the report out, encourage them to write neatly. If they must write in pen, keep some white out handy for last minute mistakes. If they are typing their report, have them double space (unless instructed by teacher) so it is easier to read and grade (for the teacher's sake).

Tips & Warnings

• For a complete copy of your child's thesis outline, check out the link under weblinks. Have your child fill this out BEFORE writing the actual book report.

Resources

• Thesis Outline

[hnatalieann]

on 7/15/2009 Great tips1 5 stars and recommended!

[JuliaJ]

on 7/15/2009 This is great. Thank you so much!

[sweetspirit]

on 7/7/2009 Very informative. Thanks