February 7

Book Club!

Today marks the launch of Book Clubs (or literature circles) in Grade 5. We book-talked 4 different books:

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Holes by Louis Sachar

I am David by Anne Holm

Here’s how it will work:

Students will have 4 weeks to read their book. With their groups, they’ll decided on weekly reading goals. Each week, in addition to reading, they will also have a “job” to prepare for their group discussion. These will be based on the section they read that week. This is all to be done AT HOME as homework. Other than meeting discussions, students will not have class time to work on this.

As an example, their schedule may look something like the one below. As you can see from this picture, the top schedule outlines what everyone in the group is doing and when. The bottom chart is each student’s INDIVIDUAL schedule that says what they need to read, and what job they need to complete. They only need to complete the sheet in their folder that matches the job they are doing that week. So in week 1, as the Figurative Language Finder, I would only need to fill out the sheet titled – Week 1 – Figurative Language Finder. If they are unsure how to complete their job, students can refer back to the first pages of the package where the requirements are explained in detail. The other Week 1 sheets will be completed in class when we meet in groups for discussion.

Book Club will take place every FRIDAY, so it is important that students bring their books and duotangs, with all their work completed, for FRIDAY’s class for the next 4 weeks.

Happy Reading 🙂

Category: Homework, Language Arts | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 18

Book Club Launch

Today marks the launch of Book Clubs (or literature circles) in Grade 5. Last week, we book-talked 4 different books to the students:

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Holes by Louis Sachar

I am David by Anne Holm

After hearing a short description of each book, students fileld out a form and ranked the books they wanted to read. Based on their choices, we have divided them into 4 groups, all of them getting either their first or second choice of book to read.

Here’s how it will work:

Students will have 4 weeks to read their book. With their groups, they’ll decided on weekly reading goals. Each week, in addition to reading, they will also have a “job” to prepare for their group discussion. These will be based on the section they read that week. This is all to be done AT HOME as homework. Other than meeting discussions, students will not have class time to work on this.

As an example, their schedule may look something like the one below. As you can see from this picture, the top schedule outlines what everyone in the group is doing and when. The bottom chart is each student’s INDIVIDUAL schedule that says what they need to read, and what job they need to complete. They only need to complete the sheet in their folder that matches the job they are doing that week. So in week 1, as the Figurative Language Finder, I would only need to fill out the sheet titled – Week 1 – Figurative Language Finder. If they are unsure how to complete their job, students can refer back to the first pages of the package where the requirements are explained in detail. The other Week 1 sheets will be completed in class when we meet in groups for discussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a digital copy of the package they already received when you picked up their science kits.

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Book Club will take place every Monday, so it is important that students bring their books and duotangs, with all their work completed, for Monday’s class for the next 4 weeks.

Happy Reading 🙂

Category: 5A, 5B, Language Arts | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 22

Book Club – Home Edition!

peacefully readingAs you may or may not know, Ottawa is the 4th Canadian city I have lived in. And in each city, one of the first things I do is join a book club! In my opinion, there is little that is more enjoyable than sitting with friends, discussing a book. Knowing that I will be meeting with others to share my thoughts and opinions helps me focus in on different details and take notes on things I think are worth sharing.

Way back in January, we launched the first round of Book Clubs in our class. The feedback from students was just as I hoped it would be…THEY LOVED IT! As soon as we finished, many asked if we would be doing another round in term 3.

Well here we are, in term 3. However, things have changed a bit. Since we’re not in school and don’t have multiple copies of the same book to share, we are going to change things slightly and do an Any Book Book Club. For this term, students will get to choose any book they’d like to read. It could be a book they have at home that they’ve always wanted to read; it can be a book you order online that can be delivered in time (we will be having our first meeting on May 7, so there’s still some time to order); it can be an ebook that you download to your computer or tablet (the Ottawa Public Library has tons of ebooks and audiobooks that you can download for free! You can even get a temporary library card if you don’t already have one.)

The only rules are that it needs to be

  1. a book you’ve never read before, and
  2. a book that is both age and reading-level appropriate.

I have prepared individualized book lists with suggestions for each students’ reading levels that I will be sharing with them individually today. They do not need to choose a book from this list, but it’s a great resource in case you are looking for some suggestions. If students choose a book from home, I ask that they share the title with me to ensure it’s a good choice. Everyone needs to let me know what their book choice is by Monday, April 27th.

Each student will also get a copy of the slideshow below. They will be able to edit the slides directly to keep track of their work, and have the opportunity to collaborate with their peers in fun ways (I hope 😜)

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Happy reading!

Category: Language Arts | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 28

Grade 5 Book Club

We have officially launched Book Clubs (or literature circles) in our class. Last week, I book-talked 5 different books to the students:

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Trapped in Ice by Eric Walters (eliminated as an option)

 

After hearing a short description of each book, students then wrote down their top three choices that they wanted to read. Based on their choices, I divided them into 4 groups, all of them getting either their first or second choice of book to read.

Here’s how it will work:

Students will have 4 weeks to read their book. With their groups, they’ve already decided on weekly reading goals. Each week, in addition to reading, they will also have a “job” to prepare for their group discussion. These will be based on the section they read that week. This is all to be done AT HOME.

Here is a digital copy of the package they will be bringing home today in an orange Duotang. It includes all the job descriptions, the pages they need to read each week, what they are responsible for each week, and pages to fill out.

If anyone would like to use an audio recording of the book, here are links to YouTube where people have recorded each chapter of each book.

Rules

Number the Stars

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (you’ll need to search for each chapter on You Tube. Here’s Chapter 1.)

Maniac Magee

Book Club will take place every Tuesday morning, so it is important that students bring their books and orange duotang, with all their work completed, for Tuesday’s class for the next 4 weeks.

Happy Reading 🙂

 

Category: Language Arts | 2 Comments on Grade 5 Book Club