Bookstore Scavenger Hunt

[Haven]

A post I just made in another thread reminded me of a task I''ve been putting off.

I''m taking my students to a bookstore on a field trip with another teacher, and I''d like to give them a scavenger hunt to complete if they so choose. We''ll be in the store for an hour and a half, they''ll have independently chosen novels to read, and they''re all between the ages of 15 and 17.

The purpose of this field trip is twofold:

1) To show them that real people actually like to read, and some often choose to read (after they''re finished with school and are no longer being forced to take quizzes on particular books,) AND some of these people (gasp!) even enjoy spending random afternoons reading in bookstore cafes with other like-minded people. The horror, I know.

2) To help the kids develop some sort of positive association with and appreciation of books and the book-reading culture that exists in bookstores.

So, any ideas for the scavenger hunt? This is all I have thus far:
- Longest author''s name (first & last)
- Signature of a patron who had a conversation with you about the book they''re reading in the store''s cafe, and the title of the book
- Store employee''s signature and title of favorite book

These are lame! I need some fun ideas, have any?

 

[zoebartlett]

What a great idea Haven!

Hmmm, my brain isn''t working very well at the moment (I''m really sleepy) but here''s what I was thinking:

What about having clues for different areas of the bookstore so it''s guaranteed that they get to know all different types of books and sections? I''m sorry if the wording of that sentence was horrible. Hopefully you know what I mean. For example, what if they''re asked to find a particular cookbook or a cookbook by a somewhat obscure writer (or a travel book written by a travel writer, etc.)? Okay, this probably isn''t helping. I''ll keep thinking.

Oooh, my friend teaches high school English and I can e-mail and ask her if she has any suggestions. When do you need them by?

 

[HollyS]

How about:

1) Punniest title for a mystery novel? Some of those are hilarious, some are groaners. Would they know exactly what a pun is?

2) A lot of 'classics' that most people have heard of, or read in school, are 20 century books. If you gave clues about some famous ones, would they be able to pick them out and off the shelf?

3) Finding a book that a well-known miniseries or movie was based upon. Example: The Godfather. Others would be Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, or John Grisham novels.

On a personal note, my favorite place in all the world is a bookstore. Especially one with a coffee shop. If the aroma of printed paper wasn't enough to send me into nirvana, the coffee wafting over it woud certainly do the trick.

 

[Haven]

YES! Great suggestions, Holly. I''m going to use them all, thank you!
They do know puns because we covered the pun earlier this school year. (Always a dicey day, because once they get it, they *get* it. Think The Office''s Michael Scott saying "That''s what she said." Ah, teen humor.)

Zoe--Thank you! I like having them go to the different sections of the store, that''s great.
We''re going on the field trip early next week, nothing like last-minute planning, right? Sometimes I think I''m worse than the kids . . .

Thanks, ladies! My kids are so excited to get out of the classroom, even if it''s just for a couple hours. One of them wanted to make t-shirts for the "trip" because they all saw the shirts we gave out to the kids who came to Greece last summer. They''re crazy. They''re really good, though, and they''re totally into my class which makes for some amazing learning.

 

[VRBeauty]

What a wonderful project! I truly believe that one of the most important gifts you can give a child to encourage a love of reading!

So how about....

find four books, each of which has a different season in its title.

Find a title with a word that rhymes with _____ (some slang the kids use, maybe? the school mascot? the school colors?)

Don't forget cover art as a possibility! A book with a ___ on the cover?

How about a biography (or memoir) written by someone younger than 20?

A book with the name of your city in the title -- bonus points if it's a work of fiction!

a book that was translated from its original language (include the language!)

A book that was first published within 5 years of your birth

How about including a few gimmes -- questions for which the only wrong answer is no answer. i.e.,

a book about a a topic or hobby that you're interested in

a book that you might like to read

a book you might want to read to a young child/sister/brother

a book you would not care to read!

a book that might be good for falling asleep to...

a book about (or set in) a place you would like to visit......



Can you tell I think this is a great project?

 

[Haven]

Date: 4/6/2009 10:22:46 PM
Author: HollyS
On a personal note, my favorite place in all the world is a bookstore. Especially one with a coffee shop. If the aroma of printed paper wasn''t enough to send me into nirvana, the coffee wafting over it woud certainly do the trick.

Holly, if I wasn''t 100% certain before, I''m sure of it now: we were SO separated at birth.

(I was the weird kid in elementary school who used to sit in a corner, flip the pages of the books, and just take in the smell. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah. Sweet heaven.)

 

[Haven]

VR--Those are AWESOME suggestions! Thank you very much!

I''m really excited about this field trip, though I''m still shocked that it was actually approved. I can''t wait!

 

[HollyS]

Date: 4/6/2009 10:34:49 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 4/6/2009 10:22:46 PM
Author: HollyS
On a personal note, my favorite place in all the world is a bookstore. Especially one with a coffee shop. If the aroma of printed paper wasn't enough to send me into nirvana, the coffee wafting over it woud certainly do the trick.

Holly, if I wasn't 100% certain before, I'm sure of it now: we were SO separated at birth.

(I was the weird kid in elementary school who used to sit in a corner, flip the pages of the books, and just take in the smell. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah. Sweet heaven.)

