Our students became Book Detectives, with briefcases, detective glasses and paperwork in hand to investigate the books they were studying.
Turning a generic “Book Report” into an “Investigative Report” did miracles to their motivation in writing about what they read! When the clock hit 2 PM, they would automatically pull out their ‘briefcases’, put on their glasses, grab their books and pencils and begin filling out their Reports!
The Line Up card asked for identifying the main characters in the story. They fill out the “Line-Up Card” – describing the characters in the story. The “Evidence” and “Witness Report” asked for students to identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Other reports required students to compare and contrast two or more characters, as well as acknowledge differing points of view of the characters.
Motivating a young child to write is a big challenge any teacher. Using this package gave such purpose to my little writers. I recommend them for every class. You can find it here.
