Book Review Podcast

I was trying to think of a way to use podcasts in my classroom. We do a lot of listening to books on tape, reading aloud, and individual reading. We could use the podcast as a way to review a book that we have read. I think my students would react really well and engage in this activity quickly.

Students often choose books to read based on the recommendation of their peers. A book talk is a brief overview of a book designed to raise the interest of potential readers. In many ways, it is a sales pitch for the book given by someone who has read it.

I would model a book share by creating a brief presentation that includes the title, author and a brief summary. Use language to persuade others to read the book. State why you like the book and why others should read it.

For the first book talk I would probably provide a fill-in-the-blank script for students to use to create their book talk. I would record each student delivering their book talk and each one would become an episode in a series.

Students could then go back and listen to other book recommendations when deciding which book to read next.