How to Use Book Talks

Why do I love book talks? Want to learn how to use book talks with your students?

I love to read and I love helping to teach children a love of reading. I’ve found that just putting a good book in a student’s hands is not always enough for all kids. Some kids need a little more encouragement to pick up a good book. Book talks are an engaging reading project and a great way to help kids find and share books they love to read.

What is a Book Talk?

A book report is simply a summary of what happened in the book. A book talk is created and presented by someone who has read the book and is trying to share with others why they should read the book too. It is a way to engage students and get them to talk about books.

Book Talks Build a Community of Readers

I love to use book talks in my classroom because they are a great way to help kids find a book they will love to read.. It is a fun way to get students talking about and sharing the books that they love. I have found that book talks are an engaging way to get students interested in reading and build a classroom community of readers.

I assign one book talk during the first quarter of school to give students more time to create and present their book talks. I assign a monthly book talk after each student has successfully created and presented their first one.

Image of a computer screen with the words Book Talk Checklist and a checklist of presentation items

Assign a Book Talk Template

I love using a digital template in Google Slides so that my students can practice technology skills and will have a nice visual presentation to share with the class too. My students LOVE creating presentation projects.

I send my students a copy of a Google Slides template to create their book talk presentations. The template provides them with a checklist of all of the elements I want them to include and slides that prompt them to add each element. Students provide information about the book, the title, genre or topic, and the author.

Students Create Their Presentation

For a fiction book, students are asked to describe the plot (without giving away any spoilers!), the characters, the setting, and information about the author, and they are asked to find related images to include. For a nonfiction book, students describe facts or events from the book.

Images of 2 tablets with screens that read Book Details with images of sticky notes for students to type on.

Students Present Their Book Talk

Finally, students give a presentation to “sell” their books and talk about why others should read this book. When students present their book talk to the class, I allow time for students to ask the presenter questions about the book. It’s also nice to have the student book talk books on display in the classroom or even in the school library.

Image of a computer screen that reads Read This Book with images of pink sticky notes for students to explain reasons why others should read this book

My students love creating and presenting book talks and I love that they inspire their classmates to read books that they love. The best way to find a great book to read is to get a recommendation and getting a recommendation from a peer is even better. My regular book talks help to create a classroom reading culture that gets students talking to each other about books.

If you would like to use a tried and true template with a detailed rubric, check out my Digital Book Talk Template on Teachers Pay Teachers. Click the image to have a look!