I had the best time Monday morning meeting with one of my reading groups. This group has a goal of giving historical fiction a try. They all said that they wanted this to be their goal when we came back from spring break a couple of weeks ago.
The kids each brought the historical fiction book that they were reading with them to our meeting space. Here are the books they brought, and a quick breakdown of each reader.
Kid 1: Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood-Hasn’t started reading it yet. Working on finished up the Nat series by Maria Scrivan. She plans on starting Lifeboat 12 in a couple of days once she finishes the last Nat book.
Kid 2: Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk-this reader blew through Wolf Hollow and was on to the next book: The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate.
Kid 3: Totally forgot that he had committed to trying historical fiction. Found himself lost in a reread of the graphic novel series Hilo.
Kid 4: Reading Refugee by Alan Gratz-this reader is currently listening to the audiobook while following along in a physical book. He is pretty fascinated by the audiobook which features 3 narrators.
Kid 5: About 20 pages into Uprising by Jennifer Nielsen-Loving the book.
Our conversation was lovely. Everyone is in a different place with this goal, but all of them were excited to chat with each other. It was fun to see the conversation move from everyone talking about the book they are reading to how the kids in these historical fiction novels are dealing with a lot of the same problems that kids today are faced with.
I am really looking forward to seeing where our conversation leads us next week. Hopefully, you and your readers are enjoying this time of the school year.
We know each other so well, but we are starting to inch towards that point in the school year where the end is near, and we get super busy. Please continue to cherish the magical moments you have with your readers. We are all running out of time with them!
Last Wednesday, I made a video about the books my 5th graders are currently reading. I hope you find a book or two in the video to add to your to-read list. My kiddos are reading some awesome books!
I’ve added a few great books to my list of 2024 books. These three middle grade novels are ABSOLUTE MUST READS. You need to check them out!
I decided to start making longer video book talk videos again. Below you can find my first two stabs at them. It felt good to be back to talking longer about individual books.
This summer Bookelicious is doing a three part webinar series on The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library. This webinar will be hosted by my co-author Donalyn Miller. I’ll be there for at least one of the three parts, and Lynsey Burkins will also be joining the party. The cost of the series is $40. It includes a copy of our The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library. For more details, click on the image below. I hope to “see you” there!
Tell Kid 4 thanks for reading and listening to the Refugee audio book--and that I share their appreciation of the audio book! Scholastic did such a great job with it. The music is all original too--and was written to be a combination of music from the three different cultures represented by the three main characters.
I love that you have reading groups in 5th grade. It's a thing near and dear to my reading teacher heart. I love having the chance to connect with kids more deeply about books. One of my favorite things is how they notice things that I hadn't sometimes - a real treat. Keep up the awesome work!