Fun Ideas and Activities for Novel Studies + a GIVEAWAY!

Hi teacher friends,
Some of my favorite memories in elementary school were centered around reading novels in the classroom! I’ll always remember making a glittery web with glue and black paper while reading Charlotte’s Web in third grade. (I also remember our teacher scolding us for the giant glittery mess on the carpet.)
Creative projects and activities have the ability to bring novels to life. While choosing a novel unit, it is obviously important to keep your students’ reading levels and comprehension skills in mind. That is why interactive notebooks and similar resources are a great way to differentiate their learning and allow them to work at their own pace.
Here are some of my favorite activities, resources, and ideas to utilize in the classroom while studying novel units!

Host a Book Themed Party!

After the whole class finishes a novel, host a themed party where students can create props, costumes, classroom decorations, or even bring in yummy snacks that are related to the book.
Some of my favorite book themed party ideas include:
Butter Beer for Harry Potter (2 liter cream soda, 2 tablespoons butter extract – for cream top- 1 7oz container of marshmallow creme, 1 cup whipping cream – add all items together in an electric mixer and combine until smooth.)

Dirt & Worms for Holes (chocolate mousse cups with oreo crumbs and gummy worms)
Onion Dip for Holes
Creating Egyptian Masks for The Egypt Game
A Day of Random Acts of Kindness – Wonder
Making Yarn Dolls – Esperanza Rising
Making Jamaica Flower Punch – Esperanza Rising

Book Tasting Event + Menu / Brochure Freebie!

Host a book tasting in the classroom so students can experience a variety of genres and writing styles! Learning how to select a book that you know you’d enjoy is such a great skill to acquire. Utilize group tables by having each group table represent a different genre. Time students for about 10 minutes at each table and then rotate. You can also have your students create table menus before setting up the book tasting. Download this Google Classroom FREEBIE where students can use this template to create a menu in Google Drive!

This resource allows students to create a pamphlet that can be edited for ANY novel! The file contains a Google Drive link that can be used for Google Classroom. Download here

Interactive Notebook Novel Studies

I love having interactive notebooks for every subject. Each of my interactive notebooks contain Character Cards that fit inside a card pocket, Writing Warm-ups for Each Chapter, Vocabulary Cutouts, Themes Foldables, Chapter Quizzes, a Final Exam, a Fun Board Game (to help study for exam!) Novel Quote Posters, Reading Logs, Notebook Cover, Interactive Reading Notebook Templates, and SO much more! Here are some more photos of the interactive notebooks (board game included)…

Find Novel Study Interactive Notebook Resources here!

20% off during the Giveaway!!!

Books + Novel Study GIVEAWAY!

Last but not least, I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY of my favorite classroom novels! The winner of the giveaway will receive hard copies of five books AND five matching interactive notebooks! (The 5th-6th Grade Novel Studies Bundle!) During the giveaway I will also have this resource set to 20% OFF! Find it here!