I hosted my very first classroom Book Tasting and my students were extremely engaged in reading and getting to know a variety of genres. At the end of the tasting, students finished up with a “menu” of books that they want to read!
Setup
For the transformation/setup, I selected 8-10 books for each genre. I kept it simple and chose 5 genres. I bought red and white checkered tablecloth for each of the tables. Each table group was then assigned a dedicated genre complete with a pizza box containing the selected books. For that extra touch and to showcase that students were in a pizzeria, I made placemats (complete with clipart illustrating a plate, napkin, and cutlery). Lastly, a sign with the genre was setup in the middle of the table.
When students began arriving to the classroom, Italian music was playing in the background. I had on my mustache, a chef’s hat, and an apron! I started off the lesson with a PPT slideshow explaining each of the genres. Students were then given a “menu”, their very own chef’s hat, and a mustache for that extra touch!
I had a few parent volunteers and we each tended to a table group/genre. This allowed for genres to be discussed as the kids rotated from table to table. Students were assigned with the task to look through each of the books at each table and choose one to briefly read through the first couple of pages. They also had to write down characteristics of the genre, make a list of books that they wanted to read in their “menus,” and give the book that they had chosen to look through with a rating.
Culmination
After students had rotated through all five table groups/genres, we sat down and discussed favorites and least favorites. Students held on to their menus to serve as a reference as to which books on the list they created that they wanted to read. In addition to this, I want to share that a lovely parent volunteer of mine (who happens to be Sicilian) brought in Pellegrino. Each kiddo received a little cup and she taught them how to say cheers in Italian.
Overall, the book tasting event was such a fun and memorable event! I am definitely doing it again next year! It is really a GREAT way to teach the concept of genres!
BTW, I purchased the chef’s hat and pizza boxes from Amazon. The mustaches were from Temu!
