Enter picture books.
Students were grouped at tables, so I gave each table a picture book. The groups had 5 minutes to read and discuss the story, then 5 minutes to devise a book talk about it.
The looks on students' faces when I handed out the books? Utter joy. Pandemonium ensued as they all tried to read aloud the stories to each other, but it was an awesome, productive noise where everyone was completely engaged. Each group was able to complete the task and, in most cases, meet the success criteria on a high level.
- Teaching voice? Plop Mirror, Mirror: a book of reverse poems by Marilyn Singer under your document camera and have 2 students read it aloud to the class.
- Want your students to understand foreshadowing? Have students carefully examine the pictures in The Spider and the Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi as you do a dramatic reading.
- Trying to underscore the human side of the Civil War? Patricia Polacco’s Pink and Say does this beautifully.
For more ideas, check out this article from School Library Journal: http://ow.ly/TOPiN
P.S. - If you ever want to see middle school boys wrestle with a “make good decisions” moment, tell them to book talk It’s a Book by Lane Smith.