Genre Dating Game

I CAN STATEMENT:

I can identify my favorite Genre

Played like musical chairs.

Each table has one genre on it with enough books to match the number of seats (more if possible). You can Label the tables with these Genre Signs.

Blog post about this activity on Mrs. G Talks Books

• Define Genre
• Review Genres and Definitions
• Have students choose book from table
• Put hand up with book to see when everyone has chosen
• Write down title, author and genre
• "Get to Know" your book by looking at cover, summary, and start reading from the beginning of the book
• Set timer for 3 minutes
• Stop reading when timer sounds
• Explain rating system and rate book

Musical Chairs

Rules for changing tables:

1. No running
2. When the chairs at a table are full, choose another table
3. No laughing at my music choices!

• Play music for 1 minute for students to choose the next genre
• Repeat until 5 books are reviewed
• Have students choose their favorite genre after 5 reviews

If students can't handle moving tables, move the books, or have them stand in a circle and do something like "Hot Potato" passing the books around to the music

Song Playlist:

I recommend playing these beforehand to get through the commercials and then leave them open in tabs on your computer to replay without the commercial.

I Love You Like a Love Song by Selena Gomez

Baby by Justin Bieber

Just The Way You Are Bruno Mars

What Makes You Beautiful One Direction

Don't go Breaking My Heart GLEE Version

Silly Love Songs GLEE Version

Marry You GLEE Version

Forget You GLEE Version

(The GLEE Version usually has cleaner lyrics than some of the original songs)

If you don't think the title, "Speed Dating," will work in your facility, try some of these other ideas from librarians on YALSABK:

• Book Crush Party
• Book Tasting
• Speed Rating
• Book It
• Matched Book
• Speedbooking
• Speed Reads
• Lively Lit
• Power Browsing
• Speed Book Browsing

Variations:

High School Version of Speed Dating

Seat students at a table with a pile of new and interesting books laid out with covers facing up. Explain the concept of "speed dating" as a real activity where people go to meet someone they would like to spend more time with. They choose one book for their first date, and for 3 minutes, they "get to know" that book by looking at the cover, reading the jacket, and starting the first chapter. At the end of 3 minutes, students are asked to rate their book: 1) I think I'm in love 2) let's spend more time together 3) maybe and 4) not my type. I give them one minute to write the title and author of the book, and circle their rating. If they really like the book they previewed, I let them set it aside to check out when the activity is finished.

Next, to add some fun to the activity, students pass the books in a clockwise circle (like hot potato) while I play silly love songs (better to pass the books than allow a class of 30+ students to run wild about the room). GLEE soundtracks are good for this, corny, but still contemporary enough for them to relate to. My favorites are Teenage Dream, Marry Me, Forget You, Silly Love Songs, and Baby. When the music stops (about 1 minute of music), they have a 2nd date with the book in their hands as the music stopped. I set the timer for another 3 minutes and they rate their 2nd book. I stress that this activity is to expose them to books they might not otherwise pick up. Repeat until the students rate 5 books. After the activity I allow them to check out books. If there is extra time, I do a pair-share, where they tell the friend sitting next to them which book they were most interested in.

Activity Description:

I set up tables so that each spot has a book (mix of old and new), a pencil, and a slip with some lines on it I made to go with our Summer Reading Theme. I tell the teens to pick a seat and explain that finding the right book is like finding the right person. There is a book for everyone, but life is too short to read books you don't like. I set a timer for three minutes and tell them to look at the book, read the blurb, start reading if they want. At the end of the three minutes I have them write down the title if it's a book they'd like to "see more of" and if not that's okay. Everyone then passes the book to their right and we set the timer again. After a couple rounds of this I do a break and booktalk a few titles. I have some trailers to show too but so far it hasn't really fit. Hopefully after about 45 minutes or so each person has at least a couple of books they'd like to get to know better. It's gone well at two branches so far and I'm scheduled to do it at a few more during the summer. So far the big hits were The Enemy by Higson and After by Efaw on the table and Shattering Glass by Giles and Heist Society by Carter that I've been booktalking.

Beth Saxton, Cleveland Public Library

Speed Dating For Middle School

This activity has been used in our student book club and also in 6th and 7th grade reading classes. The objective is to expose students to a variety of books so that they might find a book they would like to "get to know better."

The teacher or librarian gathers the books ahead of time. (We usually do a mix of fiction and nonfiction, but teachers sometimes do it with just one genre or just nonfiction books.) Students select their first book for their first "date." A timer is set for 3 minutes. When the timer goes off everyone fills out their Speed Dating form and passes their books to someone else. (Vary this each time—pass them 3 to the left or 4 to the right, etc.). At the end of the session students can share with the class if they have "fallen in love" with any of the books.

Idea adapted from: Marcia Kochel, Olson Middle School and Mary Childs, Valley View Middle School, Bloomington, ISD 271

Elementary Version: Fiction Musical Chairs

Rita Livornese Nichols in Future Ready Librarians Facebook Group

As I played some classical music they had to look at books on the shelves in front of them - I encouraged them to read the back, inside cover, first page etc. When the music stopped they had to move over to the next shelf and so on. If they found a book they liked they could take it with them for book checkout. Pretty successful as most of them said they found books they didn’t know we had in the library. More than half took a book they found during this activity.

Resources:

• Blind Date With a Book Display
• Book Speed Dating by Beta Librarian
• Genre Dating Game by Nikki Robertson