Thursday, January 30, 2025

Save-a-Buck Booktalks

It's a common teacher-librarian problem: We prepare booktalks about a set of titles and generate so much excitement with students that all the books get checked out! 

Ack!

It's super frustrating to see a kiddo get excited about a story and not be able to have it. Sure, they can hold it, but it's just not the same. 

Enter Save-a-Buck booktalks: 

  • only talk about books that are IN the library
  • If someone wants the book, I give it to them immediately with a "buck" to use as a bookmark. (They just saved themselves a bit of money by borrowing from the library instead of buying from a bookstore!)
  • Rules: One book per person. Swaps wait until the end.

This works when you...
  • know your collection really well, 
  • can skim and scan book blurbs at lighting speed, 
  • can talk off the cuff about books easily

Procedure:

  • Gather a stack of books equal to the number of students in the class
  • Prepare a set of "Save-a-Buck" bookmarks to give out with each claimed book (see Canva Template)
  • Declare yourself a winner if you get rid of all the bucks!

No comments:

Post a Comment