It's really important to offer my students books they WANT to read. If not it's a chore. Last year we read a book - Esperanza Rising- that resonated with almost everyone in the room. It had real world themes like class, poverty, responsibility, and loss. It appealed to the boys as well as the girls.
It made me heart happy when one of my ELL students asked me "was it time to read yetttttttt? " ? It was then that I realized how powerful novel units could be. We had wonderful discussions that were very relevant even though the book was set in the depression years. I was am amazed at how insightful my 5th graders could be. Our school is small and have lots of families that can barely afford life much less to donate to our class library. I feel like when we read as a whole class it strengthens our class culture.
About my class
It's really important to offer my students books they WANT to read. If not it's a chore. Last year we read a book - Esperanza Rising- that resonated with almost everyone in the room. It had real world themes like class, poverty, responsibility, and loss. It appealed to the boys as well as the girls.
It made me heart happy when one of my ELL students asked me "was it time to read yetttttttt? " ? It was then that I realized how powerful novel units could be. We had wonderful discussions that were very relevant even though the book was set in the depression years. I was am amazed at how insightful my 5th graders could be. Our school is small and have lots of families that can barely afford life much less to donate to our class library. I feel like when we read as a whole class it strengthens our class culture.