how to do a book report for 2nd grade

How to Write a Second Grade Book Report

Sophie levant.

A book report is a short essay describing what a particular book is about, coupled with a brief reaction from you. This may not be the first book report you have ever been assigned, and it certainly won't be the last. Nevertheless, we can all use a little help when it comes to finding out where to start. A book report can be simple to accomplish with a little organization.

Explore this article

Write down the facts about your book
Read your book
Jot down some
Write the first draft
Proofread your first draft
Rewrite your first draft into a final copy

things needed

Pencil and paper

1 Write down the facts about your book

Write down the facts about your book on a sheet of paper. This includes the book's title, author, publisher and publishing date. You can find this information on the title page of your book.

2 Read your book

Read your book. Keep a pencil and paper handy. While you read, write down the information you will need to write your report. If it is a fiction book, note the book's setting, the main characters, and the problem or situation the characters face and how they come to solve it. If it is a nonfiction book, note the type of book (such as a biography), the subject and some interesting things the author includes in the book.

3 Jot down some

Jot down some of your opinions about the book you've just read. Did you like how the author wrote the book? How did the book make you feel? Which parts did you like, and which parts did you not like? Do you think anyone else would be interested in reading the book? Remember to state the reasons why you feel the way you do.

4 Write the first draft

Write the first draft of your book report. Start with the introduction, giving the facts about the book that you had written previously. Next write the body, using the notes you wrote as you read. The first paragraph of the body is a summary of the book, and the second paragraph describes your opinions about the book. The last part of a book report is the conclusion. In the conclusion, briefly go over the main points you made in your book report. In this paragraph, you might want to mention whether you would recommend the book and, if so, to whom.

5 Proofread your first draft

Proofread your first draft. Your first draft is probably going to be a little messy. Check the report for spelling and grammar mistakes. Read over it and see if there's anything you should take out or add. Having a parent or another adult read your first draft can help you to find other areas that could use some improvement or sentences that you could word differently.

6 Rewrite your first draft into a final copy

Rewrite your first draft into a final copy, correcting any errors. Take your time in cleaning up and giving your report a polish. Give the report a final spelling and grammar check.

About the Author

Sophie Levant is a freelance writer based in Michigan. Having attended Michigan State University, her interests include history classical music, travel, and the German language. Her work has been published at eHow and Travels.

Tips on Writing a Middle School Book Report

How to Write Book Reports for Kids

How to Do a Book Report Without Reading the Book

How to Create a Summary Outline

How to Properly Write Book Titles in a Report

How to Make the Setting of a Book Report

How to Write a 3rd Grade Report

How to Summarize an Essay or Article

How to Write a Book Report in the 4th Grade

How to Do Book Reports

How to Write an Introduction for a Book Report

How to Write a Book Report in the 6th Grade

How to Write a Book Report in Third Grade

How to Write a Book Report in APA Format

How to Write a 7th Grade Book Report

How to Do a High School Book Report

How to Write a Book Review- 4th Grade

How do I Write a Story in the 4th Grade?

How to Erase Highlighters

Three Components of a Good Paragraph

Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Whether you’re studying times tables or applying to college, Classroom has the answers.

Accessibility
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Copyright Policy
Manage Preferences

How to Write a Book Report (+ a FREE Step-by-Step Printable for Your Kids)

Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. You can read my full affiliate disclosure HERE .

We read a lot of books (homeschool moms, can you relate?). Right now, we are reading the Harry Potter series together as a family, and as my kids have grown, it’s been fun to see them become more interested in reading for fun. As part of our homeschooling this year, we have been learning how to write a book report, which has been a great way for me to evaluate how well my kids are understanding what they read.

My son is in 3rd grade this year and recently had a book report as one of his assignments in English. While there were a couple of steps given to him, he struggled with the process and actually putting the book report together. So I decided to create a step-by-step book report printable to help him learn how to write a book report.

I hope these printables will be a big help to your kids, too! They will walk your kids through the steps of organizing their book report, writing a draft, revising and proofreading, and writing a final copy. Plus, I’ve included a rubric for you that you can use to give helpful feedback if you’d like.

Not only will this template help your kids learn how to write a book report, but they will be fun to add to your homeschool portfolio and look back on in the future.

Why Should You Use Book Reports in Your Homeschool?

Writing a book report or using an organizer to respond to what they have read is a great way to help your kids with their reading comprehension . It’s also fun to see their unique writing styles come to light and learn what they think about the books they have read.

Plus, I have found that incorporating book reports into our homeschool is a fun way for my kids to practice their writing skills because they get to write about a book they have loved. My son doesn’t necessarily love to write, so making the writing topic interesting is really important in our current season.

They also will obviously get to practice their handwriting, and you can include an oral presentation component if you’d like to as well!

Teach Your Kids How to Write a Book Report

A book report is just what it sounds like – a detailed report your kids will write after reading a book. In the report, they will give a summary of the book and share some of the important plot points, as well as share their opinion of the book.

When my son first attempted to do his book report from his English assignment, he struggled with what to write, and how to pull it all together in one cohesive report. I wanted to really lay out the process for him, to break it down into manageable steps .

Writing book reports can be a great way to help your kids with their reading comprehension, writing skills, and handwriting. Teach your kids how to write a book report in easy, manageable chunks with this step-by-step template.

If your child is new to writing book reports, I would recommend doing the first one together . Choose a book you have been reading aloud as a family (or a new one to read together), so you can then walk through the template and process with them.

If you are reading the book together, model how to take notes of important characters and plot points as you read . These notes will be great to reference later when writing the report.

Once you are finished reading and taking notes, grab your book report template and work through the process of putting together the report ( this printable makes it so easy! ).

My Book Report Template for Kids

There are many options out there with ideas for creative and different styles of book reports (I love these ideas from We Are Teachers), but if you are looking for a simple way for your elementary-aged student to organize their thoughts into a basic book report, these are for you.

The pages include:

2 Book Report Planning Pages where your kids will organize their thoughts about the main characters, important plot events, and what they learned and liked about the book. They will also have space to draw out their favorite scene from the story.
First Draft Pages where they will write a rough draft. These sheets also include checklists that will walk them through the revision and proofreading process.
My Book Report Pages where your kids will write their final copy of their book report.
Book Report Rubric which is a sheet you can use to offer comments and suggestions on their work, if desired.
Reading Log page that your kids can use to keep track of what they are reading (great for your homeschool record keeping as well!)

Using a template like this will help your kids organize their thoughts in the planning pages, so it’s easier for them to put the final review together. They will see all of the important parts that need to go into their book reports, which will help them learn how to write effective reviews and recommendations.

Printable Book Report Template

I’d love for this book report template to be a blessing to you and your family as well! Grab it below when you join my subscriber list – I love to send out freebies, homeschool tips, inspiration and more as I go through my own homeschooling journey.

Grab your FREE Book Report Printables!

Subscribe to my list and join thousands of other homeschool mamas looking for homeschool help, inspiration, and fun.

Thank you for subscribing!

Please check your email for your Book Report Printables.

And if you love all of those, take a peek at my shop where I share some other helpful printables I’ve created for your home and homeschool.

Drop a comment below and let me know – what are some of your kid’s favorite books they have read, or what are they reading now?

Free Printable Game to Help Teach Your Kids Contractions
A Fun Way to Make Reading Exciting for Your Kids
Why Visual Perceptual Skills are Important for Your Kids

Blessed Homeschool is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You can read my full affiliate disclosure HERE.