How to Host a Book Tasting

A book tasting is a totally doable room transformation your students will go crazy over! I recently decked out my classroom and turned it into “McJondle’s Café” for the first time, and let me tell you – it most definitely won’t be the last.

My main goal was to expose my 1st graders to different types of fiction, but also nurture their love of reading by showing them how much fun it can be!

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Materials

• Fiction Book Tasting Printables – Teachers Pay Teachers, $5.00 

• Red Checkered Table Cloths – Amazon, $12.99 (6 pack)

• Red Checkered Place Cards – Amazon, $5.35 (8 pack)

• Chef Hat – Amazon, $6.99

• Flowers/Vases – Dollar Store, $1.00 per item

• Red Book Bins – Dollar Store, $1.00 per item

Interested in doing a nonfiction book tasting? I created one of those as well. I also bundled my fiction and nonfiction book tastings together, so you can get more bang for your buck!

Before the Book Tasting

I introduced the following types of fiction to my students the week before the book tasting:

• Fantasy

• Realistic Fiction

• Traditional Tales (Our reading curriculum uses the term Traditional Tales, but I know many teachers refer to them as Fairy Tales. Therefore, I added a Fairy Tale option in my Fiction Book Tasting product.)

I wanted the children to have schema on all three genres, so I created an anchor chart with details about each type of fiction. As we read and discussed different stories, I added photos of the book covers to give my students a visual. Check out the anchor chart below!

PREP: 

• Decorate the tables with table clothes, flowers, book bins, placemats, etc.

• Organize each table by genre. I gathered books from my classroom library as well as the school library. 

• Create a fiction book tasting packet. The printables I put in my 1st graders packet are shown below.

The Book Tasting

I wanted the book tasting to be similar to centers because my students are familiar with that structure. There were five centers:

1. Fantasy

2. Realistic Fiction 

3. Traditional Tales

4. iPads (My students were reading/listening to books on Epic, but this can be a center of your choice.)

5. 

   Word Work 

I explained that our objective was to discover the elements of each type of fiction. Students chose one book from the bin at their table and examined the cover, explored the illustrations and read the first several pages. Then, the children participated in a turn and talk with a classmate to discuss their observations.

Next, students worked on a book tasting response page from the packet. They had to write the title, draw and color a picture of the cover and circle whether they would like to read the book or not. After the reading response form was complete, students were able to choose a book from the bin to read. 

Each center was about 20 minutes, and we completed the book tasting over a three day period. I also played café music that I searched for on YouTube to set the mood!

After the Book Tasting

Finally, we put the cherry on top and completed the “Dessert Menu”.  Students identified their favorite type of fiction and wrote about why they enjoyed that particular genre. The “Guest Check” can also be used as a quick formative assessment to determine the books each student enjoyed reading and learning about most.

When the book tasting was all said and done, I was truly blown away at the impact it had on my students. They gained so much knowledge about fictional stories and had a blast in the process!

So if you’re contemplating transforming your classroom into a spiffy restaurant, I hope this is the little nudge you need to go for it! I pinky promise you and your students won’t be disappointed. I learned first hand that book tastings are a small investment of time and money that yield BIG results!