Make bingo cards with 25 squares each. Write "bingo" in the middle square of each card. Fill the rest of the squares with vocabulary words from the unit or story. Give each student a bingo card and bingo chips. Call out one of the word's definitions. Students should cover all spaces on their cards that contain the matching vocabulary word. The first person to fill a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins.
Instead of the traditional pencil and paper book report, give your fifth-graders hands-on options for presenting their book to the class. Design a book jacket depicting the characters or a scene from the book. Include a short summary of the book on the inside flap. Construct a diorama or mobile, design a coloring book or create a set of bookmarks based on the book. Film a short movie clip, commercial or news report telling about the story.
Write a part of the a story on each section of a large beach ball. For example, on one section write "characters," on another section write "setting," and on another section write "beginning." Other sections could include "middle" and "end." Have students keep the beach ball in the air by bouncing it around the room as music plays. When the music stops, the person who is touching the ball must talk about the section that his right thumb is touching.
Divide the class into small groups. Assign each group a scene from the story. Instruct the members of the group to make a movie clip for their assigned scene. However, before they get the video camera, they must sketch their ideas and write a short title that summarizes that clip at the top. Once their ideas have been laid out on paper, the group members may work together to film their movie clip.