Our First Book Tasting

My students, like many, get caught in a rut when it comes to selecting books. They get stuck on the same genre or series and do not know where to go from there. To help my kids move past this, I hosted a Book Tasting in my classroom!  I had heard several teachers through blogs and Twitter do this in their class and never fully understood what it was. In short, students read different books from different genres for a short amount of time where they get a "taste" of the book. This exposes them to new genres, authors, and series to help broaden their view of books. I downloaded a fabulous resource from Joanne Miller on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Part 1: The Setup

I wanted my room to really look the part of a cafe without breaking the bank, so I went to my local dollar store. I found colored tablecloths, napkins, paper plates, serving trays, and little tea lights for each of my tables. 

Part 2: The Book Selection

I am very fortunate to have a large class library, so all of my books came from there. I have heard many other teachers borrowing books from the school library for their Book Tasting.

I selected 8 books per genre. I wanted to have a wide variety out there for the genres, so I even pulled some of my older books that hadn't been touched in years. 

 

   

Part 3: The Activities

The resources from Joanne Miller were spot on! There was so much in the download that I only used a few pieces for my first Book Tasting. 

I made copies of the Book Tasting 'menu' for each of my students. They used this as they visited the different tables. Each menu had 5 sections, one for each genre they would visit. It had them fill out information on their first impression of the book, what they thought after reading a few pages, and how the author tried to hook them into reading the book.

My students also received the bookmarks. On the bookmarks, they were able to write down the book title and author of the books they wanted to read. This way they had a new list they could follow when it came time to select a new independent reading book. 

I also made copies of the 'napkins' that asked the students for their feedback on the Book Tasting. These were used at the end so I could see how my students felt about everything. 

Part 4: The Book Tasting

I allowed my students in the room in small groups and had each group spread out to a different table. I reminded them that it did not matter which table they started out because everyone was going to be rotating. After all the students were settled at the tables, I passed out their 'menus' to record their book information on and the bookmarks for this list of books they want to read. Then the time started. It took me a few rounds of the Book Tasting to figure out an appropriate length of time for my students.  Here is what I came up with, but know that this is flexible depending on your class. The goal is for them to get a "taste" of the book, so just make sure you don't have them reading independently too long. 2 minutes: Select book & fill out first impression 4 minutes: Read independently - remind students there is no commitment to continuing the book 2 minutes: Reflect 4 minutes: Chat - allow all members a chance to share about the book they read.

  

 

Part 5: Reflection Overall, my students really loved the Book Tasting and started asking when we could do it again. I passed out the 'napkins' for them to write their own reflection and was really happy with the positive response. All of my students really enjoyed it and appreciated the way they could start a book without having to commit to finishing it.

  

 

 

 

The Importance of Sharing Part 2: Share Your Struggles

After writing my post last week on the importance of sharing, I kept thinking of my current situation and what I choose not to share.

Currently, I have been struggling with a new English Language Arts adoption. I have been trying to figure out how to make it work in my combination class without going insane bouncing around. It seemed like each week I was trying something new, based off of new feedback I was given. Then there was finally a light when we received some grade level time with a trainer from the company. Let me tell you, that room was bright with all the "light bulb" moments going on. Does that mean I'm set now? Nope, not even close but I at least have a better idea of how to implement the new adoption.

Did anyone online know I was struggling? No way. I was not going to share all of this craziness that was going on with the new curriculum. I posted in a Facebook group asking if anyone was familiar with it then was referred to another group that had more experience with the curriculum, but I NEVER shared I was struggling. You know what's sad? I wish I had shared my struggles because it would have reached a lot of other teachers and we could have formed a great support group for each other.

So many times we want people to only see the happy, rainbow, light bulb moments in our classrooms, that we forget teachers are people too and we make mistakes, get confused and struggle. We have a tendency to hide that from others and to stay on our "Island of Isolation" when it comes to struggling. By doing this, hiding our struggles, we make others feel like it should be sunshine and rainbows in their room too!

We need to share our struggles and our failures. Throw it out there on Twitter, talk about a lesson that flopped, or ask for help with something you are struggling with. IT'S OKAY TO STRUGGLE!

If we are expecting our students to believe that struggling is learning, we, as teachers, need to accept that as well. We need to practice what we preach.

You are not alone. We are all struggling with something in our classroom.

**See this post and more on my Techie Tuesday newsletter**

The Importance of Sharing

Back in October at the Kern Tech Fest, I had the opportunity to hear Christine Pinto speak as the keynote. She is a Kinder teacher who integrates technology and has her kinders using the Chromebooks for activities, reading, and projects, but also does the regular, fun hands-on activities. I really enjoyed listening to her and loved some of the ideas she shared.

Then she made this surprising statement. She said that she shares because people need to see what is going on in her classroom. While that in itself is not surprising, she continued on saying that people assume she does technology all day long because she is a 'techie' teacher so by sharing she is able to show people the variety of activities her class is doing.

Listening to this, I realized how right she was! I was one of the ones that pictured her kinders doing tech projects all day long, but seeing their hands-on activities made me realize there is more to her classroom and her teaching than technology. This made me think of comments I have heard about my classroom.

Many people think my students are on technology all day long because that is a lot of what I share. They do not see the hands-on Science and Math activities we do, or how we are still taking notes by hand when reading or watching an educational film.

I feel that there may be a stigma out there about sharing activities on Twitter. I worry that people think they can only share technology activities on Twitter because the edtech community is so large. That couldn't be further from the truth. People on Twitter share ALL activities. The important thing is to share!

We need to show others what is going on in our classrooms all day long. We need to share the good activities and the ones that totally flopped. People out there need to see that there is someone else going through something similar.

Don't be afraid of sharing on Twitter, I know that is easier said than done. Still, I overthink about what I am sharing and am working on getting past that. We worry what others are going to think or if it is going to get any 'likes' on Twitter. As educators, we can feel so alone and isolated. Sharing on Twitter helps break down barriers and connect us to others. We need to come together to support each other, sharing on Twitter or any way is a great way to start!

**See this post and more on my Techie Tuesday newsletter.**