--Book Clubs
Friday, October 18th
Friday, November 15th
Friday, December 20th
Friday, January 10th
Friday, January 24th
Friday, February 21st
Friday, March 6th
Friday, March 20th
Friday, April 17th
Book Club is a reading program in which students work together in "Book Clubs" reading and meeting to discuss the same book.
I have found that this program improves the child's reading and writing skills, as well as getting them to actually THINK about what they have read and what it means. There are six "jobs" in Book Clubs. The children will be taught in class how to complete each one. The groups meet every 3 - 4 weeks throughout the school year. Below you will find a description of each job:
Plot Master: The Summarizer writes a summary of the book. They must include the setting, plot, problem (s) and solutions. They should focus on the
beginning, middle, and end of the book. They should avoid too many details that are not ESSENTIAL to the story. A summary always begins with the title of
the book and the author's name. The summarizer's work should be organized, accurate, and neat.
DIGGING DEEPER: The Discussion Director writes four (4) questions regarding the book that can be discussed in their group. The questions should
focus on inference, or "under the surface" questions. This type of question will begin with: WHY, IF, HOW, WOULD, COULD, OR SHOULD. These are not to
be literal comprehension questions that begin with who, what, when, or where, that can be easily answered in a simple word or two directly from the text. Such questions are obvious to the story and should be avoided by the Discussion Director. We're looking for depth here and meaningful discussions about the book. The student also answers their own question, providing their own thoughts, in a paragraph.
APPRENTICESHIP: The Passage Picker must choose three (3) passages from the book that caught their eye. These may be a phrase, a word, a sentence, or even a paragraph. They MUST be copied exactly word for word to be read to their group. The Passage Picker then must write, explaining in detail, why they selected each passage. How did the passage make them think or feel?
EXPECT TO CONNECT: The Connector must make three (3) "connections" to the book. Whenever we read a story we connect to what is going on it by realizing that it reminds us of something in our own lives. Connections may be made to events in your own life, or someone else's. The book might remind you of another book, movie, play, or news event. The character setting or plot may be similar to that of another book. The Connector explains his or her connections in detail. Connecting to a story improves comprehension.
CAST OF CHARACTERS: The characters in a book are important. To understand the story, we need to understand the characters. Why is a character important to the story? Describe them in detail. What personality traits do they possess? If you feel a character is kind, what evidence in the book led you to believe this about the character? You must discuss the main character and, at least one (1) other.
WORD WIZARD/ARTFUL ARTIST: We grow our vocabulary through reading. The Word Wizard chooses 4 challenging words from the story. They must COPY the sentence the word is found in exactly, include the page number, and write a definition of the word as it is used in the book. They also illustrate the word in detail. Below the illustration, they write their own sentence using the word. The Word Wizard is also the Artful Artist. They must choose their favorite part of the book and illustrate it. They must write one paragraph telling why they chose this particular part and write another paragraph giving a detailed description of what is happening in the picture.
Book Clubs are a wonderful way for children to read, study, and discuss books. It is a great learning activity that, ultimately, improves reading and writing skills immensely. It is absolutely imperative that EACH child complete their assigned work and are prepared to share it with their group. All work must be completed in a NEAT and ACCURATE manner. With your help, your child will improve in reading comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and writing through participating in Book Clubs.
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Friday, October 18th
Friday, November 15th
Friday, December 20th
Friday, January 10th
Friday, January 24th
Friday, February 21st
Friday, March 6th
Friday, March 20th
Friday, April 17th
Book Club is a reading program in which students work together in "Book Clubs" reading and meeting to discuss the same book.
I have found that this program improves the child's reading and writing skills, as well as getting them to actually THINK about what they have read and what it means. There are six "jobs" in Book Clubs. The children will be taught in class how to complete each one. The groups meet every 3 - 4 weeks throughout the school year. Below you will find a description of each job:
Plot Master: The Summarizer writes a summary of the book. They must include the setting, plot, problem (s) and solutions. They should focus on the
beginning, middle, and end of the book. They should avoid too many details that are not ESSENTIAL to the story. A summary always begins with the title of
the book and the author's name. The summarizer's work should be organized, accurate, and neat.
DIGGING DEEPER: The Discussion Director writes four (4) questions regarding the book that can be discussed in their group. The questions should
focus on inference, or "under the surface" questions. This type of question will begin with: WHY, IF, HOW, WOULD, COULD, OR SHOULD. These are not to
be literal comprehension questions that begin with who, what, when, or where, that can be easily answered in a simple word or two directly from the text. Such questions are obvious to the story and should be avoided by the Discussion Director. We're looking for depth here and meaningful discussions about the book. The student also answers their own question, providing their own thoughts, in a paragraph.
APPRENTICESHIP: The Passage Picker must choose three (3) passages from the book that caught their eye. These may be a phrase, a word, a sentence, or even a paragraph. They MUST be copied exactly word for word to be read to their group. The Passage Picker then must write, explaining in detail, why they selected each passage. How did the passage make them think or feel?
EXPECT TO CONNECT: The Connector must make three (3) "connections" to the book. Whenever we read a story we connect to what is going on it by realizing that it reminds us of something in our own lives. Connections may be made to events in your own life, or someone else's. The book might remind you of another book, movie, play, or news event. The character setting or plot may be similar to that of another book. The Connector explains his or her connections in detail. Connecting to a story improves comprehension.
CAST OF CHARACTERS: The characters in a book are important. To understand the story, we need to understand the characters. Why is a character important to the story? Describe them in detail. What personality traits do they possess? If you feel a character is kind, what evidence in the book led you to believe this about the character? You must discuss the main character and, at least one (1) other.
WORD WIZARD/ARTFUL ARTIST: We grow our vocabulary through reading. The Word Wizard chooses 4 challenging words from the story. They must COPY the sentence the word is found in exactly, include the page number, and write a definition of the word as it is used in the book. They also illustrate the word in detail. Below the illustration, they write their own sentence using the word. The Word Wizard is also the Artful Artist. They must choose their favorite part of the book and illustrate it. They must write one paragraph telling why they chose this particular part and write another paragraph giving a detailed description of what is happening in the picture.
Book Clubs are a wonderful way for children to read, study, and discuss books. It is a great learning activity that, ultimately, improves reading and writing skills immensely. It is absolutely imperative that EACH child complete their assigned work and are prepared to share it with their group. All work must be completed in a NEAT and ACCURATE manner. With your help, your child will improve in reading comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, and writing through participating in Book Clubs.
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