Can you tell I used to work in the school libraries?

I so should have stuck with Library Science as my major . . . although I know it is much more about 'Instructional Media' these days, rather than books.

If I ever win the big Mega-Millions lotto, I will first secure my future, then I'll spend any 'throw-away' money on owning a bookstore/coffee shop. Book signings, open mike nights, readings, etc. It'll be a mini Book People, the best independent bookstore in TX.

(You would not believe the hundreds of dollars I have spent in B&N since they opened in our town in October. OMG.)

 

[Haven]

Date: 4/6/2009 10:58:55 PM
Author: HollyS
If I ever win the big Mega-Millions lotto, I will first secure my future, then I''ll spend any ''throw-away'' money on owning a bookstore/coffee shop. Book signings, open mike nights, readings, etc. It''ll be a mini Book People. (Best independent bookstore in TX.)

That''s my dream, Holly! The Haven, with a used bookstore/cafe right at the center of it. Sigh.
If I open The Haven in Texas we''ll make it a joint venture!

 

[HollyS]

You''re on!

 

[zoebartlett]

Okay, so I asked my mom, who also teaches high school English, and here were her suggestions:

a novel by Stephen King
To Kill a Mockingbird
Poetry written by teenagers
a graphic novel
a book written by a British author

I also e-mailed your question to my friend and I''m waiting to hear back from her. This sounds like a really fun project!

 

[zoebartlett]

Date: 4/6/2009 11:01:32 PM
Author: Haven

Date: 4/6/2009 10:58:55 PM

Author: HollyS

If I ever win the big Mega-Millions lotto, I will first secure my future, then I''ll spend any ''throw-away'' money on owning a bookstore/coffee shop. Book signings, open mike nights, readings, etc. It''ll be a mini Book People. (Best independent bookstore in TX.)

That''s my dream, Holly! The Haven, with a used bookstore/cafe right at the center of it. Sigh.

If I open The Haven in Texas we''ll make it a joint venture!

This sounds like a fabulous dream! Haven, I TOTALLY know what you mean about loving the smell of books. I was the same way growing up. Still am!

 

[April20]

This sounds so cool! It almost makes me want to be a high school english student if it meant I could go on this field trip. I love reading, love book stores- can spend hours and hours doing in a book store and/or reading.

You''ve been given some fantastic ideas thus far. I''m going to think for a bit and see if I can come up with a few.

 

[zoebartlett]

Haven, my mom just called with a few more suggestions:

Find a book about traveling to Portugal, as an example (substitute another country if you''d like)
A book that was written before the ''40s
A book about Antarctica
A classic children''s book

She''s totally into this project, it''s kind of funny!

 

[princesss]

-Travel guide to the place you want to visit most

-Find a book that is named after its main character (Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, etc.)

-Find a book whose author shares the first name of somebody in the class

-Find a book by a non-Western author

-Find a book that has won more than two literary prizes

-Find a biography of somebody you admire

-Find a book (fiction or non-fiction) about your favourite subject

-Find a book you could reccomend to your best friend


So many of these are subjective, but I think it would help them realize that they can read about things they''re *interested* in. Sometimes people don''t realize that there are books on just about anything they can think of, and they can really find out interesting stuff by reading them!

I love bookstores. I could spend days on end in them. Actually, this past weekend, my mom and I had had a few drinks, and ended up in Barnes and Noble at 10 PM! It was the perfect night. I did a little late night book shopping, and ended up with good stuff (Candide and a book by Christopher Buckley).

Actually, now I want to go to a bookstore. Hmmm...I have a big trip coming up soon, and I''ll need plane reading. Hooray!

 

[rainwood]

1. Find the date of publication for the earliest and latest novel by an author who has written a number of books - Charles Dickens if you want to go classic or Stephen King if you want to go current

2. Finding books that were written by related people: sisters - the Brontes, father/son - Kingsley & Martin Amis, etc. I''m sure there are more examples but I''m kind of brain dead right now.

 

[katamari]

This is such a cool idea, Haven! I am, and have always been, a total nerd so this field trip would have made my day! I personally like the ones where they would have to talk to patrons or employees about books. I think it would have been great to see other people excited about books and hear about why they like what they do. If the book store has employee recommendations, you could have them find one of the employees who recommended a book and find out three similar books they would also recommend.

 

[Haven]

 

[VRBeauty]

Ah, Bookstore Bingo! Love it!

Can I join your class for the day?

 

[mayachel]

I want in too! How old do I have to be to go back to school? If this is any indication of your teaching skills, you would totally have been a favorite.

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi Haven,

I know you''re field trip is this week (right?), so I don''t know if it''s too late to give you another idea. For some reason I woke up in the middle of the night the other night thinking about this. What about having your kids go to the children''s section and find the 2009 (or 200 Caldecott and Newbury award winners?

 

[Elmorton]

Haven, love the idea and love the ideas you''ve been given so far. One of the things I do with my students is a "writing fieldtrip" - where they simply have to write for 5-10 minutes and just describe what they see/hear/smell etc. Could you incorporate something like that into the end of your fieldtrip - that way, you could end with a small group discussion about what students noticed about the place (and they may end up writing about something they picked up in the scavenger hunt) - or you could have a place to start a discussion when they come to class the next day/return to school.