Rethinking Summer Reading Assessments
Every English teacher knows the challenge of assigning summer reading: how do we ensure students actually engage with the book without burying ourselves under a mountain of essays the first week of school? The key is to focus on creativity, authenticity and connection.
By swapping the traditional essay for meaningful, choice-based projects, students can show what they’ve learned in ways that are AI-resistant, hands-on and easily gradable. Below are several project ideas for summer reading that fit any 9-12 English class summer work and literary focus.
Step 1: Choose a Focus for the Summer Work
Each project should have a focus: the skill or lens through which students approach their reading. Here are several you could assign or allow students to choose from:
Theme Exploration – How does the novel express universal human experiences (love, loss, identity, freedom)?
Character Development – Track how a character changes throughout the story and what motivates those changes.
Cultural or Historical Context – Investigate how the setting shapes the story.
Moral or Ethical Dilemmas – Examine the choices characters face and how those connect to modern issues.
Symbolism and Imagery – Explore objects, colors or repeated motifs that deepen meaning.
Connections to the Real World – Relate the novel’s themes to current social issues or the student’s own experiences.
Point of View and Perspective – Reimagine the story from another character’s angle.
Step 2: Offer a Menu of Creative, AI-Proof Projects
Students should be able to choose one project from a curated menu. All projects are intentionally designed to avoid easy AI automation, emphasizing voice, creativity and tangible creation. Project choice also relates back to UDL (Universal Design for Learning) principles that
1. Character Interview Podcast
Students record or transcribe a mock interview with one or more characters. Students should write the questions and then respond in character, revealing understanding of motivations, tone and themes.
Why it works:
-Easily gradable rubric: creativity, accuracy, insight, effort.
-AI-proof: authentic voice required.
2. Visual Timeline Mural
Create a physical or digital mural that maps the story’s major events and themes. Each panel should include a short caption, a symbol, and one key quote.
Variations: poster board, slide deck or interactive padlet
Why it works:
-Easily gradable rubric: inclusion of required elements, creativity, accuracy, detailed
-AI proof: as of yet, AI cannot produce tangible artifacts like posters or interactive digital boards.
3. Found Object Diorama
Using everyday materials, students build a diorama that represents a key scene, symbol or relationship. Include a one-paragraph artist’s statement explaining the design choices.
Why it works:
-Great for visual and tactile learners.
-Easily gradable rubric: creativity, insight, reflection
-AI proof: students are explaining reasoning behind their choices after creating their project.
4. Real-World Connection Interviews
Students interview three people (family, friends, community members) about a theme from the novel like freedom, loyalty or identity. They submit a short transcript or audio summary linking responses to the book’s message.
Why it works:
-Authentic and original
-Builds on community connections
-Easily gradable rubric: question creation, interview depth, insight, connection to the book’s themes
5. Book Soundtrack Project
Students create a playlist of 5–8 songs that capture the mood, tone, or themes of the novel, with brief written or recorded explanations for each choice. Another variation is to write and perform an original song about the novel and the focus.
Students then create album cover art to accompany it (this one could be an AI option with the creativity coming from the AI prompt chosen).
6. Character Scrapbook or Social Media Feed
Design a scrapbook or fictional Instagram feed from a character’s perspective complete with photos, captions and comments that reveal personality and growth.
7. Scene Reenactment or Video Monologue
Students record a short scene reenactment or dramatic reading, with a reflection on how they interpreted tone and emotion.
8. Symbol Sculpture or Mosaic
Create a 3D sculpture or mosaic using symbolic elements from the novel (colors, motifs or objects). Students attach a card explaining each symbol and its meaning.
9. Letter to the Author Reflection
Write a handwritten, personal letter to the author or main character, sharing personal takeaways and questions about the story. The student has to connect each point to their own personal lives.
10. Newspaper Front Page
Design a front page from the time period of the novel, including headline, article and image. This helps students summarize key events and themes concisely. Creativity comes into play while creating ads and cartoons that relate back to the book and themes.
Step 3: Simplify Grading with a Universal Rubric
Keep grading fair and fast by (ironically) creating AI generated rubrics. Here is a sample ChatGPT prompt and the resulting rubric for option 1:
In a PDF document, create detailed, 75-point rubric for a Character Interview Podcast project designed for rising 10th grade English students as a summer reading assignment with the novel Fahrenheit 451. Students should record or transcribe an interview between themselves and a character from their novel. The rubric should evaluate literary understanding, creativity, voice authenticity, technical quality and reflection. Break the rubric into clear categories with point values, describe what earns full, partial and minimal credit in each, and ensure the total equals 75 points. Include teacher notes about how to grade quickly and fairly. Include student instructions.
Note: I asked for it to be created as a PDF document to easily be linked into this blog post. Word documents are much easier to edit and personalize.
The above rubric can be used as is, or uploaded as text to Google Classroom rubrics. My school utilizes Blackbaud, which has a section to create digital rubrics where I copy and paste the text from ChatGPT. This allows parents and students to access the graded rubric in real time.
Main Takeaway:
By giving students options for hands-on, creative summer reading projects, you set the tone for an engaged, discussion-rich classroom from day one. You’ll see who actually read the book and how they are understanding your focus without facing a stack of 100 essays.
These projects don’t just assess comprehension, they celebrate interpretation, creativity and human voice in ways AI can’t replicate.
