Never ever teach a lesson in LA with a book you don’t personally connect to.
Have a book tasting party
– pick 3 booksfrom that table and put it in their passport
– Have healthy snacks
Plan with the end in mind
Novel Study
In grade 5, start off by reading the first chapter aloud to the class, as a class
Questions to ask yourself:
- How will you choose a novel?
- How will you start?
- How will you create a unit plan?
- Projects/Book bags – pre reading activity
- Assessment considerations from the start
- How will your students read the novel?
- How will students respond to reading?
How will you choose a novel?
- Mentor teacher’s choice or your own
- Choose a book with a reader’s guide (online)
- 1 book for the whole class or multiple novels for the whole class (Book Tasting Party)
- Cross-curricular with social studies or Science
- It’s OK to choose a book students may have already read or watched in the theatres (eg Hunger Games)
How will you start?
- Read the book multiple times
- Use sticky notes to split the book into sections or chapters
- Write down questions, vocabulary, and activity ideas that correspond with the book
How will you create a unit plan?
- Mind maps with activity ideas (brainstorm with colleague, peer, mentor)
- Cross curricular
- Create engaging pre reading activities, during reading and post reading
- Projects are a great way to engage readers
Book bags
Kids make and then present their book bags to other students
How will your students read the novel?
Decide how the students will read the book (whole class, independently, groups)
Engage the class by reading the first section together as a class (use document camera)
Put students into mixed groups based on reading abilities (reluctant and strong readers together)
Guided Reading with teacher and low/distracted readers
Students not allowed to read ahead (discuss why?)
Don’t let kids take the book home – they wont come back
How will your students respond to the readings?
- Discussion questions for the week on that chapter to answer in groups
- Each person completes discussion questions
- Create questions to develop higher thinking skills
- Provide opportunities to discuss questions as a whole class
- Vocabulary
Example:
Heen often feels the need to stand up for sick people. Do you think he should keep quiet because of his young age? Or should he have the right to stand up to adults? Explain your decision.
How will you assess comprehension?
- Plan activities where students use critical thinking
- Double Journal Entries
- Artifact justification (book bags)
- Writing letters from the main character’s perspective to another character in the book
- Post cards
- Tweets
- Texts
General Tips for Planning a Novel study
Set goals for how much reading will be done by a certain date. If youre behind, as the teacher you should read aloud to the class on Monday, Wed, Friday to catch up.
Your enthusiasm will be contagious
Ask strong readers to summarize pages of the book that you have collapsed
Great book: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Baillet (scholastic)
Grade 6, cross curricular – Arts, Math – pentominoes
Grand Conversations by Faye
Book for Practicum – Reading Power by Adrienne Gear
