Using Book Trailers to Engage Students

Book trailers and video read alouds are a fantastic way to introduce books to students. Incorporating book trailers and video read-alouds into your reading program can truly transform the way students engage with literature. They not only pique students' interest and excitement but also deepen their understanding and appreciation for the stories. I use book trailers to promote reading throughout the school year and have included a freebie for you.

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Here are 10 of my favorite ways to promote books with book trailers and video read alouds.

1. Morning Broadcast Announcements

During our school wide morning broadcast announcements a different book trailer is shown each week during a segment is called Book Trailer Thursday. I use YouTube and search the publishers channels to find interesting videos for the students. The books featured on the morning announcements are displayed on top of the book shelves or with a book jacket on a bulletin board.

2. Heritage Months

To promote diverse books I feature book trailers for the different months including Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women's History Month, Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Arab American Heritage Month, and Jewish Heritage Month. Book trailers are shown over announcements, QR codes are included in the books on display, signs with the book cover and QR codes are featured on the shelf displays, and bookmarks with QR codes are available at the checkout desk.

3. QR Codes Inside the Book Cover

As stated, when books are pulled for display I include a QR of a book trailer for students to view. Students can view the book trailer in school using their Chromebook or with their personal device. They can also scan the QR code when they get home.

4. Signs with QR Codes and Character Quotes

Another type of QR code sign I use are my Book Talks. They feature a quote from a character in the book and a QR code link to the book. I have found that even if the students don't take the time to scan the QR code the character quote is enough to draw attention to the books and they are normally chosen for check out.

5. Bookmarks

Most of the book trailers I show I also have as bookmarks. These are great since I can print them when I want to feature certain books during a heritage month, Read Across America, or new books. I also use them to tie into pop culture. My students love Taylor Swift and Beyonce so I designed signs and bookmarks to feature books related to their album themes. You can grab a free sample of the bookmarks by signing up for the email list.

6. Book Tasting

One of my favorite ways to do Book Tastings is with QR codes. I do two types of Book Tastings. I do a beginning chapter book Book Tasting with my first graders. I designed the Book Tasting based on Candy Land and call it Reading Land. The Book Tasting starts off with students watching 10 book trailers. The color the candy next to the title if they like the book. After watching the 10 trailers they "move" to different lands to explore 3 additional books that are on their table. I have found this is a great way to expose them to more books, especially ones that are part of a series.

With my older students I put the book trailers in Google Drive. The books are divided by genre. In the past I have also printed them out with QR codes on menus. After students take a book survey to find their genre they explore book trailers in their genre and other genres that interest them. Students are able to explore so many books with this method and usually come away with at least 7 books they want to check out.

7. Book Clubs

At the beginning of the year 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade can choose to join one of my book clubs. To give students an idea of the books we will read in their book club I link a book trailer to the books. I also have a bookmark with a QR code for the books. Once students enroll in the club I show the book trailers again before we read our next book to get them excited about the book.

8. Read Across America

I love Read Across America week. We have so much fun with read alouds, guest readers, reading contests, dress up days, and more. To expose the students to books in different states I share my Read Across America Map with them. We do various reading challenges throughout the year and this is part of one of them. Students select different states and watch either a book trailer or listen to a read aloud from the state. They track and count the books as part of the reading challenge. I normally combine this with Pebble Go and Pebble Go Next so they can also learn facts about the states they chose.

9. State Picture Book Awards

As I mentioned we have different reading challenges throughout the year. Each year students participate in the Georgia Picture Book Award. To ensure the students have access to all 20 books I put the links for the book trailers in our Beanstack Reading program. In Beanstack students are able to view the read aloud and log their reading. Once they have viewed 15 out of the 20 books they vote for their favorite book and I submit our votes to the Georgia Book Award Committee.

10. Contests

My students love to participate in contests. Sometimes there is a prize such a coupon for a free ice cream from the cafeteria, candy, or a free book and other times it's just for bragging rights. One of our new favorites is Judge a Book By Its Cover. On the morning announcements the news anchors read the clues to the book and show a picture that resembles the book cover. Students are given time to see if they can figure out what the book is and then a book trailer is shown that reveals the answer. I also print the Judge a Book By Its Cover and post it with the QR code.

I love using book trailers to introduce books to my students. By integrating them into various aspects of the school year—from morning announcements to heritage months, book tastings, and even fun contests—you create a vibrant and interactive reading environment. These methods make reading a shared, celebratory experience and help foster a lifelong love for books with students. If you haven’t explored the power of book trailers and video read-alouds, now is the perfect time to start!