One of the new things I have added to my schedule this year is a push in to the 4th grade classroom every Monday to do book talks. The classroom teacher and I discussed how to make it work, and we decided to highlight 3-4 titles per week, with a mix of classic titles and new within a genre or along a theme.
As fate would have it, the first Book Nook landed on Halloween which made for a natural “Spooky Story” theme highlighting Roald Dahl’s THE WITCHES, John Bellairs’ THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS’ WALLS, and Alvin Schwartz’s SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK.
The next week saw Oldies but Goodies booktalks including Norton Juster’s PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH, Edward Eager’s HALF MAGIC, and William Pene Du Bois’ THE 21 BALLOONS.
The following week came the glitch. I wasn’t going to be available for Book Nook, and instead of missing it, the classroom teacher and I decided to go virtual. Our classrooms are equipped with eno boards, which means that projection is simple straight from the web or an email. I was happy to have Book Nook go on without me, and the students were excited to “see” a book talk up on the big screen as well.
As the ideas keep percolating, I am thinking of having the students do a booktalking workshop with a project of a video booktalk so that students can see themselves up on the big screen.