Nurture a love of reading and expose your students to new books through book chats.

Encourage your students to use this checklist as a prompt when talking about books they’ve read. Use the prompts for either formal or informal chats about books. The teaching resource includes prompts for both fiction and non-fiction books. 

These prompts are perfect to use in conjunction with other resources related to fostering a love of reading such as the Reading Preferences Survey or our Book Wish List.

For more ideas on reading engagement, visit our blog.

Use the drop-down menu to select the following download options:

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Australian Curriculum alignment

English > Year 2 > Language > Language for interaction > ACELA1461
Understand that language varies when people take on different roles in social and classroom interactions and how the use of key interpersonal language resources varies depending on contextElaborations...

English > Year 2 > Literature > Responding to literature > ACELT1589
Compare opinions about characters, events and settings in and between textsElaborationsdiscussing each others’ preferences for stories set in familiar or unfamiliar worlds, or about people whose ...

English > Year 2 > Literature > Examining literature > ACELT1591
Discuss the characters and settings of different texts and explore how language is used to present these features in different waysElaborationsdescribing features of text settings including time, colo...

English > Year 3 > Literature > Responding to literature > ACELT1596
Draw connections between personal experiences and the worlds of texts, and share responses with othersElaborationsdiscussing relevant prior knowledge and past experiences to make meaningful connection...

English > Year 3 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1676
Listen to and contribute to conversations and discussions to share information and ideas and negotiate in collaborative situationsElaborationsparticipating in collaborative discussions, building on an...

English > Year 4 > Literature > Responding to literature > ACELT1603
Discuss literary experiences with others, sharing responses and expressing a point of viewElaborationssharing and discussing students’ own and others’ understanding of the effects of particu...

English > Year 4 > Literature > Examining literature > ACELT1605
Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tensionElaborat...

English > Year 5 > Language > Language for interaction > ACELA1501
Understand that patterns of language interaction vary across social contexts and types of texts and that they help to signal social roles and relationshipsElaborationsidentifying ways in which culture...

English > Year 5 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1699
Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds in formal and informal situations, connecting ideas to students’ own experiences and present and justify a point of viewElaborationsasking specific ...

English > Year 2 > Literature > Responding to literature > ACELT1590
Identify aspects of different types of literary texts that entertain, and give reasons for personal preferencesElaborationsdescribing features of texts from different cultures including recurring lang...

English > Year 3 > Literature > Responding to literature > ACELT1598
Develop criteria for establishing personal preferences for literatureElaborationsbuilding a conscious understanding of preference regarding topics and genres of personal interest (for example humorous...

English > Year 3 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1792
Use interaction skills, including active listening behaviours and communicate in a clear, coherent manner using a variety of everyday and learned vocabulary and appropriate tone, pace, pitch and volum...

English > Year 4 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1688
Use interaction skills such as acknowledging another’s point of view and linking students’ response to the topic, using familiar and new vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone,...

English > Year 5 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1796
Use interaction skills, for example paraphrasing, questioning and interpreting non-verbal cues and choose vocabulary and vocal effects appropriate for different audiences and purposesElaborationsparti...

English > Year 2 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1667
Rehearse and deliver short presentations on familiar and new topicsElaborationsadjusting presentation for different audiences (Skills: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Cap...

English > Year 3 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1677
Plan and deliver short presentations, providing some key details in logical sequenceElaborationsdrawing on relevant research into a topic to prepare an oral or multimodal presentation, using devices s...

English > Year 5 > Literacy > Interacting with others > ACELY1700
Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations for defined audiences and purposes incorporating accurate and sequenced content and multimodal elementsElaborationsplanning a report on a topic, sequencing ide...

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LiteracyReadingSpeaking and Listening