Biography Book Report--Character Breakfast

Each month, my students are assigned a book report.  For January's report, they had to read a biography book, come to school dressed as the book's character, and then make a presentation as that person.  The presentation had to be 1-2 minutes long and meet certain criteria.  We call this event a "Character Breakfast" because everyone is dressed as a book character and we eat breakfast during the presentations.  It is a fun event for everyone!  Since we learned about the presidents in the fall semester and are currently reading about the American Revolution, I limited their biography selection to presidents, the wife of a president, or a hero from the American Revolution.

 

Here are a few of my boys:  (from left to right)  James Madison, John Adams, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.  (Not pictured: George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and John F. Kennedy)

Here are my girls, from left to right:  Nancy Reagan, Laura Bush, Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and Abe Lincoln.

 All together:

A few moms dropped off breakfast for us: hot chocolate, orange juice, fruit cups, coffee cakes, and a variety of donuts.  Yum!

The students did a great job presenting.  They thoroughly enjoyed this assignment and I was very pleased with how serious they took it.  I've been doing this report for several years and this has been my favorite Character Breakfast so far!

This was the first year that I limited their book choices.  In previous years, I allowed them to read a biography on whomever they wanted (Disclaimer: The book still had to be approved by the teacher!).  However, this year it worked out well to require them to focus on presidents/the wife of a president. 

They learned so much from this assignment and were all eager to share!

Throughout the presentation, the students had to stay in character.  They couldn't say, "I died in the year..."  My favorite ending was Lincoln's: "I'm so glad I was able to visit with you all today!  I have to leave soon, though.  I'm going to get ready for an evening out.  My wife and I are excited about going to Ford's Theater tonight to see a play called Our American Cousin."

 

I also enjoyed the Q&A time.  When John Adams was asked, "Weren't you afraid to sign the Declaration of Independence?  I mean, you could have been hung for treason!" he replied, "No!  I was so mad about the taxes and all they were doing, I couldn't wait to sign it!"  ha!