Valentines Day: BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK
As we all know…Valentines Day in Elementary school can be CRAY-zy. Candy here…candy there…hearts….cards….chaos. So it is important for me to make this day meaningful and somewhat organized-ish. I do this by setting up “Speed Dating with Books” in my classroom.
I place a book at each seat, making sure to choose a variety (graphic novels, beginning readers, mysteries, etc.) that most students may not have seen before. This is a great time to introduce books that may be a part of your “March Book Madness” in March! I usually save my fee money to buy many new books for students to get excited about! As you can tell from the picture, I purchased the new Dogman at the time, new BigNate, some picture books, as well as some favorites from our library.
The first step is to transform your room into a “romantic” setting for dating. I add little tea-lights, Valentine’s Day themed balloons & table clothes, vases, fake roses, etc. I then place a book at each students desk. I organize these books by genre! Each table is a different genre and labeled with a table topper/tent like the one shown!
The first thing I discuss with my students is how to rotate around the room. Students stand up and we practice moving from book to book until they are back at their original seat. I PROMISE you…you want to practice first…it will save your sanity! 🙂 I also introduce the activity by explaining that… “Today you will be going on several dates. It is important that you give your date 100% of your attention! You will be asking your date their name, where they are from, and more! I will be serving food to hard workers during these dates! You don’t want your date to starve!” We then start our rotations through each book. Students spend about 3 minutes at each book, answering questions about the cover (first impression), setting (where the book is from), characters, etc. After the 3 minutes (sometimes this isn’t long enough…I just kind of get a feel for when most students are done answering their questions) they rotate to a new book/table.
This continues until time is up–I usually continue for most of the class period. Once students have concluded the dates they now get to reflect on all the books read. They must choose the books they were a “perfect match.” We now add possible reads to our TBR and discuss as a class or in groups!
Valentine’s Day Transformation:
THE VALENTINE’S DAY TRANSFORMATION KIT
FROM THE SIMPLY ENGAGEMENT SHOP
You can now purchase a transformation kit to get you started from MY SIMPLY ENGAGEMENT SHOP! It has everything you need for ANY Valentines Day transformation. You can also select my MEGA transformation kit that includes ready to use “Date with a Book” materials that are color printed and laminated-the lesson is sent straight to your inbox! Use these items year after year and for the BEST price.
THE VALENTINES TRANSFORMATION
FROM AMAZON
If you are wanting to purchase your own transformation materials from Amazon…here are my top choices for you!
The target dollar spot is also a GREAT place to find Valentines Day themed decorations! This year (2019) I purchased these items to add to my collection!
ADDITIONAL TPT RESOURCES
Looking for a little something extra to add to your transformation? I’ve created several things just for you including: treat bag decorations, bookmarks, “the perfect match” recording sheet, and much more! Check it out in my TPT store. Here’s a little peak!:
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Check out my Engaging Books for 3rd Graders post for some new book ideas to include in your dating!!
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