Book Clubs - Part 1

In February, I wrote a Donor's Choose grant for new books for my classroom. The purpose of the grant was to provide my students an opportunity to have newer books to read for their book clubs (literature circles).

My students entered my decorated classroom. They were excited about the activity we were participating in. I'll be honest, I spent about $20 to set this all up. I bought inexpensive tablecloths, baskets, cups, and soft peppermints (for their after tasting mint). Students spent two days rotating through books. I grouped the students and that's the table they sat at for the book tasting. Each day they tasted a different batch of books. During the book tasting, the students answered questions about the book. They ranked the book 1-10 by interest. On the last day, the students filled out a page to pick their top three books to read. This is what I used to determine the book clubs. 

Here are some highlights from the book tasting. 

Book Tasting

How did the grab your attention? How did they "hook the reader? 
"The author had a fight start within the first five pages. After the fight, I didn't want to stop reading it." G.C. - The Outsiders

"The author hooked me into the book by not telling me the background information of the boy that was being taken to prison." A.E. - Scar Island

After looking at the cover, what's your first impression of the book? 
"It is questionable, I am confused whether or not the beaver is metaphorical or the story is actually centered around a beaver, but the cover really gives the reader a good idea about what the book is about." D.S. - Slacker

After reading 3-5 pages, what do you think of the book? 
"I think this book would be great to read because I have friends that can relate and I've heard what they went through and the character in the book surprises me." M.L. - The Outsiders

"Wow! It's incredible! I love the language that the author uses. It really makes you connect to the story and the characters." B.P. - Some Kind of Courage

Classroom Screen

 Our technology coach showed us this awesome free website. It’s called Classroom Screen. I use it in my classroom daily. It’s the perfect resource that has plenty of tools available on one screen. All you need is a computer, projector, and internet connection.

First, I want to point out that you have access to several different languages. It converts the text into the language of choice. That’s an excellent opportunity, especially if you teach a foreign language. I think about one of my friends from Louisiana. She’s a Spanish teacher and this would be a perfect tool for her to use in her classroom.

You have the choice to set the background. There are many crisp, clear images that can be used. There are also solid color backgrounds as an option to reduce distraction. My favorite part about this section is you can upload your own image. This allows me to upload images based on the seasons, holidays, or topic discussed in class.

There are several tools available. The best part is it’s all on one screen at a time. The creator really had a classroom teacher in mind. It’s so nice to not have to bounce back and forth between several different windows. I know that there are many wonderful tools integrated in different software programs. I have found that for me personally, this site has everything I need in one easy location.

If you haven’t tried classroomscreen.com, I highly recommend you check it out. You won’t be disappointed. Here’s what my classroom screen looks like this morning.