Books We're Reading...January 2010

My 5th graders recently finished a Literature Circle with Newbery Award winners. They read A Long Way From Chicago, Holes, Rules, The Princess Academy, and Ginger Pye. I'm always excited when they get excited about a book. Some are now reading books that they didn't choose for their Literature Circle. Some are exploring sequels to their books. Some even bought their own copy to keep at home! They are reading and I love it!!

The 6th graders also recently finished a Literature Circle. Their focus was on the mystery/survival theme. Their novels included: Among the Hidden, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, The Westing Game, and Hatchet. One of my students has decided to continue reading the Among the Hidden series (Margaret Peterson Haddix). Another student has decided that he likes how Gary Paulsen writes and has borrowed a couple of his books from the classroom library.

I don't think I would necessarily classify many of these students as reluctant readers. Many certainly didn't think they enjoyed reading at the beginning of the school year. They thought it was a requirement of school that they trudged through regularly. I wanted them to have some control over what they were reading, while still reading quality novels with good themes, writing styles, etc. The Literature Circle has made that possible. It's totally time consuming and totally worth it. They handle their "book discussions" like professionals. I'm so proud of what they've done and we're only 4 months in to the school year.

The 5th grade will take a couple of weeks to hit a genre study in their reading text. The 6th grade will spend the month of January reading Flush by Carl Hiaasen.

I'll keep you posted on their progress! As for me, I'm trying to read some of the Newbery Nominees for 2010. Those awards are handed out later in January by the American Library Association.