Musical Chairs: Book Edition

One of my collaborating teachers sent me a link from Pinterest for a musical chairs-like game using books. Since we know kids are more likely to try new and different books if they have a chance to sample them (and see the covers!), it made sense for us to give this a try. The basic idea is that chairs are set up in a circle with books on each seat. Students start at one seat and rotate at preset intervals to each place in the circle. We decided to do smaller circles and have kids rotate to each of four stations (each chair had a different genre--and I included nonfiction in each circle). Calming music was played throughout the activity rather than just for the switch--something my co-teacher has done while her students complete writing assignments, so they are used to the music.

The set-up:

I liked this activity not only because it was easy to set up and manage, but also because there was a huge payoff in terms of how many books ended up being checked out at the conclusion of the final round. Our students seemed to like the change of pace from a regular checkout day and I got to see what books might sell if presented in a different way. I want to keep trying new methods to get books off the shelves and into students' hands so that they can discover gems that might otherwise be shelf-sitters. What ideas have you used to get students to try books that they might not otherwise notice?

In process: