Book "Shelfies"

Today I am going to share a nice back to school project that I have done with my students the past two years that gets them thinking of our classroom as a safe space to share about books.  The students take book "shelfies", which is basically a selfie taken with a book in hand.  I am not sure what took me so long to write about this, but I figure even two years later is better than not writing at all ;)   So here we go.

During the first week of school, I begin to emphasize just how much children's literature means to me.  I share my favorites with the kids, previewing books I *know* we will read and ones I hope to read.  I also share other books that have meant something special to me or have moved me in any way.  I bring these conversations up as naturally as possible, but most definitely during our read aloud time at the end of each day (this is sacred time in my class.   There is not a day that goes by that I don't make some time, any time, to read aloud to the kids.)   

During this time I also ask the kids to share their favorite books with me.  We engage in discussions throughout the week, and then I ask the kids to come to school the next day with the book in hand just to show me and talk to me about it it.  When they have their favorite books, the kids use my phone (or chromebook or whatever) to take a selfie with the book in it.  I gave them this template so that they could then import the picture to look like it is inside of a phone or iPad.  (if the template isn't opening for you, try using your personal drive, not your school drive.  Sometimes school drives block downloading)

After the selfie is done, the students write a paragraph detailing themselves as readers.  Do they enjoy reading?  Why or why not?  What types of books peak their interest?  What genres would they like to explore?  What books do they not tend to pick up in the library?  I want them to write about themselves as a whole, not just one specific book.

Then, I display all of this on the board so that all can see the books that were brought in as well as get  to know their fellow readers.  More than one student has been turned onto a new book because of the shelfie that they noticed on the board!

Have you done something like this before?  Please share below!