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***Please note that Easy File Folder Reports replaces More than a Report:Social Studies and More than a Report: Celebrations. This is a combined volume that contains those two books, now nicely updated, as well as 9 additional science reports. It is an excellent value - the orginal books cost $12.99 each and this combined volume is only $19.99!!!***
You are going to LOVE this book! File Folder Reports includes instructions, reproducibles, and more to do 27 different reports (see below for a list of topics). Most of the reports are general enough to be done many times over. An example would be the Explorers report. Your child could do as many different reports on an many different explorers as desired. It is also fun to assign the same report to several children, having them choose a different subject. Using the Explorers example again, one child could do Lewis and Clark, one could do Christopher Columbus, another could do Dr. Livingstone, another could even do a missionary.
Each report is set up so that it can be completed in a file folder like a lapbook). You could replace the various sides of the file folder with sheets of cardstock if you want the report to be easily read in a notebook. You could very simply add extensions to the lapbook or extra pages to the notebook if you want to extend the study. Each report made up of interesting mini-projects such as mapwork, 3D elements and pop-ups, mini books, illustrations, creative writing formats such as journal entries, newspaper articles, posters, etc. This format is very appealing to children, and tackling the report in such small chunks is far less overwhelming thatn "Go write a report about . . . ." Plenty of teacher helps are included to help you guide your children through the writing process.
While this book is recommended for grades 3-6, it is very, very easy to use with younger children. You could even do the writing while the child dictates. Lots of fun, easy to use - this book gets an A++ at our house! (When we were selling the individual titles, I often couldn't find them because my older children were sleeping with them LOL. That is how fun these reports are!)
Topics include:
SOCIAL STUDIES TOPICS
Explorers: Your child will choose an explorer and create a report that includes artwork, research into the transportation used by this explorer, a first-person account (diary-style) of this explorer's adventures, complete a brief bio of the explorer, and more. This basic format can be used over and over again with different explorers. When looking at this report, Hannah Grace commented that it could also be used to do a report on a missionary.
Native Americans: Your child will select an Indian tribe on which to focus, and will do map work, costume research, build a pop-up of a typical dwelling, and write a mini-book report. In addition to all of the reproducible forms needed, this unit also includes a list of Indian tribes with key facts about each one.
Women of America: Your child will select one famous woman to study. Components of this report include a timeline, pop-up person, mini-book biography, designing a postage stamp in honor of the woman, and more.
All about Me: This is a great, very fun report that your child does about himself, including a timeline of his life, map of places where he has lived and places he has visited, a family portrait, personal profile, and more.
Black Americans: While this report is billed as being about a black American, it could easily be used for anyone who has "made a difference," making it a very versatile report. The student will create a postage stamp, do a mini-report on the obstacles overcome by the person and how he made a difference, do a timeline, and more.
Incredible People: This report can be used to profile any person that your child thinks is incredible. It includes several extra-creative ideas such as making an encyclopedia entry about the person, as well as many of the features seen in the other reports.
National Monuments and Memorials: We were so tickled to see this very unusual subject being covered so creatively. It is basically a "place report" and could be used for any geography study.
US States: These forms are used to do a report on a single state, and can be used again and again as you study different states. These forms are ideal for any state notebook, or for stand-alone reports.
US Presidents: Like the State report above, this report is geared toward studying any one president, and can be used again and again to study a different one each time.
This incredibly useful book contains 9 complete units. Although the units are geared towards holidays or celebrations, almost all of the "celebrations" covered are universal topics loosely arranged by holidays, and could be done any time of the year.
SCIENCE TOPICS:
Inventions: Your child will do a report on an incredible flying machine that he invented. You will assemble and inventor's bag (instructions included) and your child will use those materials to create his machine. He will have to write key information, including measurements, speed, etc. in one form, create a travel log of his pretend adventures in his machine, and more. Very fun!!
National Parks: This report can be done about any national park and can be done multiple times to study multiple parks. Your child will locate his park on a US map, make a 3D pop-up of an important feature of the park, write about the important feature, create a travel poster advertising the park, and more! Includes a list of parks that can be researched.
From Seed to Plant: Your child will plant some seeds in a cup then do this report, which includes writing about the types of seeds, recording observations, illustrating the seeds' progress, making an observation book, and more.
Desert Dwellers:Your child will select a creature that lives in the desert (list provided) and make a pop-up picture of the creature, write 5 questions about the creature, locate and label9 main deserts on a map, make a mini-book answering the 5 questions, and more.
