Several years ago, I was looking for ways to inject more fun and excitement into my teaching, and I discovered classroom transformations. In case you aren’t familiar with the concept, classroom transformations involve temporarily changing the look and feel of your classroom to match a specific theme, creating an immersive and engaging learning experience for students.
One of my favorite room transformations is a Book Tasting Event, and I have been able to host several of these events during the past few years. Book Tastings are a fun way to introduce students to new authors and book genres that they might not discover on their own, and they are a huge hit with my students!
Setting the Stage
The first time I heard about book tastings, I was intrigued with the concept, but I wasn’t sure how to implement the strategy. I started looking for ideas and inspiration online, and quickly discovered an amazing resource on TpT written by Joanne Miller, Book Tasting: Introduce Your Students to New Books and Genres. This resource turned out to be a goldmine of information, and following Joanne’s directions made it easy for me to host my first Book Tasting event. In addition to directions, you’ll find dozens of printable materials to get you started—things like invitations, menus, placemats, and reflection napkins. I appreciate how Joanne includes photos from her classroom Book Tasting Event, which helped me visualize the best way to set up my own event!
After reading through Joanne’s guide to book tastings, I realized that I would need to obtain some additional resources to complete my room transformation. These items included a chef’s hat, tablecloths, small vases with silk flowers, festive lights, dinner mints, and platters to hold the book selections at each table. With the help of generous donors, I was able to get most of these items by writing a DonorsChoose project titled Tasting Sunshine at the Aztec Café. (Click over to my DonorsChoose project if you’re curious about why I chose the name “Aztec Café.”)
After the project was funded and I received the items, I was ready to transform my classroom into a quaint café where my students could explore new genres in literature. The day before the event, I moved our desks into groups of 6, creating rectangular tables. I set up each table with a tablecloth, 6 place settings, vases with flowers, LED candles, a numbered table sign, a genre sign, and a platter of 6 – 8 books from that genre. I filled the platters with books selected from both the school library, and my personal classroom library. I also set up a host station at the entrance to the “café.”
Bringing the Event to Life
Before the students arrived, I started playing café-themed music to enhance the atmosphere. My favorite piece is this Mediterranean Café Music which can be found on YouTube. I put on my chef’s hat and stood at the host station to greet students as they entered The Aztec Café. After seating 6 students at each table, I handed them each a trifold book tasting activity menu which they filled out while previewing the books. I gave them 5 minutes at each table to complete the activities on the trifold menu, and then I rang two bells to signal that it was time to transition to the next table. The first bell meant, “Clean up, stand up, get ready,” and the second bell meant, “Walk to the next table.”
After students rotated through all the tables and previewed the different book genres, they traded their completed book tasting trifold for a “Reflection Napkin.” I gave them a few minutes to reflect on the activity by answering the questions on the napkin.
All fine establishments serve mints at the end of a dining experience, and the Aztec Café is no exception. When students completed their Reflection Napkins, they traded them in for a dinner mint.
Evolution
When I first started hosting Book Tasting Events, I set them up for my own classroom. It soon became something my grade level colleagues wanted their students to experience, as well, so I began sharing book tastings with our grade level. The photos in this article were taken over a period of several years during these events. The most recent Book Tasting we hosted was held during our school’s SLAM Night (Science, Literacy, Art, and Math). I was thrilled to be able to share a book tasting event with our entire school community, and everyone enjoyed it thoroughly!
Please reach out to me (Lisa Douglas) if you have any questions. I would love to help you organize a book tasting event for your students! NagoyaLMD@aol.com
