Book Talks

Book talks are a great way to get students interested in new books. A book talk can be given by either the teacher or a student. The teacher holds up the book that he or she will talk about. The teacher introduces the title and author to the students. If the class has read other books by the same author, the teacher will point that out. The teacher will then tell a little bit about the book or read a small section of the book to hook the students into wanting to read the book. A book talk only takes about three minutes to do and you will be amazed at the number of students who will want to borrow the book when you are finished with the book talk. Be prepared with a sign up sheet, especially if you only have one copy of the book.

Students too should be encouraged to give book talks. Students should use the same strategy as modeled by their teacher when presenting books to the class. Students are very interested in what their peers are reading. Every once and a while, have students get into small groups and share a little bit about the book they are reading with their small group. You'll be amazed at the interest level in reading that will increase in your students.