Forest Creatures: Your child will illustrate the forest creature of his choice, Make a 3D pop-up using a photo of the animal, write a mini-book including information on where the animal lives, what it looks like, what it eats, and more. He will also do a page with interesting trivia about the animal. This report is another one that is great to do over again with another animal.
Minerals: Your child will select a mineral to study (list include), and color and lable the layers of the earth, make a 3d pop-up with a photo of his mineral, make a mineral terms dictionary, make an entry in a pretend "Book of Minerals," (this would be like making an encyclopedia entry about his mineral), and more. Add a mineral project kit for a complete study!!
Life in the Ocean: Your child will select an ocean creature and do a 1st person "Day in the Life" report, including an illustrated cover, Pop-up page, brief fact list, minibook, word web, and more. It would be fun to do several of these while studying the ocean. They would go pretty quickly.
Save the Earth: Your child will create a conservation banner, list 4 ideas for saving the earth, make a pop-up page with 4 small pop-ups illustrating his 4 ideas, and more.
Endangered Animals: Your child will choose an endangered animal to study (list included), andmake and interview-style minibook, do map activites, make a pop-up page of the animal's environment, construct a fact sheet, and more.
CEBRATIONS TOPICS:
New Year's Day: This one really is geared towards New Year's Day. It covers things like resolutions, goal-setting, and lots of calendar topics - the student fills in a one year calendar with traditional holidays and important dates, as well as birthdays and other dates important to his family. This could easily be expanded to include a brief study of some of these holidays. A fun, short unit to do on those "off school" days between Christmas and New Year's Day.
Chinese New Year: This unit deals with the Chinese calendar and culture. We often eat out at a local Chinese restaurant, and I am looking forward to doing this unit to better aquaint my children with this more unusual topic of study.
An International Report: As explained above, this is not so much of a holiday study at all. Instead, it is a very well thought-out country study that can be done over and over for many different countries.
Independence Day: Write a newspaper article announcing the independence of one of the 13 colonies, make a 3D model of a Colonial flag, completel a minibook about the Declearation of Independence, and more.
Thanksgiving Day: This is basically a Thanksgiving report, geared towards the student's family traditions. The student makes a great pop-up, writes a mini-book of things he is thankful for, makes a menu of his family's favorite thanksgiving foods, creates a seating chart including all of the family members that celebrate with him, and so on. I plan to do this once a year, and stow them away with our Thanksgiving decorations to bring out from year to year.
December Celebrations: This is a very open-ended report that allows a student to research aall six December holidays, while focusing on the one that you celebrate. This format is wonderful, as it allows exposure to and discussion of the holidays of other cultures, but allows for more in-depth work with the most familiar and beloved holiday also. Elements include a mini-book with a one page report on each holiday (Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Posadas, Saint Nicholas Day, and Santa Lucia Day), a calendar marking where all the holidays will fall this year, a 3-D symbol for your holiday, a report on the traditions your family enjoys, and so on.
Grandparent's Day: This is such a GREAT unit! It is designed as a celebration of your child's grandparents, and since the title "Grandparent's Day" is not actually written on the reproducibles, you could have your child do this any time. We are going to do them and give them as Christmas gifts to the grandparents this year. The title features the word "grandparents" written down the margin of the paper, with one letter for each line. The children fill in words starting with each letter, such as "G"reat story-teller, "R"eads to me, "A"lways has time to play a game, and so on. The student also completes a family tree, conducts an interview with the grandparent (such a good skill to learn!), does a pop-up of himself with his grandparents, and so on. A wonderful celebration of family!!
Arbor Day: Again, this report could be done any time and is a great tree unit, covering a great pop-up that identifies the parts of a tree, a report on things made of wood, how trees impact the environment, a tree cross-section, etc.
Birthdays: This is designed to be done near your child' birthday. The child creates a "birth certificate," listing time of birth, place of birth, etc. The child will research other people with the same birthday, find out why his parents chose his name, and illustrate his birthstone, birth flower, etc. There is a place to illustrate the child's zodiac sign and symbol, but we are planning to glue in a baby picture and a current picture in those places instead.
As I hope you can see, this book is an incredible tool at an incredible price. You will be able to select reports from this one book over and over again for all sorts of subjects. The reports are so versitale that you sure to be using this book for many years! Very, very highly recommended.
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