Book Reviews Board
To develop critical response to texts and reading recommendation skills through simple book reviews.
- Framework: EYFS
- Unit: EYFS Literacy
- Learning area: Literacy
- Level: EYFS 3-4
Objectives
- Expresses opinion about a book
- Gives star rating with reasoning
- Draws favourite part
- Uses evaluative language
Materials
- Star rating cards
- Book review template (drawing + mark making)
- Class book reviews display board
- Selection of books
Instructions
After reading a book, ask: 'Did you like that story? How many stars would you give it? One star means 'it was OK', five stars means 'I LOVED it'!' Children hold up fingers or place stars.
Model a simple review: 'I give 'Handa's Surprise' four stars because the pictures are beautiful and I like the surprise ending. My favourite part was when the animals took the fruit!'
Children create their own reviews: draw their favourite part, attempt to write the book title, and give a star rating. Scribe their verbal review if needed.
Display reviews on a 'Book Reviews' board. Children can browse reviews to choose their next book: 'Sophia gave this book five stars — shall we read it?'
This activity develops critical literacy — the understanding that readers have opinions about texts and can express preferences with reasons.
Introduce the vocabulary of criticism: 'funny', 'exciting', 'scary', 'boring', 'my favourite part was...', 'I didn't like it when...'. These evaluative phrases build critical language.