Speed Booking Or Book Dating?

This week the fifth grade will be doing one of my favorite lessons. Based on the idea of "Speed Dating," students are divided into eight groups - the group has about 3 minutes to "meet and greet" the books on a table before they move to the next. We have 8 tables, so we choose six or eight books (we always choose books that are "unknowns") from 8 genres. We are using Sci-Fi, Historical, Romance, Mystery, Humor, Adventure, Realistic, and Horror this time. We put a Genre sign on each table.
Student examine the books on each table for three things: the favorite cover, blurb and beginning. Each student may have three different titles or just one or two for each table.

When all students have visited all the table, I give them three or four minutes to go back to a table to grab a book that they want to check out. It is first come, first read; some of the scrabbling to get a hot book is comical and exciting.

I'll post some pictures of this lesson during the week.

Thanks for stopping by.