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August 26, 2013

Book Report Alternative: Book Blurbs

Hi, friends!

Happy, happy Sunday. Well, I had a fantastic week of school. The first day I was like, “Well, this was good, but I’m not in love.” By Friday I was like, “Eeekkk – I can do SO many cool things in 5th grade. I love my kiddos!” Yep, all of you were right, I love 5th grade. Yes, even with 90 kiddos I still love them. Granted, they are giving me a run for my money. We started some hard core independent reading this week, and I am BLOWN away. I have even had a dozen or so friends already finish books, so Friday, I started conferencing with students! With my fifth graders SO invested in their reading, I need to heighten my game – hence, book blurbs were born this morning. 🙂

I’ve discovered that my fifth grade friends love talking – shocker! During independent reading time, I eliminate social talking, but I do promote ‘book talk.’ Over the past few days I have watched my friends ‘open up’ about their reading. They have been sharing quotes with their friends, pushing books into each other’s faces when they really need to share a part of the book, and have even been making book recommendations. While DRAing, I heard “Hey, once you finish Dog Tags, you should really read this book [A True Patriot]. It’s kind of like your but it’s about war written in a diary.” *swoon my teacher heart*

So, as a part of their weekly at-home practice (read: homework), I am going to channel this social side of my 5th graders giving them the choice to share book recommendations-Book Blurbs. I grabbed Sarah Beth’s Thought Bubbles and searched the internet for quotes about a few different books I wanted to feature. Then, I added the text to the bubbles, added a colorful background, and laminated. When I got to school, I added a paperclip to the back of each of the books and voila!

My students will have a black/white copy of the bubbles, and will fill their quotes/blurbs in for homework (if they choose this assignment). I’ll review the blurbs, mat a few a week (after the kids pick the paper color), and put them on display. I am SO excited to see this in action. Students will be getting book recommendations from each other, be practicing reviewing books, as well as, be learning to write short and powerful paragraphs!

Plus, I think this will be a motivator for some of my friends who have trouble finishing books…because you certainly can’t review a book until you complete it! Plus, who does not love being a star. 🙂

I’m curious – how do you do student-led book recommendations in your class? What can I add to my repertoire?

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Filed Under: 5th Grade, Book Displays, ELA Tagged With: Books

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mikaela says

    August 26, 2013 at 1:15 am

    These are awesome! What a great idea. When I taught 5th grade my students created podcasts to talk about the books they read and to suggest (or not) it to a peer. The students were in groups of 4 and each talked for about a minute. The first person always got the "show" started with a quick intro of the "show" and the final person closed it. They kids learned about editing their voice file and splicing them together. We used a program called Audacity. The podcasts were posted to our school website for others (even across the country) to hear. As a class we'd listen to them weekly when the new podcast was posted. It was a great way to hold the kids accountable for finishing at least one book a month during their independent reading and also a good way to make book recommendations for others.

    Reply
    • Kate says

      September 7, 2013 at 2:13 am

      Thank you so much! I absolutely love the idea of Podcasts. They would work so well, especially with all of our new technology standards! Plus, I am about any alternative to a book report. 🙂

      Reply
  2. FabandFunin4th! says

    August 26, 2013 at 1:56 am

    I love the idea of the book blurbs! I do a share time on Friday mornings where the students can get up and talk to the class about the book they are reading. I am definitely going to add in your book blurbs though! I think Mikaela's idea of creating podcasts also sounds like a lot of fun!
    Bethany
    FabandFunin4th!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      September 7, 2013 at 2:14 am

      Ohhh – I love the idea of opening the floor to 'Friday Favorites'. It would be neat to see some of my shyer friends step up and taking the 'leadership' role of guiding friends to books. Plus, with the communication standards in the Common Core ELA these would be great! Thank you, Bethany. 🙂

      -C

      Reply
  3. MsAPlusTeacher says

    August 26, 2013 at 9:46 pm

    I love the book blurbs! I'm for sure going to use this idea in my classroom! We just talked about how we choose books today and this will go along perfectly with our launching unit! Love the idea!!! Fifth grade is such a fun and amazing grade – I love it every minute it of it! The students are a blast 🙂

    Currently, I have a binder of student recommendations… it's always out and it's just a collection of books that past/soon to be present students recommend as they read. There is a form they fill out and at the end of the year will get their photos so I stick their photos on the page too so it's very "official" as my fifth graders tell me. But you could easily stick really great blurbs in a binder too to save a reference if lots of students choose that project! Love the idea!!! Love, love, LOVE!

    Glad things are going well 🙂

    Thanks for sharing,
    Amanda
    My Shoe String Life
    Follow Me on Bloglovin'

    Reply
    • Kate says

      September 7, 2013 at 2:16 am

      A binder is a really manageable way to do book recommendations. Plus, it would be easy to save for future years to show examples of what you expect. Thanks for sharing, Amanda!

      Reply
  4. Michele says

    August 26, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    This is a fabulous way to share books and get kids to read new things!
    Thank you for sharing!
    Michele

    Coffee Cups and Lesson Plans

    Reply
  5. The Polished Teacher says

    August 26, 2013 at 11:32 pm

    Seriously you are amazing! How do you find time to fit it all in your busy schedule! Love the book blurbs!

    ThePolishedTeacher

    Reply
  6. Em Hutchison says

    August 27, 2013 at 12:38 am

    Love the speech bubbles! What a great idea. Thanks!!
    Em
    Curious Firsties

    Reply
  7. Hoots and Hollers says

    August 27, 2013 at 1:08 am

    Just getting back to reading blogs after our first week of school… I absolutely love this idea and was so enthralled with reading your post that I did not even realize you used my thought bubbles (until you mentioned it). :0) So glad you could put them to such a great use! Creative and motivating!!

    Smiles,
    Sarah @ Hoots N Hollers

    Reply
    • Kate says

      September 7, 2013 at 2:15 am

      Haha – that's so funny! I was so grateful to find your bubbles. They are SO cute and just perfect for my kiddos. Thank you SO much for sharing. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Kaitlin Machen says

    March 21, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    Do you have a template or guidelines that you use with the students for writing the blurb?

    Reply
  9. Time flies says

    September 25, 2014 at 2:45 am

    Do you have a copy of the At-Home Practice paper? I would love to see what else is on it!

    Reply
  10. Ms. D says

    August 24, 2015 at 12:40 am

    Do you have a copy of the At-Home Practice Paper underneath your thought bubbles? I love, love this idea and would love to see what else is on it to spice up my students' reading homework! I checked out your Teachers Pay Teachers' store and didn't see it.

    Reply
  11. April Weaver says

    September 3, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    I would love a copy of the At-Home Practice Paper to use with my 5th Grade class.

    Reply
  12. Kelsey Hiatt says

    November 12, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    Is there a way to get the guidelines shown for writing the book blurbs?

    Reply
  13. Connie Pederson says

    December 31, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    My sixth graders love book blurbs as well and the Middle School Newspaper started making it a monthly feature. They love to see themselves published under “Sixth Grade Book Blurbs”. It’s a motivator!

    Reply

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My name is Catherine Reed, and I am in Year 10 of my elementary life, residing in small-town, Kentucky.  I student taught in 1st grade and never ...

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