Seton Book Reports – A Simple System to Build Better Writers

“Ugh!” “Arghh” or “Please, please, no” are some of the emotions felt by elementary school students when they hear the words “book report.”

Never fear students, because Seton is here to help you.

At Seton, the book report for the elementary grades is not intended to be mere proof that students have done the reading. In other words, students don’t just repeat the plot of the story. Instead, a book analysis, in essence, a review, incorporates all that students have learned in their language arts classes.

What Makes a Better Book Report?

Writing a book report requires reading comprehension skills, thinking and analysis skills, and composition and mechanics skills.

And here is where Seton comes to the rescue. The staff has prepared questions about the content of the book and developed a worksheet to guide students and help them successfully write their reports. As they read a book, they can fill in the information on the worksheet.

Once they’ve finished the book, they can then draw information from the worksheet, complete an outline based on the worksheet, and move from the outline to writing paragraphs for the report.

Simple, yes?

To help these students, Seton has prepared the opening paragraphs for books read in the first and second quarters. This introductory paragraph includes the title, author, the time and place of the story, and the main character. Then, the final sentence of that paragraph delivers the theme of the report.

Here we find the characteristics, attitudes, and values of the main character. In the following paragraphs, young reviewers address these traits along with evidence from the book. In the third and fourth quarters, students write their own introductions to these reports.

These steps lead to a well-written analysis of the book.

The Book Report Workbook, a Remarkable Tool

One of the academic skills learned by fourth graders is the art of writing a book report.

To assist these students, Seton has developed a Book Report Workbook, a tutorial designed to guide them step-by-step through the process of writing a report. In this case, fourth grade, it’s about The Small War of Sergeant Donkey, the assigned book for the First Quarter.

Step-by-Step Simplicity

We’ve provided a specific worksheet for this report. It includes chapter-by-chapter comprehension questions as well as interesting historical facts and vocabulary words. This tutorial is an excellent tool for learning how to analyze a character or characters in a book. The book report for The Small War of Sergeant Donkey is not sent to Seton nor is it graded.

In the Book Report Workbook, we’ve provided a Parent Supplement to assist with the report. The supplement includes a Worksheet Answer Key, a Simplified First Draft of the Book Report, and a Sample Completed Book Report.

Good writing, everyone!