paper bag book report instructions

Book Report in a Bag

Students choose a book to read and report on.

Middle grade students could read a short chapter book. Be sure to have a selection of books at various reading levels, and to have more books than you have students.

In upper grades, have students choose from a set of books preselected by the teacher, or allow them to choose their own. You could further refine the project by having all students choose a certain genre (for example, science fiction), or have groups of five to six students each working on one genre. Following their individual work, the students who worked on each genre could put together a presentation for the class outlining features of the genre as well as a brief bibliography of the books they read.

Give each student a white paper bag with handles (approximately 8 by 10 inches / 20 by 25 cm or slightly smaller). On one side of the bag students will draw a cover for their book. On the other side they will create a collage featuring various aspects of the book.

Have students measure and cut out of construction paper a number of 5-by-5­inch / 13 x 13 cm cards. (This is the Math component of the project.) On these cards they will summarize various elements of the book. You will determine the number of cards according to the grade and ability level of the students. Basic topics for cards can include the following:

• Three Major Characters: for each character, students write the character's names, three words to describe their personality, three words to describe their physical appearance
• Favorite Character
• Book Facts: author, number of pages, genre, publisher, year of publication
• Problem / Resolution

The cards will then be placed into the decorated bag. Students will also include a handmade artifact related to the book in their bags. For example, a student who read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory created a homemade chocolate bar; another student who read Underground to Canada linked florist wire loops together to make a chain, representing the shackles worn by slaves. Once all the material has been created, the book report in a bag is handed in to the teacher.

This project works well for a variety of topics such as:

• study of ancient Egypt (Egyptian characters)
• native studies (totem poles)
• novel studies (characters from the novel)
• medieval studies (characters in period dress)

For upper grades, students can also complete a response journal entry about the book or use graphic organizers to summarize an aspect of the book. Or you can devise any other activity that suits your students, including giving them a free choice for one of the cards.

Printed with permission from Firefly Books Ltd.

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Book in a Bag Project Book Report Alternative

April 7, 2024 by Carol Davis

Are you looking for an engaging alternative to a book report? This idea is perfect! I call it The Book in a Bag Project!

This little project was invented to have students share a book with their classmates in an interesting and personal way. If you have ever listened to students reading their ‘book report’ aloud then you know exactly what I am talking about!

“ In this post, for your convenience, you may find Amazon Affiliate links to resources. This means that Amazon will pass on small percentages to me with your purchase of items. This will not create extra costs for you at all! It will help me keep this blog running! “

So, how does the Book in a Bag Project work?

Here’s the  gist  of the project.

• Read a book.
• Write a summary.
• Decorate a bag with a scene from the book.
• Place five items in the bag that represent something from the book.
• Bring it to school.
• Present it to the class!

The bag can be any size. A brown grocery bag is perfect and gift bags are also good choices.

What are the Guidelines of the Book in a Bag Project?

The guidelines for the project are simple.

The front of the bag should show an original student-made scene from the book. This can be hand drawn and colored with markers or crayons, or have cut-outs or other embellishments to decorate the front. It cannot be images that are printed from a computer!

The drawing can have embellishments added- like cloth or small plastic toys. But those are decorative- not the main scene.

On the back of the bag is a one-page summary of the book. We worked on how to write this in class and then students wrote their own. The lessons I taught about this included samples from books I had read.

I just wanted the students to know that a summary does NOT tell every little tiny event, but also covers the entire book! Hint, hint, you should not read a 400-page book. That’s hard to summarize on one piece of paper!

What’s Inside the Bag?

Now, here’s where it gets really fun. Inside the bag students should have five items that show something from the book.

The student could have included a plastic lizard in the book about the iguana. Or with Crash, students could bring a football or helmet.

Finally, each item should have an explanation card that tells why the item represents something from the book. The presentations are so fun! Each student shares the bag and a little of the summary, but the most fun is sharing the five items in the bag.

Now, you cannot do all these presentations in one day! It just takes too long. We spread these out over a full week!

It’s an easy idea and a wonderful way to share books. It beats a regular written book report, hands down! Try it!  

Now, here is your surprise! I created an assignment sheet for this project many years ago and I am sharing it with you. Print it out and use this fun activity with your students! (It is not an editable document.)

Our Favorite STEM Books

February 7, 2013 at 1:07 am

What a fantastic idea, the projects look great! Your kids must have loved doing this. Leslie

February 23, 2019 at 8:51 pm

Cute projects

March 8, 2019 at 2:40 pm

We had a great time sharing our projects! Thank you!

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• Covering Books

How to Create a Paper Bag Book Cover

Last Updated: October 8, 2023 Tested

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Sophia Latorre . Sophia Latorre is a Content Manager on the wikiHow team. Before joining wikiHow, Sophia worked as a technical editor and was published in six International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Annual Reports. Now, she writes, edits, and reviews articles for the wikiHow Content Team, working to make the content as helpful as possible for readers worldwide. Sophia holds a BA in English from Colorado State University. The wikiHow Video Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 529,603 times. Learn more...

Covering a book with paper protects the hardcover from wear and tear. If you just don't like to use plastic wrap or fabric covers to cover your books, then a paper bag is a great alternative, and is also environmentally friendly. Using a brown paper bag also allows you to personalize the cover with your own designs and decorations. With just scissors, tape, and some creative folding, you can cover any book.

