Fiction Book Clubs Week 4

This is our final week for the reading unit.  Wow, this month has flown by!  The students have participated in meaningful discussions and have grown as readers.

The last week we looked at topics within a book.  When we read we are always looking for things we can learn more about to help us better understand what we read.  For example, if you are reading a book about the election of the President of the United States then you might want to study more about the election so that the book makes more sense.

That is what we did in the books we were reading.  We thought of topics in the books that we could better understand to help us really enjoy the book.  If we spend time trying to figure out something then it takes away from the book.  But, if we do a little research on the topic, then we can read the book with ease!

While we read Junie B. Jones, we thought of some good topics in the book we could learn more about to help us really understand the book.

Then, we thought of our connection to the topics and why we would want to learn more about them!

Students also completed this in their book clubs using their reading journals. 

Then, we focused on choosing one of the topics to research.  Students asked questions about the topic and then researched their questions using the computer or tablet.  This was a great way to practice independently looking up answers. 

Students recorded their responses in their reading journals and shared them with their group members.  Students reread the part in the book that included the topic they researched and discussed how this may have changed their thoughts of the book.  When we research topics it also helps build schema!

The students did a wonderful job throughout this unit.  I hope you enjoyed learning about what we did.  If you are interested in purchasing the unit that includes all the lessons, worksheets, activities, and reading journal, please click the image below.  You may also just purchase the fiction reading club journal separately. :]

Fiction Book Clubs Week 3

This unit is moving right along!  I have really enjoyed this unit because I am starting to see my students be more independent readers.  They are also learning how to talk about their books in a productive way.  I have many students that just want to share every detail of their book, but now they are starting to really think about their books and choose various topics from their books to discuss rather then to just tell.

This week we started reading the second book in our book series.  This is important because this is when we start to analyze the books and compare and contrast what we read.  

I modeled for my students using the Junie B. Jones books.  These books are really cute and funny.  I also don't find them to be "too girly."

We began looking at the characters in the books.  Since a book series focuses on the characters, then we wanted to devote some time to really thinking about the reoccurring characters in the books.  We thought about how characters act the same in both books.  We looked at the beginning of the book when they introduce characters.  We also looked at how the character reacted to situations.  Then, we compared their reactions to see if they were the same. 

Students recorded the similarities they found on this worksheet.  I like to hold my students accountable while working, and this is a great way for me to check.

Then, we had to make a Venn Diagram to discuss the similarities and differences between the two books.  

I also had my students use this fun organizer to help them put their thoughts on paper.  Sometimes I get tired of the Venn Diagram. ;)

I LOVED watching them hard at work and discussing similarities and differences.  This can be a really tricky concept, but with lots of practice we get better!

We're almost done with this unit.  Check out our last week by clicking here!

Fiction Book Clubs Week 2

My students are just now getting more comfortable with the book clubs.  They are sharing more and getting excited when they can meet to talk about their books.  I love seeing them get so excited about books!

Well, we decided to dig a little deeper into the parts of a book.  So, we discussed the characters' feelings throughout the book.  I read Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus a little faster than they read their book club books so I could help model what they needed to look for.  We did a huge character unit in November which you can read about here.  This helped us discuss the character throughout the story and his or her feelings.  

Students completed this worksheet to check for understanding on the Junie B. Book.  They had their own version in their book club journals they could use with their books. 

We also focused a lot on summarizing!  Students had to summarize the Junie B. book.  We did this together as a class to help them fully understand what a summary is.  Here was our class anchor chart. 

We made snowmen to help us remember the order of a summary.  You can learn more about our snowmen summaries by clicking the picture below.  This was a huge hit and the kids loved it! 

We also learned about the author's purpose when reading books.  We know the author's purpose focuses on PIE - persuade, inform, and entertain.  We thought about the books we were reading and chose which one of the categories to describe the author's purpose of writing the book.

Why do author's write books?  Why do we need to know/understand their purpose?  These were questions we asked to help us be better readers!

Check out what we did the third week of the unit by clicking here!

Fiction Book Clubs Week 1

Now that my students know what to do in their book clubs, I was able to jump into my lessons!

We started by discussing what are books in a series?  Well, they are books that include the same main characters and follow the same theme.  Great!  My kids now understand what a book series is.

We know what one is, but let's think about why we read them?  Well, it could simply be because we love the characters and want to read more about them! 

I always start by giving my students an example (personal) to help them see the connection.  One of my favorite book series is Harry Potter.  I share that I LOVE reading those books and can't wait to see what Harry gets into next.  You get so connected to the characters and you want to read more.  

We have established why we read them, but now let's think about what we should look for when reading books in a series.  We made an anchor chart that shared many of the things we have learned this year and focused on the topics we thought were important when reading books in a series.  We also wanted to think about things we might discuss in our book clubs when reading these books. 

Wow!  It was amazing to think of all the things we had learned so far. Each day of the week we focused on one of these topics while we read in our book club books.

Here is an example of one of the anchor charts we made as a class to help us better understand problem and solution in the story.  We also learned about the moral.  What is the moral of the story?  Why is it important to find this?  My students had never heard of the moral, so this was a GREAT mini-lesson.

Students were given book club journals that matched the lesson for each day.  They loved them!  It was also a great tool for me to use to check for student understanding.  They completed most of the pages independently and then used them to help with group discussion. 

Check out what we did next by clicking here! 

Introducing Fiction Book Clubs

Do you use book clubs in your classroom?  My school does not follow a reading series.  Instead, we use Reading Workshop where students read books they enjoy at the appropriate level.  My kids have a true love for reading and indulge in books every night!  This is my library that helps kids find books at their reading level.

You can find my reading level tags by clicking on the picture below! 

I was fortunate that I could divide my students into 4 reading clubs based on their reading level.  When I taught reading the past month and a half, I focused on how to participate in book clubs, how to ask questions while reading, how to read books in a series, and compare books in a series.  It was a powerful and meaningful unit that really helped students become more engaged in their reading and think critically with their peers.  You can see my reading unit by clicking on the picture below. It includes all the activities we did for the unit, as well as an assessment. 

The first reading group read Amelia Bedelia at reading level K.  The second group read Bailey School Kids at reading level M.  The third group read A-Z Mysteries at reading level N.  The final group read Wayside School at reading level P.  The kids loved the books and couldn't wait to read them each day! 

I started the unit by sharing ways students could talk within their reading clubs.  We talked about how we listen to our peers, how we behave, and how we discuss topics in our groups.  I made this anchor chart to help students when they get off track. 

I always have my students help me make the charts.  I feel like they can take ownership for the charts when they're the ones stating what goes on them.  Plus, I can see whether they understand what I've taught them! 

Once students met their book club members, and I modeled what a good and bad book club meeting looked like, we jumped into our unit!  Check out my next post to see what we did the first week by clicking here. :)