WHOLE GROUP BOOK STUDIES

Listen, there is a whoooooooole body of research out there that speaks to the evils of whole book novel studies.

There is just as much research out there that speaks to the miraculously, amazing assets of teaching a novel whole group-style.

I no longer no or care in which camp I reside.  What I do care about is that my students leave my room being able to do the following important things:

1. Discuss a book beyond surface aspects that barely scrape the surface of the plot. 
2. Deeply analyze the book, picking up on author's crafty commentaries about society or a sneaky theme insertions or the character evolution that takes place right in front of them.
3. Write expertly on various topics that have stemmed from the rich conversations we've had in class. 
4. Write to demonstrate that they've learned something in class!

For me and what I need to make sure fourth graders master over the course of a year, whole group novel studies work for me.

The plan for this year is as follows:

• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan  [already read in first quarter]. Non-fiction text to be paired with this novel will deal with migrant workers, Dust Bowl, farming and agriculture in the US, to name just a few. 
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo [Just finishing this one up now]. I will be pairing poetry with this particular novel study quite a bit. 
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. Non-fiction text will deal with celebrations of diversity.
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Mythology will be paired with this novel.
• Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Non-fiction text will deal with biographies on people who have crossed race boundaries, life in urban settings, and baseball.

The plan is to have some sort of writing occurring ever single day so students can demonstrate their writing expertise in all four writing areas.