Taco Bout It Tuesday is a fun way to get students talking about the books they read at home. It is an easy weekly activity that you can implement in your classroom and requires no prep or planning. Here's how it works. Every Tuesday I call on students who would like to share their book, and they give a quick review using their Taco Bout a Good Book form. I've found that allowing students to share their books helps get others excited to read new things!
To begin, create a taco bout a good book bulletin board in a corner of your classroom. Get started by covering your board with yellow fadeless paper. Combine the yellow and white polka dot border trim and Schoolgirl Style's pom border by layering and stapling them together. Get the bright fiesta colored tissue fans assembled by stapling the ends together so they stay open and cutting off the string and the cardboard. I like to add these to my board using a stapler. I staple the fans together in a group and then staple the grouping directly onto the bulletin board.
Add in white tissue fans and a colorful folded fan banner to bring a few more colors to your board.
To finish off your board add in some fun elements! The Taco bout a party balloon garland works perfectly. Just save the word "party" from the garland for another time. Inflate the balloons and hang them onto two strings. Attach the string to your board using a stapler. You can spell out "Good Book" using the mylar balloon bulletin board letters to finish off the look. Use colorful tassels and the cactus and piñata cutouts to decorate the rest of your board. Now that you have created some interest in your classroom this colorful area will serve as a backdrop for your students while they're presenting.
In front of my Taco Tuesday bulletin board I set up a small table and decorated it with some festive decor. I added a few cactus decorations, sombreros and a fun glitter Hola sign. This is where my readers will check in and sign up for Taco Bout It Tuesday. I set out colorful nametags and my students write their names on them. When they are ready to present they just drop their nametag into my bowl. Every Tuesday I draw a few names and the students present their books to the class. Before my students can add their name to the bowl they have to complete their Taco Bout a Good Book Form. You can download the Taco Bout a Good Book Form here. Students must pick from a fiction or non-fiction form. For non-fiction, students identify the main idea and four key details. For fiction, students focus on identifying the setting, main characters, and what happened in the beginning, middle and end of the story. This is a great way for students to share their favorite books with the class and connect to what they are reading. It also inspires other students to read a few of the stories that have been shared!
My students just love to share. They get to sit in our special speaking chair that has a taco hat on the back. They share the story that they read and highlight the information filled out on their form. For just a few moments the spotlight is shining on them, and they couldn't be happier. To recognize students who have shared I hand out scratch n' sniff Taco bookmarks as a small incentive. I love watching my students as they share the stories they love with their classmates!
