Share Books to Connect with Kids

Book talking is hard. And sometimes impractical. As a librarian, I like to connect as many students as possible with interesting books and I find that often, book talking 5 books to a class only reaches 5 students; it's wholly impossible to book talk 30 books to a class of students, let alone to 5 sections of 30 students throughout the day. So, I am constantly looking for other ways to connect kids with books.

Idea 1: Speed Dating
Students sit at tables with stacks of books. After a quick introduction to the activity, students spend 2 minutes per title (I set a timer) -- looking at the cover, the blurb on the back of the book, flipping through pages, and then assigning a rating on a graphic organizer. Each students ends up "dating" 8 or so books over the course of this quick 20 minute activity. My students always end up finding something they want to check out!

Idea 2: Book Stations
I like to set up stations to provide students a variety of avenues into different titles. You can be creative with your stations, but include related books at each station. Some that have worked for me:

• Author Blogs -- laptops or iPads linked to author blogs. The books at this table are those from the specific authors you have identified.
• Audiobooks -- a stack of audiobooks from your collection along with headphones so students can listen to samples
• Books to Movies -- include books that have been made into movies
• Book Trailers -- laptops or iPads linked to trailers for books; some good resources for trailers include:
  • Book Trailers for Readers
  • Slime Kids: Book Trailers
  • Book Trailers for All (YouTube Channel)
  • Digital Book Talk
• Author Twitter or Insta -- laptops or iPads linked to author Twitter or Instagram feeds
• Pairs -- Put books in pairs on this table: you might do fiction/non-fiction pairing or try classic/contemporary pairings
• Read-Alikes -- Pull together a whole table of read-alikes on one super popular book, or set fill the table with lots of different options.

(An aside: Stations could also easily be done to support literacy in content areas beyond language arts. Examples could include: topic specific magazine and newspaper articles, podcasts, TED Talks from field experts, links to blogs, images, content-focused picture books, Twitter posts or feeds relevant to the subject, and so forth. It would be an easy way to introduce themes and vocabulary for a unit.)

Idea 3: Read & Loved
This idea is courtesy of Leslie, a librarian colleague. It is quick to put together and easy to implement when students are just popping into the library to browse and checkout. Set up two tables: one with a sign that says "Books I've Read & Loved" filled with just that -- books you personally, as the librarian, have read and think are amazing; and the other with a sign that says "Books You Think I Should Read" -- students fill this table with recommendations. Kids can browse these tables and choose books from either one!

Idea: 4: Individualized Book Tables
This is an activity that I do with my smaller classes -- for me, it would be tough to roll out for 5 sections of 30 students each. However, it's a great way to personalize learning. On a visit to the library, I ask students to fill out a reading interest survey. They return to the library a week or so later to find a tables with each student's name and a selection of books and other reading materials individually targeted to their interests. It's a fun way to engage students who may not think they love to read!

Idea 5: Share Your Fav!
Students come in to the library and are tasked with finding a book they really enjoyed reading but that perhaps not everyone else has read. Students take 5 minutes to brainstorm a quick "elevator speech" or summary tweet about the book. They then circulate, sharing books with 5 different classmates.

Idea 6: Hooking them In
At the beginning of the year, pull books relevant to course content in History, for example. Spread the titles out on tables with sticky notes on each book indicating unit (Roaring Twenties, World War II, etc.). Book selection should include wide range of choices -- historical fiction, non-fiction, and biographies. History students are then tasked with browsing and checking out a book or two that interest them, the idea being to peak their interest for the content-specific learning in the year ahead. This activity would work with other subject areas as well (Science, Music, or World Languages to name a few), helping teachers and students focus on literacy across the curriculum.

How do you engage your students in reading and connect them with books? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!
Gretchen

---

You might also like:

• A Delicious Literary Treat: Everything you Need to Host a Book Tasting for your Students (February 28, 2017)
  
• ​On Writing, Teaching and Reading with Author Brian Herberger (January 30, 2017)
• Genrefication, or, Making our Library More Reader Friendly (November 22, 2016)
• BubbleUp Take 5: Connecting with Other School Librarians (August 12 2016)
• New Librarian? Start Here! (August 9, 2016)