James Patterson said "There's no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books." Well, the Swain Campus sixth graders had a chance to find the right books for themselves when they went speed dating...with books!

With "romantic" music playing and tablecloths adorning the desks that were grouped together, the students entered the room to see piles of books sorted by genre on each table. The students each selected a genre table to start at (no more than two students at a table) and then the fun began! The sixth graders had 30 seconds to select a book that interested them from their pile, based on the general appearance of the book. Then, the students had one and a half minutes to get to know the book, by reading the back of the book, the inside flap, the first paragraph, and a random paragraph from the middle. After that came the real test...a longer "date" with their book. The students then read their chosen book for three minutes, starting at the first page. Once those three minutes were up, the students evaluated their book "date" by describing it in 10 words or less and circling the emoji that matched their feelings about their "date". Then, the students each moved to a new genre table to explore a new set of books and find a new possible book love! In all, the sixth graders "dated" 5 books in 5 different genres. Finally, students rated their first, second, and third choice books from their rating sheet. These ratings were used to match the students with their perfect book match and each sixth grade then was loaned their match, complete with a sweet message from their book match!

The students had a great time speed dating with books, saying "It was fun" and "I loved it"! Thanks to Mrs. McClary for helping to provide a wealth of books that were used in the speed dating with books activity! Hopefully, this activity helped at least some students find the right book for them!