Each student receives a bingo card on which to record the books he has read. The squares of the card contain a variety of genres and series for students to choose from. For instance, one square might state, "Read a book from The Magic Tree House series," while another square might say, "Read a book about submarines." The student colors in the coordinating square when he finishes a task, and then he receives a reward when he completes a row or a column. This activity broadens students' exposure to a variety of books.
An open-mind presentation helps students to relate to the main character of a book, and it aids them in connecting events that have happened throughout the story. Draw a portrait of the main character. Cut out the portrait and staple it to another piece of paper. Trace the outline of the portrait on the blank paper. Inside the outline, write words or draw pictures to illustrate the character's thoughts. Include the main events, people or items that were important to the character's development. Students can share their open-mind presentations with the class to discuss the words and pictures they chose.
After reading the novel, let your students write paragraphs about what would have happened if events had changed or if characters had made different choices. They may use personal experiences or their opinions about the book to create their paragraphs. You might need to brainstorm some initial scenarios as a class for the students to expand on individually. What-if stories help students to identify with the characters and the storyline.
Instruct the students to take events from the story and turn them into math problems. The numbers in the word problems don't necessarily have to come straight from the book. If the book mentions geographical locations, allow the students to use maps to create problems based on finding the distance between two points. If your class is struggling with a particular math concept, you may consider framing the assignment so that all of the questions must include that concept.