Giving an Effective Booktalk
Jane Crouse
Purpose: Students will learn the elements that make up a good Booktalk and how to covey these elements effectively to their audience.
Objectives: Sixth
Grade
Competency Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.
5.02 Study the characteristics of literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry) through:
NCTE Standards:
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions, media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.
11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
Materials needed:
Self Selected Reading book, previously read
5 x 8 Index Cards
File Box
Overhead Transparency
Overhead Projector
Approximate time required: 20 minutes
Script: How many of you have read a good book lately? [Give the students time to name some of the books they have read.] Would anyone like to tell us what made they book they read a “good” book? [Allow time for discussion.] If you want to convince someone to read a book that you have read and enjoyed, you must be able to tell them about the book without giving the story away. In a good Booktalk you tell your audience the book’s author and give an overview of the context of the book. You might want to use a dramatic reading, just a few lines or a short paragraph to convey the emotion of the characters or strong feelings surrounding a certain situation in the story. Be sure to use a “silencer” as often as possible when giving a Booktalk. A “silencer” is a passage that will leave the story hanging and the audience guessing how things turn out. A Booktalk does not have to be long. As a matter of fact, shorter is better. Let me tell you about a book I have just read. [At this time, share a Booktalk with your students. Be sure to talk about the book’s author, cover the context of the story, read a short passage from the book, and close with a “silencer.”] Let’s review the elements of a good Booktalk. First you tell your audience about the… [book’s author and the context of the book]. Then you use… [a dramatic reading] to convey the emotion of the book. You can end the Booktalk with …[a “silencer”]. Now you know the elements of a good Booktalk. We are starting a Booktalk file for our classroom today. You will write a short Booktalk for each book you read for the rest of the year and place it in the file. The cards will be a good resource for you to use when you are looking for a good book to read.
Activity: The students will write a short Booktalk on a 5 x 8 note card and share it with the students in their group. The cards will be filed alphabetically by the author’s last name. The students will be able search the file, review all their classmates Booktalks, and find a book that they would like to read.
Check out Nancy Keane’s website for more information on
Booktalks.
http://nancykeane.com/booktalks
Book review
sources
Amazon.com A good source of book
reviews.
The ALAN Reviews
Retailer
of books. Offers book reviews.
Book
Review Corner, The Reviews of fiction and non-fiction books. Book Review Index Reviews of Star Trek, Star Wars, Tom
Clancy, John Grisham, and Michael Crichton books.
Book Review Quicklist Listing designed to help you find a
good book. Readers are requested to add their opinions to the page.
Book of the Week A new book is on the spotlight each week.
Old books or new books- most can be found.
BookBytes - by Marylaine Block.
Includes lists of books too good to put down and advice on how to obtain
out-of-print books.
Booklist
on-line
BookNews
- reviews of the latest books in science, technology, and medicine.
BookPage
- monthly book review with a mix of author interviews and reviews focusing on
the month's noteworthy new releases.
BookRadio
- interviews with top authors and reviews of the latest books every week, in
RealAudio.
Booklist Magazine - selection of reviews from Booklist, the
selection tool for librarians. Reviews of books for adults and children.
Book Nook: book reports by kids
Bookwire
Boston Book Review
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: an e-zine.
Chicago Sun-Times Books - reviews by book editor and author Henry
Kisor.
Chicago Tribune Books
The Children's Corner in Boston Book Reviews:
Many reviews of new and old titles.
Choice:
Current Reviews for Academic Libraries - reviews significant current
books and electronic media of interest to persons in higher education.
Chris' Reviews
Curled up with a Good Book - reviews, recommendations and
ratings of mainstream/literary fiction from a bookseller's private library.
HarperCollins
Children's Books
Lazy Literate, The - Steve Berry, a.k.a The Lazy Literate,
reviews audiobooks weekly for The Columbus (
Midwest Book Review - in the form of library newsletters
available as well as many other book resources.
Frederick
Muller's Book Reviews.
New
York Times Books - includes the complete Sunday Book Review, daily
book related news and reviews, a searchable archive of over 50,000 New York
Times Book Reviews, bestseller lists, and more.
Notes from the Windowsill: An Electronic Journal of Book
Reviews: reviews by volunteers and edited by Wendy E. Betts
Quill Pen - dedicated to the pursuit
of excellent books. This site includes book reviews, book recommendation, a
book survey, and other features.
Read Ireland Book News - free weekly newsletter and a
bookstore as well.
Student Reviews of Young Adult Literature
·
Times Literary Supplement - weekly reviews of fiction,
poetry, history, politics, philosophy, the arts and every other subject under
the sun.