Presenting a Book Talk

A Booktalk Cloze Sheet

Are you unsure what to say in a booktalk?

Watch some booktalks on YouTube:
Diary Queen
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
The Giver
The Hunger Games
The Outsiders

Or follow one these simple outlines.
(Feel free to be more creative if you wish. Change any part of these outlines to suit your book or make up your own outline. But don’t fail to present a booktalk because you don’t think you have anything to say, because you do!)

Did you know that GIVE AN INTERESTING FACT? Did you know that GIVE ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT. TITLE by AUTHOR tells all sorts of AN EMOTIVE ADJECTIVE SUCH ‘FASCINATING’  facts about TELL THE TOPIC OF THE BOOK.  I learned that TELL A FACT and TELL ANOTHER FACT. I discovered that TELL A FACT and TELL ANOTHER FACT. If you are interested in TELL THE TOPIC AGAIN, be sure to read this AN EMOTIVE FACT SUCH AS ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ book: TITLE.

Hello!  I read a great book recently called TITLE by AUTHOR. The main character, NAME, lives in BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE SETTING and faces a dilemma: TELL ONE ALTERNATIVE or TELL THE OTHER ALTERNATIVE. There are all sorts of complications. TELL SOME. But at the end, well . . . you’ll have to read the story yourself if you want to find out what happens, but I can tell you that this novel was one of the most AN EMOTIVE ADJECTIVE SUCH AS ‘INTRIGUING’ OR ‘COMPELLING’ novels I’ve read in a long time.  Why don’t you give it a try?

Have you ever felt GIVE AN EMOTION? Have you ever felt GIVE ANOTHER EMOTION. Then you’ll know how the main character feels in the novel TITLE by AUTHOR. NAME OF CHARACTER is GIVE YOUR FIRST EMOTION FROM ABOVE.  DESCRIBE THE CAUSE FOR THE EMOTION. S/he is also GIVE THE SECOND EMOTION FROM ABOVE. DESCRIBE THE CAUSE FOR THE SECOND EMOTION. What should s/he do?  What will s/he do?  Read this EMOTIVE ADJECTIVE SUCH AS ‘SPELLBINDING’ novel to find out!

Now practice your book talk!

Here are the criteria for your presentation:

Did I get my audience’s attention?

___ Creative beginning

___ Straight-forward beginning

___ Boring beginning

Did I tell what kind of book I chose?

___ Clearly told what type of book

___ Not sure, not clear

___ Didn’t mention it

Did I tell something about the main character or the topic of the book?

___ Included facts and my own opinions

___ Told some facts

___ Didn’t tell much

Did I talk about the setting or the significance of the topic?

___ Told details about when and where the story took place and how it affected the story

___ Told some details

___ Mentioned a few details

Did I tell about an especially interesting part of the story or nonfiction book?

___ Made it sound so interesting that some listeners want to read the book

___ Gave a brief summary

___ Forgot about it

Did I tell who might like this book?

___ Told who might like it and gave reasons

___ Briefly mentioned who might like it

___ Forgot about it

How did I appear?

___ Hair combed, clothes tidy, smiled and looked pleasant, looked at audience

___ Looked down much of the time

___ Looked uninterested

How did I sound?

___ Clear, strong, cheerful voice

___ Little expression in voice

___ Difficult to understand what I said

[This page may be copied for use with students if the following credit is provided: ©2010 Sophie Rosen.]

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2 thoughts on “Presenting a Book Talk

  1. Hi Sophie,
    I’m going to try a couple of your formats for booktalks etc. with some of my students that need a frame or scaffolding. Thanks!!!

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