book talk assignment

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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What Is a Book Talk? A Classroom Guide to Making Them Work

It’s like a sales pitch for a book.

You want students to read, but students aren’t interested in cracking a spine. The fix: book talks. A book talk is a sales pitch for a book. They sell students on a character, plot, or theme and encourage them to pick up a new title or check out a new author. Here’s everything you need to know about this fun strategy.

What is a book talk?

A book talk is a short presentation about a book that focuses on convincing others to read it. It’s not a formal book report or review. And it’s more persuasive than expository—think sales and marketing. The goal is to engage potential readers and present a fun, exciting, and even suspenseful book commercial. Book talks can focus on one aspect of a book: character, plot, theme, etc. Whatever the reader really loved about the book and thinks will “sell” it to their audience.

Book Talk Examples

We love these examples of how book talks can be used by teachers for students from elementary school through high school. Literally everyone can use a book talk.

Mr. Rigney talks about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Book talks for teens

Spotlight on Cinder

First grade teacher talks about Elephant and Piggie

Book Talk Benefits

Yes, book talks are fun, but do they work? The short answer is yes, and it’s not just about getting kids to open books.

• They get kids reading—really reading. To sell their book, students have to know the book and know it well. Their ad will fall flat if they haven’t read the book and can’t talk about it.
• They get kids sharing reading with others. Reading can be contagious, and book talks are a great way to spread a love of reading throughout your class, one book at a time.
• They teach note-taking. As students prepare for a book talk, taking notes and using those notes to summarize the story is an important skill they’ll develop.
• They build presentation skills. The process of reading the book, thinking through how to present it, and practicing are good rehearsal for later presentations.
• They build listening skills. When students aren’t presenting, they’re listening. The practice of participating in book talks, listening, and asking questions refines students’ listening skills.

How To Choose a Book

The best books for book talks are the ones you like! Help students find a book they want to talk about by:

• Providing a box of books that are recommended for their grade level, like this list for 4th grade .
• As you get to know students, slip them a note card with a personalized book recommendation. The personal touch will give them the confidence to know that they can read the book and that it’s a good choice.
• Provide books by theme, like  Women’s History Month or books about dogs .
• Start with student interests with books written in first-person and characters that reflect real-world experiences. When students connect with characters, they feel like they’re talking about a friend. Check out this list of diverse titles  for ideas.

How To Plan a Book Talk

One: Get a book. Two: Sell it … OK, students need more guidance than that. These nine tips will maximize the book talk format for you or your students:

1. Provide a template

Help students structure a book talk with a template that lets students know that they have all the components of a solid book talk.

2. Don’t give away the ending

Share the story until the climax or a cliff-hanger, and leave students wanting to know what happened next. The exception to this rule may be for a series or book of short stories where incorporating the ending to one story might excite readers about reading more from that author.

3. Jump into the action

Talk about why the book is amazing. Save the author and title until the end to keep the audience wondering, Have I heard of this book?

4. Keep it short

Aim for between 30 seconds and five minutes, depending on your audience.

5. Let your personality shine

Bring your own personality, humor, and voice to the book talk and encourage students to do the same.

6. Prepare while you read

Take notes and place sticky notes at cliff-hangers, quotes, scenes that surprise you, and parts that you connect with.

7. Think about craft

What does the author do to keep you engaged? What will keep a student moving through the story? Are there aspects that the author has mastered, like figurative language or building suspense? Give examples of these to draw readers in.

8. Engage your audience

Ask questions, take a poll, have them guess what will happen next. The author kept you on the edge of your seat, so get your students on the edge of theirs.

9. Practice, practice, practice!

The more students practice, the better they’ll get. Plus, unlike your students, who take your class only once, you can perfect a book talk and give it year after year.

Level Up Book Talks

Already do book talks? Here are some ways to kick it up a notch:

• Challenge your students to give a book talk about a book they don’t like. Can they convince people that they actually liked the book? Or can they convince people to read a book just to see how bad it really is?
• Book talk speed dating: Have students create a short book talk and then meet with their peers to try to sell their book in a speed-dating format.
• Picture-book talks: Challenge older students to hone their presentation skills by having them give a book talk on a  picture book .
• Peer review: Create a rubric or checklist (like  this one ) and have students give each other feedback.

Come and share your book talk ideas in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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A Free Book Talk Template for More Engaged Readers!

