Raising Real Readers Episode 2: Let's Find You a Great Book!

Step 1: Get to know your students as readers. (Use a reading interest inventory, but be sure to do it as a face to face interview not a written response interview. You can get to know your students much better by talking to them.) Here's a link to my free one I developed that gets the most out of getting to know student's "reader qualities". (click on the link) bit.ly/ReadingInterview

Step 2: Find them great books!!!

How, you ask? Well...you could take a stroll through your classroom library, take them to the school's library, tell them of books you liked as a child, or even get some help from your librarian. These things are all fine and can work, but over the years I didn't have great success with any of these methods.

I've stumbled upon one that works...would you like to hear more? Two little words...

BOOK

TRAILERS

Think about it...how do you know you want to see a movie?... Yep! You see a trailer! Movie trailers are one of the largest marketing tools used by major motion movie companies!

That's what we are doing when we try to suggest good books right? Marketing? Well guess what? Today's kids respond to visuals that are quick, exciting, and strike a chord with an emotion. What better way than to hook them with book trailers?

One more example...

How many of you have shown your students the video that comes with the book fair books? Scholastic or whatever company comes to your school knows that movies...the big screen...and sound, lights, and color appeal to our children. Now after the showing the trailer how many of you see your students B-lining it to the books that were on the video? BINGO! That's what mine do. Honestly no matter how much I try to "sell" the other books on the carts...those books go first.

How do my students view using a QR code?
It's very EASY! There are QR Reader Apps for both Android (Google Play Store) or Apple Based (iTunes Store). The ones I use are free. So there you have it! Simple-Free-Fun-Effective!!!

How do I locate great titles?
Here are some sites I found that gave me some titles:
www.dawcl.com
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal
http://www.rebeccacaudill.org/

Look up your state's middle grade reader awards. Many states have them or ask your local librarian where to locate it.

So I think we are on to something here. Watch my Periscope by clicking on the link below to see how I use book trailers in my classroom to help my students find books that they WANT to read and usually WANT to finish. (click on link to view)

https://katch.me/link2teach/v/9c0cc34c-d21a-356f-a187-4a0d7f628ef2

Now for my Tip To Take Today!

I vowed to follow up my Periscope sessions with usable information that you can take with you and use the very next day in your classroom so here it is! (click the link to grab your free copy)

http://bit.ly/BookTrailerQRCodes