When reading an extended text such as a novel, consider having elementary kids keep a book-themed response journal. Have students decorate the journal to match the book's theme. Divide the book into sections for different types of responses so that elementary students do not get bored with writing in the journal. Create a section for picture responses, a glossary for new or difficult words and a list of critical thinking "how" or "why" questions for students to choose from when responding to the reading.
Have students create mailboxes for the different characters in a class novel or book. Assign different students to different character mailboxes. These students will pretend to be the characters in the book and answer the letters written by other students. Every few days as the class reads the novel, have students choose one book character and write the character a letter. The letter might ask the character a question about his intentions, feelings or actions. The letter might simply voice an opinion about actions the character took. The students assigned to the character mailboxes pretend to be the characters and answer the classmates' letters.
Generally, elementary students enjoy writing poetry, so have students write poems as literature responses. Teach students how to write different types of poetry such as haiku, narrative, acrostic or diamante forms. Have them use a poetry form of their choice to write a response about the literature passage. After instructing students how to write several of the poetry types, you might create a poetry writing center at which students write poetry about books they have read.
Show students some examples of completed scrapbook pages. Have students create scrapbook pages as a response to literature. Students can create one page for the entire text or a series of pages in response to sections of the book. Use handmade scrapbook embellishments or ask colleagues and parents to donate supplies. Instruct students to include both visual and text elements in their scrapbook page responses.