Children Love to Share Their Favorite Books

Anyone who spends time in a classroom can tell you–students love to talk about their favorite things.

Any opportunity to share stories, new toys, or exciting experiences is usually highly anticipated time in in the students’ day.

Let’s use that enthusiasm and peer interest to get students excited about books, too!

Here are some easy guidelines on how to run a student-led Book Share:

• If your class time already includes a “Share and Tell,” turn one day per week into “Book Share”
• Otherwise, assign one day each week, specifically, for “Book Share”
• Try to arrange the day to coincide with a class trip to the school library
• Give students an opportunity to sign up ahead of time to prepare
• Give guidelines to the students (as shown below)
• Encourage students to bring in the book to show
• Allow time for students to ask questions
• Keep a list visible in the classroom for students to refer to of books that have been shared

This routine will provide many benefits to students in their growth as readers

1. Students may become interested in new subjects
2. Book shares motivate students to read with greater purpose, knowing they will be discussing the story with peers
3. Students learn to generate questions about books they are interested in, which leads to greater comprehension
4. Students will have an opportunity to practice informal public speaking in a relaxed and purposeful environment
5. Students will learn about each other, and teachers will learn the interests of students

Book Shares provide teachers with an additional informal assessment opportunity.  Throughout the year, keeping track of the books shared by students will be a good indicator of their motivation to choose more complex texts.  Based on the selections, teachers can encourage students to choose books that are more challenging within the same topics or interests of the students.

Parents can nurture this same enthusiasm for books by giving children an opportunity to talk about favorite books they are reading in school or at home

• Share favorite books from your own childhood
• Introduce your child to different subjects and genres
• Let your child choose books based on their own interests
• Encourage a variety of literature that appeal to children: magazines, graphic novels, cartoons
• Lead by example- try to read in front of your children so they see it as an enjoyable activity

Book Talk Guideline Sample

The purpose of the Book Share is not to tell everything about the book, but just enough to pique the interests of students.  This will encourage students to search for interesting books and read carefully knowing they will have the opportunity to share their choice.  This activity can be easily adapted to fit smaller reading groups who read at similar reading levels.  Eventually, the Book Share can provide a stepping stone to more in depth book reviews and book reports assigned to students and is a great assessment alternative for students who have difficulty writing or organizing their work on paper.

Big Universe has a large variety of books arranged by subject, reading level, age, genre, and many other categories that make it easy to find great material for any student.  Click on this link to browse our extensive collection and see how other classrooms are using these great resources:

http://www.biguniverse.com/readkidsbooks