Book Recommendations on VoiceThread

A wonderful trend has begun in our classroom, book recommendations! This trend is organic and continues to grow. It all started one day when a student brought in a book that she wanted to share with the class. As we gathered for our morning meeting she shared her favorite parts and then asked where she could put the book for her friends to read. The kids quickly found the perfect shelf and labeled it "books we share with the class."

The kids were excited to borrow the book. Soon they began to talk about the book and "reserve" the book with a first grade honor system~ so cute!  Of course it wasn't long until more recommendations were made and more books were being "reserved."

The power of the organic book recommendation soon grew to VoiceThread.  Here kids share their favorite parts and sometimes even tell us where we can get the book for ourselves! The fun doesn't stop there, VoiceThread allows other readers to share their comments on the book. VoiceThread has been a great addition to our book recommendations.

Friends continue to share in our morning meeting as well as on VoiceThread. Once a book is shared in the meeting kids often request it be added to VoiceThread, this allows us to remember all the books shared, the thoughts of the reader who recommended the book and enables all readers to comment. In a classroom of 20 this is a great way to hear every one’s thoughts!
Most book recommendations come from books read outside of our classroom. I love having a peek into the independent reading and thinking of my kids. Not only can I assess their reading habits but it helps me to gain an understanding of other books they like to read. 

We hope you will listen to our book recommendation above and maybe even leave a comment!