There are many ideas for book report projects that are generic and can be adapted to any type of book. This is not the point of these non-fiction projects. These projects get to the heart of what makes each genre of book unique, both fiction and non-fiction, and design specific projects that highlight those qualities. Each project has been carefully selected to get students to think critically about that specific genre of book and what makes it different from the others. Students will analyze traits found in that particular style of writing and employ them in their execution of the project in some way. These projects align with Common Core as they include both fiction and non-fiction. Student must delve deeper into the text and provide support.

Non-Fiction Genres included: 
Animal
Biography
Foreign Country
How To
Magazine Article
Sport (2 different projects)
U.S. State

Grade Level:
These projects are appropriate to use with students in grades 3 through 8. Since that is a wide range, for each assignment, there is a space for the teacher to fill in the number of pages required for the book that would be appropriate for the class being taught. Teachers could also assign other types of levels to books if they use them in their classrooms, such as AR or Lexile reading levels.

Rubrics:
Many teachers use rubrics for grading and these have been provided for each project. They can be used to grade the end product, or for students to use as a guideline so that they know what the expectations are for success. The rubrics are designed a little differently than most, as descriptors have only been written for the 1, 3 and 5 on the 5 point scale. This was done to leave the teacher a little “wiggle room”, the 2 and 4 is what is in between in the description and can be left somewhat subjective. 

Worksheets:
Most of these projects can stand alone for the culmination as a reading assignment. A few of them also have an additional worksheet to accompany them, if more information is desired. 

Teachers can also add an additional writing component to go with any of these projects although at the completion of the project, the teacher can tell if the student understands the material read and additional assignment is not necessary.