You've DOT to Read This Book!

We love reading at Hughes Elementary! With a campus and district focus on literacy, 5th grade ELA teachers decided to create a platform for students to recap, rate, and review books they were reading. This idea came up during “Dot Day” when students were learning that they can leave a mark and inspire others in the process. Teachers wanted students to be able to recommend books to their classmates and inspire them to pass their love of specific books on to others in the class. 

Writing about books and recommending them to others was a skill that these students got to learn throughout the process. Mrs. Covarelli points out, “Some students didn’t understand the difference between writing a book blurb and a review.  We got the chance to model how to write a book blurb to hook the reader versus writing a review. We’re continually teaching students how to give specific text details to support a review rather than just writing 'it was fun, funny, or enjoyable.’”  Mrs. Covarelli adds, “ I love seeing which books my students have felt impacted by in their independent reading time. I enjoyed seeing my students give a book 4/5 stars rather than 5, but still highly recommend it.” 
Mrs. Bass adds, “Students were excited to create a review of the book they had read and share it with a wider audience than their class. It allowed them to express their opinion and encourage others to read.”

Teyla, McKenna, and Addie were three students that were particularly excited about writing reviews and reading reviews from others. “The One and Only Ivan is a book that I feel should get more attention than it does,” said Teyla. “This book made me feel lots of emotions such as sadness, loss, excitement, surprise, and joy. The cover doesn’t show what the book is really about." She noted, "It may look like a picture book for first or second grade, but it’s actually great for fourth or fifth graders. Writing a blurb and review helped me share these details with others.” 

McKenna read “Because of Mr. Terupt.” She admits, “It took me a while to get into the book, but then it got very intense. I loved the author’s craft. I also noticed that the main character switches between having a growth and fixed mindset.” It was neat hearing how McKenna was able to relate her learning from school to the characters in her book and how she developed empathy for each character their situation. 

When asked about reading reviews from classmates, Addie claimed, “Lots of people in our class want to read a book called ‘Pax.’ I was drawn to the review by Veronica. Her blurb described how the book was about the fox and a boy who get separated and their journey of getting back together. She said it was really emotional. When I read her rating, I could tell she was being very honest. I want to read the book even more after reading her review.”

Teyla and McKenna gave their books a five star rating while Addie gave her book a 4. She claimed, “I gave my book a 4 because, you can get confused at times. Multiple languages are used in the book along with multiple scenes. It is very descriptive and makes me feel like I’m part of the story.” Students learned how to separate their opinion from fact. “I learned to be honest about my experience in the review. To think deeper about how to get other readers to read my book. You don’t want to leave spoilers, but it helps to have a big question or a hook to get them excited,” says Addie. McKenna adds, “In our writing right now, we’re learning about going deeper with our words. I tried to leave a cliff hanger, so that others would read my book.”

All in all, this project truly did get students talking about books! Mrs. Brewton claims, “When students were looking for books the other day in our classroom library, I heard them pointing out books that they had seen on the Padlet. They were checking out their friend’s recommendations! It was exciting to see my students engaged in their book selection rather than having them come to me because they couldn’t find anything they liked.” Addie also mentioned, “I think our class talks more about books when we’re doing book reviews. The talk has died down a bit, so I think it’s time to write another review. My friend Abby told me that she read my review and liked it. I was happy that she took the time to tell me that she wants to read my book, 'Resistance' because of my review.” 

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It will be fun to see who students get to share their book recaps and reviews with. Mrs. Alvis, the Hughes librarian has plans to showcase specific student reviews by their corresponding books in the library. This will allow students to read reviews from other students when they are choosing what they want to read.

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Student ISTE Standard - Creative Communicator: 
Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

• 6D: Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.