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Book report template for 3rd grade
What a 3rd grade report usually shows
- Title, author and genre
- Characters with a word that describes each
- A summary in three to five sentences
- Problem and solution
- An opinion with two reasons, and a rating
The outline
- Paragraph 1: the title, the author and the genre
- Paragraph 2: the summary (beginning, middle, end)
- Paragraph 3: the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution
- Paragraph 4: your opinion, two reasons and the rating
Teachers differ, so a class's own instructions come first. This frame covers what most ask for at this age (8 to 9).
🦉 Book report · 3rd gradeName ____________ Date ________
Title, author and genreWhat is it called, who wrote it, and what kind of book is it?
CharactersThe main character and one more, with a word that describes each.
SettingWhere and when does it happen?
SummaryBeginning, middle and end in three to five sentences.
Problem and solutionWhat goes wrong, and how is it solved?
My opinionDid you like it? Give two reasons.
RatingStars out of 5, and who should read it.
Peabody's Book Club · peabody.kids/book-club · free, no account
A worked example: Stone Soup
- Title, author and genre
- Stone Soup, a folk tale told in France and Portugal and first written down in the early 1700s, retold by Peabody. It is a folk tale.
- Characters
- The three travelers are hungry and clever. The villagers are careful: at first they hide their food.
- Setting
- A village long ago, where everyone hides their food from strangers.
- Summary
- Three hungry travelers come to a village where nobody will share. They put stones in a pot of water and say they are making stone soup. One villager adds a little salt, then others add vegetables and more. Soon there is a big pot of soup for the whole village.
- Problem and solution
- The problem is that the villagers will not share. The travelers solve it with a trick that makes everyone curious, so each one adds a little.
- My opinion
- I liked it because the trick is clever and nobody gets hurt. I also liked that the soup tastes good because of what everyone adds, not the stones.
- Rating
- Four stars. Readers who like stories about sharing and clever tricks.
The review version
Shorter, and opinion first: for a book a child chose themselves, or a quick check after a club meeting.
🦉 Book review · 3rd gradeName ____________ Date ________
RatingStars out of 5, and one word for the book.
The best thing about itWhat made you want to keep reading?
One thing I would changeIf you were the author, what would you do differently?
Who should read itFinish the sentence: Read this if you like…
Peabody's Book Club · peabody.kids/book-club · free, no account
For the grown-up helping
The summary box is the one that takes practice: three to five sentences means picking what matters. Ask: if you told a friend in one breath, what would you say?
Need a book at the right level first? Books for level 8, or the levels index.