Make your students bookmarks that creatively reference books they have read, or will read, in your class. Find quotes, author pictures, or artwork based on these books to include on the bookmark. You can use one novel, play or poem for each bookmark, or create a theme using multiple pieces of literature. You could also include a tassel that reflects the book, regarding the color or material used.
By middle school, students are expected to not only read but also analyze literature. Facilitate analytical note-taking by providing a space on the bookmark for your students to quickly jot down a page number, an important quote or an interesting character that inspires further study. You could include lines or just leave a blank space.Avoid using lamination so the students are able to write on it easily.
For each class, list the students' names on the bookmark using fun, creative fonts. Optionally, you can highlight each student's name for that student's bookmark. This bookmark could also be used as a way to introduce students to each other at the beginning of the new school year. Include class information such as your name and the year to make the bookmark not only creative but a keepsake as well.
Let the students create the bookmarks themselves. Provide them with the materials, including paper, scissors and the desired embellishments, and let them use their own creativity to design the bookmarks. You could establish a literary theme for the students to use or assign each student one of the books read in your class that year. This could be an individual or group project.
For the teacher with an extra-busy schedule, you can find a plethora of creative, printable bookmarks online. Find a site with bookmark templates, select the one you want such as one that lists literary vocabulary or describes what a student should do while reading a book, and print as many as you need. You could make the bookmarks even more creative by printing two different templates and adhering them together back-to-back.