Finding a Book

• Select books that YOU find interesting.
•  Keep the interests of your students in mind.
• Always know exactly what you are going to say at the beginning.
• Give the author's name and title of the book.  (For visual learners _ Use a projector to project the book jacket on a screen behind you.)
• Use a "Hook" to interest your listeners

o Become a character
o Read a portion of the story
o Explain the setting of the story and introduce the characters, summarize the beginning of the plot.

Making it exciting

• Share an amusing or exciting part of the book.  Either tell it or read the selection aloud.  Be careful NOT to give away the ending.
• Model reading with inflection and appropriate level of drama.
• Incorporate visuals
• Always know exactly how you will end the talk for that specific book.
• Create an appropriate coda or phrase to use at the end of each segment.

When you booktalk to a class/group make sure you have options for reading for ALL of the students who are attending.

• Multiple copies
• Bundled books – book talk the theme and focus on various titles
• Book talk a genre (have enough books in the genre for each reader.)

Booktalking Colorado – tips from DinoSam
http://booktalkingcolorado.ppld.org/Scripts/Tips.asp

ABCs of Booktalking: Ideas to Help Produce Terrific Booktalks by Marsha D. Broadway (including a resource list of booktalking books)
http://www.uelma.org/conven00/booktalk.htm

Web Watch Book Talks by Denise Johnson
http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/webwatch/book_talks/

How to Booktalk  (How to Present Booktalks)
http://www.washburn.edu/mabee/crc/booktalks/howtobooktalk.html

All the pages on this site are copyrighted © 2005, Sharron L. McElmeel. All Rights Reserved.

Permission is granted to reproduce any of the young adult literature pages for personal professional educational use in conjunction with coursework -- seminars/college courses presented/taught by Sharron L. McElmeel. No reproduction or re-distribution of these pages is authorized without written permission from the author. This permission notice must remain on any printed and distributed copies of any page from this site.

Write to me at mcelmeel@mcelmeel.com