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:

  • reading a variety of literature and other text (e.g., novels, autobiographies, myths, essays, magazines, plays, pattern poems, blank verse).
  • interpreting what impact genre-specific characteristics have on the meaning of the work.
  • exploring how the author�s choice and use of a genre shapes the meaning of the literary work.
  • exploring what impact literary elements have on the meaning of the text such as the influence of setting or the problem and its resolution.

 

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 ofthe 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.
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Retailer of books. Offers book reviews.
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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
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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.
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Bookwire

Boston Book Review
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: an e-zine.

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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 (Ohio) Dispatch. Site includes an archive of past reviews.
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.
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         Times Literary Supplement - weekly reviews of fiction, poetry, history, politics, philosophy, the arts and every other subject under the sun.