Student Book Review Project

This post is going to be about a project that I'm working on at one of the schools where I work, Seymour Middle School.  If you are not interested in podcasting or book reviews you may want to skip this post.  If you are into that sort of thing then keep reading!  Last year, I had an idea.  I wanted students to create audio podcasts reviewing a book they read and then take those podcasts and organize them into a website where other students could listen to them before selecting a book from the library.  It seemed like such a simple idea but there were many different pieces to consider (e.g. logistics of pc/tablet/iPad, where to store the reviews, sorting of genre/author/title, where to consistently get book information).  To this point, over a year later, I have gotten the idea off the ground but it is still only slightly hovering above the earth.  The site is live on the web (only seven reviews) and I think I have worked out the kinks to the point where I can really start to focus on my main intent which was to get kids talking about books.

Now What?

The reason I decided to post about this project is to offer ideas/suggestions to anyone looking to implement something similar in their school.  Being that I have gone through the process and managed the pitfalls, I can help you to avoid some of the mistakes that I made initially.  So...if you are up for starting a project for the second half of the year send me an e-mail or a message on Twitter.

Scholastic Book Reviews

Scholastic has a great website where kids can write their own book reviews or read what other same grade students are saying about books they have read.  The name of this website is called Share What You've Read and it is very simple to use without registration or an account.  If a student wants to write a review they can fill out the online form or visit the writer's workshop page which has information about writing a good review.  Students can also read book reviews written by their peers as well.  Overall, Share What You've Read seems like an excellent resource to help validate student writing and assist them in evaluation what they have read.

Now What?

Most schools have students write book reviews but they generally never leave the classroom or teacher's desk.   Share What You've Read  would be a great way to encourage your students to write for a global audience and give them the opportunity to publish their work.