Creator: Kitty Felde | visit site
Grade Range: 4 - 8
Book Club for Kids is a free, weekly 20-minute podcast for middle school students. Each podcast includes a discussion of a favorite book along with an author interview and celebrity reading. In addition to the podcasts, this site offers a variety of information for students and educators, and parents. Select the link for librarians, teachers, and parents to find curriculum guides for several books. Choose the sections with "Writers on Writing" to discover in-depth conversations with several authors. Podcasts are available on most popular podcasting sites.
In the Classroom
This tremendous resource is a must-have for all middle school classrooms and libraries! Share the podcasts with students not only to learn about the latest books but also to learn how to improve public speaking skills, learn about the author’s techniques and tips, and discover how to share informative book reports. Subscribe to the podcast and have students listen to weekly presentations during center times or as a class. Share the "Books We Love" portion of the site on your class webpage for students to use when looking for reading material. Ask your school librarian to share these podcasts in the media center and look into ordering books of interest to your students. As students learn from these podcasts, ask them to use what they learned to create their podcasts to share with classmates and your school. Have students use organizers found on ReadWriteThink, <a href="/single.cfm?id=4969">reviewed here</a>, to organize and plan for their podcasts and book reviews. Help students visualize their written work by creating word clouds with Wordsift, <a href="/single.cfm?id=12844">reviewed here</a>, to focus on commonly-used terms within their text and evaluate their usefulness. As a final project, help your students create and produce ongoing podcasts sharing their book reviews with peers. Buzzsprout, <a href="/single.cfm?id=17015">reviewed here</a>, and Anchor, <a href="/single.cfm?id=17930">reviewed here</a>, both provide free podcasting tools.
At Home
Share these entertaining podcasts with your teen as a resource for finding out about the latest in literature. If your student is a reluctant reader, this site is a great resource for finding age-appropriate material suited to a variety of interests.
Tags
book reports, book lists, authors, literature, podcasts,