In addition to our regular Guided Reading, students will be participating in literature circles. They will work in a group to read chapter books throughout the school year, to enhance their reading. Most books will be related to units that we will cover in science and social studies. Students will learn to appreciate literature and learn about the author's craft. These groups will help them to build connections to reading and will ultimately boost their comprehension. At each group meeting, the students will be given a job to complete after reading a section of the book. Some of the jobs are:
Discussion Director
Story Summarizer
Word Finder
Word Wizard
Cool Connector
Illustrator
Passage Picker
Character Sketcher
They report to the group at the next meeting, a healthy discussion follows, and the next job is assigned.
Some books that we will read this year are:
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Polar Bears Past Bedtime
Harriet Tubman
George Washington Carver
Frederick Douglass Fights for Freedom
The Titanic: Lost and Found
Magic Treehouse Tonight on the Titanic
The Magic Treehouse Research Guide to the Titanic
Vacation Under the Volcano, by Mary Pope Osborne
Another great quiz for Vacation Under the Volcano George's Marvelous Medicine, by Roald Dahl
Guests, by Michael Dorris
Click on each title for an online activity that is related to the book.