An Innovative Book Report Idea for "Island of the Blue Dolphins"

If there's one thing I think teachers are tired of hearing students complain about, it is having to do a book report. Students say that book reports are boring and uninteresting, but this isn't how it has to be. Teachers can figure out ways to grab students' attention and make them love learning, and even, book reports.

Create a Board Game

A board game book report is an incredible way to let students map out the chronological events in a story in a fun and meaningful way. In addition, the board game becomes a way to reinforce learning every time a student sits down to play.

While I used the "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell in the past for this project, the idea can be adapted for use with any book or lesson you are teaching your students.

By creating a game board using the characters, events, and other information from a book, students are using a hands-on method for reviewing and discussing material. And it is fun as well.

The Beginning, Middle, and End

Like a good book, the game board must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The first thing you want to do is have students list the events in the story chronologically. Then they can start to imagine how they could use each one as squares on the board. Some of the questions students will want to think about when they are creating their board include: How far apart did the events occur? Did a lot of time pass in between, or did the events happen one after the other? If a lot of time passed in between events, perhaps, something else important happened between the main events that could be used to fill in the extra squares.

Here is an example of a list of events from the "Island of the Blue Dolphins":

• The Aluets come

• Karana and Ramo are left on an island

• Ramo gets killed by wild dogs

• Karana fights to survive

• Karana finds Rontu

• Rontu dies

• She finds Rontu-Aru

• She gets rescued

Making a Game

There are many ways you could have students create game boards. You could have them use cardboard, poster board, or the back of a cereal box for the base of their game. My favorite way to make a game board is using a manila folder. The inside folds out to make the game, while the front cover can be used by students to create artwork describing the book. On the back cover, you can have students write the rules for the game. Staple a zip lock bag to the back to hold game pieces and chance cards. Now you have a portable game, that you can fold up, and take anywhere.

Game Pieces 

You can make game pieces by folding a strip of paper into an isosceles triangle, then drawing the characters from the book on each side. Remember, they don’t have to depict people, they can be symbols from the story. If you were using "Island of the Blue Dolphins" they could be dolphins or the God Tumaiyowit. Have students tape two sides together to create a triangle shape with the characters on each side. You could also have students bring in pieces from their board games at home, if you would like.

Chance Cards

Students should create chance cards that are directly related to the story they are using. For example, if students were using "Island of the Blue Dolphins" to make their chance cards, they would have both the hurdles Karana had to overcome (gain a turn), and the setbacks she faced, like the wild dog attack (lose a turn). Before designing their chance cards students can create a t-chart and brainstorm Karana’s achievements and the setbacks she faced.

Once students have a plan for their game board they can get started. Have students’ space out the events across the game board, label them, and draw a picture to go with them. In between the events, you can have students put chance spaces and free spaces.

Listing the Rules

On the back of the board students can make a list of the rules for their game. They know how the game should be played; this is their chance to explain it to others. Here's an example of what the rules might be.

• You roll the dice to see who goes first. The player with the highest number goes first.
• Each player takes a turn to roll the dice and moves that many spaces
• If you land on a chance space, draw a card and do as it says
• First person to reach the end gets off the island and wins the game.

Name your game! Design the front cover and enjoy playing with friends. What follows are more ideas for interesting book reports.

Book Report Lessons:

Note Book Lesson Idea

Students keep a notebook defining key terms and write responses to questions about a book. This is a good way to get students thinking about how to analyze a book.

Chapter Review

This lesson has fantastic worksheets for chapter review and comprehension. Students can start thinking about the key aspects of a story.

Map Making

Students learn how to make a map. This is perfect for teaching students how to draw the background for their game board.

Comprehension Questions

This is a lesson plan filled with a list of questions and vocabulary resources. This is a wonderful resource with lots of activities.