Buzzing About Books

Allowing your students to discuss what they are reading during independent reading time can be a powerful incentive for them to keep moving forward in their books.  Some key points about buzzing about books include:

• Talks focused on students' independent reading selections

• Assign students to groups of 4 initially

• Create own discussion groups later in the year

• Meeting time generally about 15 minutes

• Initially, teacher circulates among the groups; ultimately, sit with one group and be a part of the discussion

• Provide a list of focused topics so students can be more active participants

From Igniting a Passion for Reading by Steven Layne
Buzz About Books-Younger Readers (Page 88)
1. Where and when does the story take place?
2. Who are the main characters?
3. What is one of the main characters like?
4. Who is your favorite character and why?
5. Which picture in the book do you like best?
6. Which part of the story do you like best?
7. How do you feel about the end of the story?
8. What do you remember most about the story?
9. Do you think other kids would like to read this book?  Why or why not?
10. Would you read another book by this author?  Why or why not?

Buzz About Books- Older Readers (See pages 88 and 89)

Buzz About Books- Older Readers

1. Identify something about the main character that’s bothering you or something that you really like.  Why do you feel the way you do?
2. What is the major problem in this book so far, or what do you think it is going to be?  How will it likely be solved?
3. Select a minor character in this book and explain why you feel the character was created by the author.  How would the story change if this character were removed?
4. Explain the setting of your book.  Is it really important to the story line?  What would change if you moved the story to another planet, a different country, or a fantasy land?  Would the story still work well?
5. People are motivated by many different things.  For example, some people will do anything for friendship, others for chocolate, others for revenge, others for money.  What is it that you believe motivates the main character of your book? Explain why.
6. Identify the climax of your story.  How did you know when you had reached this point?
7. Does your book seem to have a theme?  In other words, do you think the author is trying to communicate with you, the reader, through this story?  If so, what is the author saying to his or her readers?
8. Describe a character from your book using three descriptive adjectives.  Then, compare the character to yourself or someone in your family.  What are the similarities and/or differences?
9. If your book has chapter titles, identify the most interesting title and explain what makes it so fascinating.  If your book does not have chapter titles, describe some recent events that you’ve read about in the book and ask the group to help you develop a chapter title for that part of the book.   
10. Read aloud for your group the inside flap and/or back cover (if it has information about the book you’re reading-sometimes the back cover contains information on another book).  Discuss whether you feel the publisher has done an effective job of convincing people to read the book based on this information.  What do your group members think?
11. Which of the five key levels of conflict (man vs man, himself, society, nature, supernatural) are present in your book so far?  Which conflict seems to be the main one at this point in the story?
12. If your book were going to be made into a movie, which part would you want to play? Why?  Which would be the most enjoyable scene in the movie?
13. Discuss the book jacket (front and back) of the book you’re reading with your group.  What are people’s opinions about how well the jacket “sells” the book?  Having read some of the book already, can you suggest a better jacket idea?
14. Discuss an example from your book of a specific literary device that the author used well, such as foreshadowing, comic relief, or flashback.
15. If you’ve read any other books by this author, talk about how this one rates in comparison with the others.  Can you tell it’s the same person writing?  What are similarities and differences between this book and others the author has written?
16. Compare one of the main characters in your book to a main character from one of your favorite books.  Which one would make a better friend in real life?
17. Select any character in your book and rate him or her on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is high) based on each these qualities: dependability, intelligence, and appearance.