Third-grade students at Somers Intermediate School were given the chance to sample the books available in their classroom with a “Book Tasting” activity.“It was really fun because we could learn about different books that we never experienced before,” Lila Zindahl said.

The “Book Tasting” gave students the opportunity to learn about different genres and authors from their classroom library. “I discovered the 13-Story Treehouse series. I found a new favorite genre,” said Lila.

Students rotated in small groups from table to table, each with a different sampling of books representing one genre or category. Samples included realistic fiction, books in a series, graphic novels, and more. 

“We wrote the books down in each section on a pretend plate, and we got a bookmark at each table we went to,” said Grace Sautner.

Once students add new books to their placemats, they are kept for future reference. Grace said, “If we’re looking for new books because we finished all the books that we have, we can go look on our placemat and look at what book we want to read. You just know which one you want.”

Now that students have stirred up an appetite for new books, they’ll be encouraged to borrow the books they’ve discovered throughout the school year.