Preparing the Paper

Covering the Book

• Measure the folds. They should be at least 1.6 in (4 cm) in length. [3] X Research source
• Try not to create new folds on top of preexisting folds in the paper. This will cause your book cover to tear more easily. [4] X Research source
• Do not tape the paper cover to the actual cover of the book; the paper cover will move a little when the book opens, and you could damage the book cover. [6] X Research source

Community Q&A

• If you have a color printer and scanner, copy the cover, back cover, and spine of your book and tape the copies onto the book cover. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 16
• To make the cover more durable, remove it from the book and unfold it so that it lies flat. Cut a piece of clear adhesive covering so that it will cover most of the outer surface of the book cover. Remove the backing from the clear adhesive and carefully apply it to the book cover, smoothing as you go to avoid air bubbles. Now refold the cover and put it back on the book. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 3
• If your supermarket no longer offers paper bags, buy a roll of the brown paper designed for wrapping parcels and use that instead. Cut a piece long enough to cover the front, back and spine of the book with at least 3 in (7.6 cm) of overlap at either end. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 4

Things You'll Need

• Paper bag or roll of paper
• Tape (optional)
• Things to decorate your book cover (optional)
• Cardboard or clear adhesive covering to put inside to make it durable (optional)

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• ↑ https://www.designmom.com/living-well-4-secrets-to-a-carefully-covered-book/
• ↑ http://specialchildren.about.com/od/schoolissues/ht/bookcover.htm

About This Article

To make a paper bag book cover, cut open a brown paper bag along one seam and cut off the bottom of the bag. Spread the bag open to make a large rectangle. Fold the bottom of the paper up and the top down so that the paper is the same length as the book from top to bottom. Place the book in the center of the paper and fold in the ends of the paper so they cover the front and back covers of the book. If you want, decorate the outside of the cover with stickers, drawings, or anything else you like. For tips on how to personalize or decorate your book cover, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Make a Paper Bag Book Cover

Patricia Thang

Patricia Thang is an educator located in Los Angeles. Though a native Angeleno through and through, her heart also belongs to Tokyo, where much of her family is from. Besides books, she is an enthusiastic devourer of many things, including podcasts, television, and J-pop. She realizes there’s not enough time in the world to consume all of that content, but she’s trying anyway. Other endeavors to which she has dedicated herself include cuddling her dogs until they’re annoyed and taste-testing every vegan ice cream she can find. Twitter: @aintnopthang

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Whether you want an affordable solution to protect your books from everyday wear, an eco-friendly use for those paper grocery bags you’ve collected, or just an easy craft to work on over the weekend, here’s the project for you! Using paper bags to cover your books is a quick, fun way to give them a touch of rustic charm or a simple disguise. It’s even a great method to give school textbooks a temporary, but personal touch so that you’ll never accidentally grab someone else’s. Below, I’ve put together a short, step-by-step guide for how to make a paper bag book cover, as well as some extra ideas at the end for those of you with creative juices to spare.

Materials needed: a book to cover and a paper bag (not pictured: scissors)

How to make a paper bag book cover: the overview 

Here’s the steps for how to make a paper bag book cover, with more info on each step below.

1. Prepare your paper bag.

Depending on the size of the book you want to cover, you can use a paper grocery bag (usually enough paper for two standard hardcovers, maybe a textbook) or a brown paper lunch bag (good for one smaller hardcover). In order to get the most out of one bag as possible, instead of cutting out flat pieces, you should be able to find a glued seam on the back face of the bag that you can gently pull apart. There will also be some glued seams and folds on the bottom of the bag that can be taken apart as well. You will end up with one large, flat piece of brown paper.

Any paper bag should come apart easily into a large, flat piece.

2. Cut paper to size.

Using the book you want to cover as a size guideline, measure (or approximate, precision is not super important here) out a rectangular piece of paper slightly larger than the book itself. There should be about two inches of excess at the top and bottom, and about three inches on each side when the book is opened flat.

Cut out an appropriate piece of paper based on the size of your book.

3. Fold top and bottom edges.

Center the book to be covered on the paper and create creases along the top and bottom edges of the book. Fold the paper down along these creases across the entire length of the paper so that it now matches the book in height, and place the book on top. (Make sure you position the paper so that any grocery store logo faces inward and will be hidden once the jacket is complete.)

Match the height of your paper cover to your book by folding over the top and bottom.

4. Wrap jacket around book evenly.

Gently wrap the paper around your book, ensuring that the book is centered so that there is an even amount of excess paper on each side. Fold the excess paper around the front and back covers to create gentle creases. The jacket should appear complete.

Fold the sides evenly under the book’s front and back covers to create creases.

5. Slide book securely into cover.

Due to the folded edges from Step 3, small flaps should have been created at the top and bottom of your new paper jacket. Tuck your book’s back cover into these flaps and slide the jacket onto the cover until you reach the crease made in Step 4. Repeat with the front cover, and your book should be securely covered with a new brown paper jacket!

Left: Tuck the book’s covers into the top and bottom flaps. Right: Book is securely covered.

Note: Be careful using this method to create a cover for a paperback. It is absolutely possible, but the flimsier book might cause the jacket to slip off fairly easily.

Extra ideas:

And there you have it! No matter if you want to keep your paper bag book cover simple or come up with all kinds of creative ways to make it your own, I hope this guide can serve as a good jumping-off point for all you crafty readers out there. If you have any cool ideas that you’d like to share with other readers, feel free to drop them in the comments!

L-R: Simple brown paper plus ribbon marker, wrapping paper, fabric. Happy crafting!

Want even more book-tastic crafts? Check out our whole section on bookish crafts . 

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