Long gone are the days of the traditional book talks. The ones where the students simply recite the same script: introduce themselves, state the book title, tell a fact about a book, and encourage the audience to check it out. Our students are way too creative for that, so we need to give them a chance to let their creativity shine through their book talks! I created a FREE book talk template for you to use to help your students plan more engaging book talks! 

Dr. Brad Gustafson , an elementary principal in Minnesota, encourages students to “Bring the Heat” to their book talks. His strategy moves students beyond using the same old script in order to create more engaging book talks. Isn’t the purpose of a book talk to spark interest and make someone want to read the book?

Check out Dr. Gustafson explaining the concept of bringing the HEAT to book talks.

Book Talks Strategy: Bring the Heat

Let’s take a quick look at each of the elements of the HEAT method.

Grab the attention of the audience to make them want to know more about your book. Some ways to do that include: asking a question, stating an interesting fact, or getting the audience to imagine something. I’ve even had students have a snowball fight to hook in the audience!

How will you show energy in your book talk? Can you change your volume, talk with an accent, use props, or add emotion? This helps create an engaging book talk for your audience.

Consider who is your audience and how can you connect with them. Why should they care about your book? It is helpful to make a connection by mentioning a place they might have been, things they might have done, or people they might know.

Keep it short! The ideal book talk is less than a minute long. Teach your students the art of adding a cliffhanger to leave the audience wanting to know more.

The FREE Book Talk Template

In order to support my students with creating their own book talks, I created graphic organizers based on Dr. Brad Gustafson’s Bringing the HEAT method. This free book talk template walks the students through the process in order to create more engaging book talks.

Book Talks Planning Guide

The first graphic organizer helps the students plan out the strategies they want to implement to make their book talk engaging. It provides suggestions and prompts for each of the HEAT elements. The QR Code leads to the YouTube video explaining how to “Bring the HEAT to Book Talks.” For students who need additional support, it has sentence stems that they can fill in the blanks. (Example: Imagine a scary event . That’s what it was like for character’s name in the book).

Book Talk Rough Draft

The rough draft graphic organizer walks students through the creation of their actual script. It provides suggestions for the book introduction, talking points, and closing. Several sentence stems are also provided for students who need additional scaffolding.

Book Talk Final Draft

The last document allows students to write out their entire script. If students are working with a partner, I have each student write the exact same script on their paper. They then highlight their individual lines on the script. This makes it easier when rehearsing.

Finalizing the Book Talk

Students can perform their book talks for their classmates, but I highly recommend making it into a video. My students used iPads to record their own book talks and edited them using WeVideo . Our school also has our own YouTube channel where we can post the videos. You can even create QR codes for students to view the videos. It just adds an extra level of excitement for the students.

Examples of Engaging Book Talks

Dr. Brad Gustafson is hosts a yearly Book Talk Tournament featuring 30 second Book Talks from 8 Lead Learners and 8 Literacy Legends. Check them out for some inspiring book talks to get you and your students excited to start creating your own!

Download the FREE Book Talk Template!

Do you want to download this FREE resource to use with your students? Complete the form below to receive the file!

Have you implemented book talks before? What tips and strategies have you found beneficial in helping your students create engaging book talks? You might also be interested in finding out about another way I build excitement about reading with Special Delivery Books !

Want to Pin this for later?

I am a K-5 Literacy Coach who is passionate about creating engaging literacy activities that build students’ confidence as readers. With over 20 years of experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist, my goal is to support you by sharing methods I’ve seen successfully implemented in classrooms like yours. I’m excited to share resources and tips to help you plan simple but effective literacy instruction.

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18 Comments

Looking forward to using this with my students!

I would love a copy of the book talk template

You can complete the blue form at the bottom of the post to download the file! Let me know if you have any difficulty accessing the file.

I just emailed it to you, but let me know if you don’t receive it or have difficulties accessing the file!

I apologize for the difficulty accessing the file. If you provide me with your email address or email me at [email protected] , I will send you the resource!

Could you send me the resource as well? [email protected] Thank you!

I just emailed it to you, but let me know if you don’t receive it or have difficulties accessing the file!

I apologize for the difficulty accessing the file. I’ve sent you an email with a link to the resource! Hopefully that works for you!

Oh No! It might have gone to your Spam or Junk folder. Please send me an email [email protected] or leave your preferred email in the comments and I will send you the file!

This was incredibly helpful! My kids will love it.

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you! Can’t wait to try it!

Please share a copy of your freebie Book Talk package!

If you complete the large blue form at the bottom of the post, you’ll receive the free Book Talk forms in your email inbox! Let me know if you still have any difficulties accessing the file!

