Ideas for engaging students in the Berkshire Book Award
Quick, simple things …
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Print off and stick the logo on book jackets for a display. BBA stickers [.doc 604kb] (to be printed on laser labels L7651 or inkjet labels J8651 (65 per sheet).
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Display eligible books in piles on tables as they do in book shops. (Students are more likely to handle the books & read the ‘blurb’).
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Chat with students about who has read what, make suggestions and encourage peer recommendations and the search for new titles.
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Print lists of eligible books to hand to students, with space for them to add their own suggestions.
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Print BBA Bookmarks to give to your readers.
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Give parents details of short listed books so that they can buy them as Christmas presents.
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Have a proper ballot box for nomination forms - Ballot Box Stickers here. (Photocopier paper boxes are a good size and have separate lids, so the returned papers are easy to get to).
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Make sure details on how to vote are obvious – have it mentioned in Assemblies and newsletters, with reminders.
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Ask students to write mini reviews 9or longer!). Display, and send them to the Berkshire Book Award website.
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Tweet about it. Include any relevant authors – you may well get a reply! Ditto Instagram.
Bit more time?
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Launch the Award in an Assembly
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Display books published in the last year with how to vote and news of the Award, as it happens.
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Start a book group or involve a current one in discussing the short listed books, or try a fiction speed-dating session! (There is a wealth of information available on how to do these, so you don’t need to re-invent the wheel!)
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Have Head-to-Head mini debates between two readers, with each reader putting a case for their favourite book, or comparing experiences of the same book. Limit the time to 2 minutes so several debates could take place in one session.
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Run a competition to see who can predict the outcome of the voting.
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Draw up and display a league table of the most popular books.
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Have a poster competition to promote the Award.
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Suggest staff read books from the list and discuss the titles in registration time or similar.
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Set up/ make a simple booth for voting on the short list. A single table/ chair and three sides of a cardboard box covered in black paper, with the obligatory pencil on a string would do.
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Celebrate all this wonderful new fiction – have a party!
Above all, empower students: this is their Award and they can nominate and vote for their choices.