The World Championship of Booktalks (Video)

The wait is over! With over 30,000 votes cast in round one, excitement has been building for this year’s final four #30SecondBooktalk video entries. No surprise...our four finalists did not disappoint.

Jenn LaGarde and I will let the final four entries speak for themselves, but here’s how YOU and your students can decide who will be named this year’s “World Champion.” The title includes bragging rights, the Vince Lombooki digital badge, and $500 in books for the winner’s classroom or school library.

• Step 1: Watch all four booktalks in the video podcast above.

• Step 2: Use this link to vote for your favorite booktalk.

• Step 3: Cheer on your favorites AND share your own video booktalks using the #30SecondBooktalk hashtag!

Don’t delay. Polls are open through Friday, May 4th. In addition to voting, don’t forget to interact with the finalists on your favorite social media platform using #30SecondBooktalk. (This is how many schools share their students’ incredible work as well.)

In case you’re interested, here are some resources to help you recreate the #30SecondBooktalk championship with your learners. We love seeing what students create and added a fun surprise to the end of this year’s championship podcast (more on that in a second).

• Reproducible Bracket: This fun template is all you need to get teams of kids collaborating (and competing) all in the name of literacy.

• Reproducible Rubric: This rubric is easy to use and provides students criteria to create compelling booktalk videos.

• Lights! Camera! Action: Check out this info-graphic for insider secrets on how to booktalk like the stars.

• Crowd-sourced Tips: We asked some #LiteracyLegends how to create epic booktalks and you won't believe what they said.

Finally, we want to send a huge shout-out to the amazing students at Springfield High School. Seniors in Mrs. Muller’s class blew us away with their own #30SecondBooktalk videos. We were so impressed, we included a few at the end of this year’s final podcast!