- reporting on our progress at the beginning of class, and talking about our books;
- keeping track of books we read, exploring new books we might want to read;
- learning about specific things to notice and think about when reading fiction;
- reading nonfiction with an active mind that notices when it is confused, surprised, confirmed, and challenged.
Our work in fiction revolved around getting students to THINK more, and think more widely and/or deeply. They learned about two specific things to notice and think about: tough questions asked by a character, and contrasts/contradictions we see in characters. We will continue this work as we work our way through the book, A Long Walk to Water. We will also learn specific strategies for figuring out unfamiliar words, and for answering questions that come up while reading. Students are hopefully learning that reading is a problem solving process that, with active participation, can be done successfully by anyone.
