Power Browsing!

Today 5th and 6th graders got to engage in a fun assembly activity that I'd wanted a chance to try with our students for some time: Power Browsing! Also known as Book Tasting, Speed Dating with Books, Speed Rating, etc., it's an opportunity to quickly sample wide range of different books that you might not otherwise pick up.

In preparation we set up the gym with chairs, each with a different book and a rating sheet. I chose 40 nonfiction and 30 fiction books from a wide range of genres and subject areas. The only things they had in common were that they hadn't circulated as much as I'd hoped they would and that I believed that someone out there would find them appealing. This person simply hadn't met their perfect book match yet!

Each student chose a seat randomly, started browsing their book and then gave it a rating (from #1 for "Loved it!" to #4 for "Not for me"). After 5 minutes, they stood up, moved to the chair to their right and carried on. After about half an hour of sampling books, students grouped themselves by going to stand by the book they liked the best. They spent the next 10 minutes recommending books to those who had gathered near them - people who shared their tastes. It was an opportunity to connect with new people and get some new reading recommendations.

Finally, they chose the books they wanted to borrow - perfect timing with spring break coming up! Scroll down to see a few photos from our morning activity!

Starting off...

Engrossed in a book!

Comparing notes.