Got it from the resource library!! Thank you 🙂 It's a GREAT resource, I can't wait to share it with my students!!!

Thank you! I can't wait to use this with my students!

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Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom

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. The teacher should model book talks before asking students to create them.

Begin by selecting one or more books to share with your class. Write a brief, engaging presentation that includes the title, author, genre, setting, and a brief summary. Remember not to give away important plot twists. You may want to describe a key moment of conflict from the book without revealing how the conflict is resolved. Then leave the audience with "If you want to know what happened, read this book!" Use language that will persuade others to read the book. Give the reasons that you liked the book and why you think others should read it. Practice your book talk. Make sure that it is brief and engaging and that it gives enough information for someone to make a decision about whether or not to read the book.

Finally, make an audio recording of each student delivering his or her book talk. Each one will be an episode in the book talk podcast series from your class. Your students will be able to share their work with their families, with other classes in the school and with readers everywhere. See the resources listed on the Classroom Podcasting home page for more information about how to record and publish your podcast.

Because of the digital nature of the podcast, it can be shared with a very wide audience. Assuming that you do not include photographs of the students and that you have the students use first names only, you should be able to share these book talks with the widest possible audience on the internet. If you’d like to add visuals to the audio podcast, you can include students’ illustrations of scenes from the book. As your students complete the assignment, you will be building a classroom library of book talks. Whenever a student in your class is ready to start a new book, he or she can browse your class library of book talks to find a book that might interest him or her. In addition, students from other classes, other schools, or other children outside of school, will be able to use the resource to get book recommendations. The podcast series can also be available to students from year to year. New students can add their own reviews to the existing library. Since many perspectives exist for any book, allow multiple reviews of the same book. The students will respond to different elements within a book and the audience may relate to the perspective of one reviewer more than another.

A typical book report is read by the classroom teacher, possibly heard by the other students in class, and ends there. Using podcasting with book talks extends the audience in time and space. A classmate might listen to your podcast six months later. A child on the other side of the country or the other side of the world may listen to it the next day. Podcasting can transform a typical classroom assignment by making it an authentic opportunity to interact with others. Students will want to do a good job with their book talks not just to get a good grade, but because others will be using their book talks to choose a book. Classroom teachers may want to set up exchange programs where students in different classrooms listen to each others’ book talks.

This exercise could easily be done with students from primary grades through high school. Obviously the level of the reading material varies, but the key elements remain the same. In primary grades, each book talk will be much shorter. In high school, the reviewer can pose higher level questions of the audience. Book talk podcasts could also be created and used by pre-service or in-service teachers recommending children’s books for classroom use or professional development books or articles.

• Cornett, C. (2003). Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Gambrell, L., & Almasi, J. F. (Eds.). (1998). Lively discussions! Fostering engaged reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
• Tomkins, G. (1998). Fifty Literacy Strategies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Book Talk Presentations Assignment

Grade 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Book Companion

Multiple File Types

About This Product

This teaching resource offers an exciting way to incorporate student-led book talks into your curriculum, triggering independent reading in the classroom. Aided by meticulous planning worksheets and note-taking sheets, this assignment enhances students' public speaking skills while promoting their favorite books.

• Detailed Note-Taking Sheets & Planning Worksheets: These aid students in comprehending the complexities of their chosen readings. They also provide a structured framework for preparing upcoming presentations.
• Versatile Application: Use it as whole group activities or break it down for small groups to understand different features of novel study sequentially. The assignment doubles up as homework, allowing students ample time for comprehension and analysis before they present.

Lesson Plan Guidelines

This package comes with guidelines offering implementation suggestions for educators along with a Book Talk presentation assignment . It includes requirements coupled with helpful tips on how to present effectively.

• Maintaining Focus & Engagement: The resource comes equipped with peer-edit checklists that keep learners’ focus intact throughout the process.

Besides a hands-on experience in literature analysis and enhancing presentation skills, this teaching resource dovetails proficiently within digital educational spheres. It provides Google slide templates alongside PowerPoint templates ensuring effective instruction conveyance by the teachers.

The product is versatile - suitable across grade levels five through twelve, which makes it apt no matter what age range you teach!

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Course info.

• Karen Boiko

Departments

• Comparative Media Studies/Writing

As Taught In

• Nonfiction Prose
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Learning Resource Types

Writing and rhetoric: writing about sports, book talk assignment.

This resource contains information regarding book talk assignment.

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