Thursday Book Talks

Thursday Book Talk

The Book Talk is based on a favorite book the students have read this year, which is grade-level appropriate.  Book Talk points are assigned by the book’s difficulty level, so the book must be approved by Mrs. Hoffman in advanced; bring it by for approval a few weeks ahead of the scheduled speech time.

To see when your child's Book Talk is scheduled click the "Class Calendar" in the top right hand side of the blog. 

Assignment Parts:

 1.      Glogster Presentation:  A presentation must be included in your talk.  It must be in addition to your speech, not repeating everything that you are saying.  Attractive design and attention-getting details are important.  Use at least 2 pictures or clips within your presentation that connect to the book.  The scanner, digital camera, and clips from the computers are available.  Include the title (underlined) and the author of the book in your presentation (title page).  This must be saved to a flash drive for the presentation, just in case internet is not working. Students have logins and passwords and have been on Glogster during computers at school. 

Glogster link: Click login in the top right hand corner to login.

2.Outline:  The outline must be turned in before the speech.  It must be typed from the computer. (See example page)
      Start with a great lead statement
      Give a 1-5 sentence summary of the entire book
Part Two:  The Body

3.Talk:  Explain what the book is about (quickly) and your response to it.  Follow your memorized outline.  Practice your talk so that it can be given comfortably without any notes.  The talk itself should be approximately 10-15 minutes.  Since you will create a 5 section outline, use this format.

Part One:  The Introduction

      Make sure to mention the title and author

      Describe the setting

      Describe the main characters and how that character might have changed

      Describe other characters that are important to the main theme and plot

Part Three: Describe the problem of the story and how the main character goes about solving the problem.

      What is the theme and message of the story?

Part Four:  The conclusion

Does the book have any relevance to your life?

Why should someone read it (why was it your favorite)?

Part Five: Read a descriptive passage from your book. 

Where does it fit in your speech? Comment on why you chose that passage.

Click here to view the Book Talk documnets: example outline and scoring rubric