Using the same book, we worked on looking past all the interesting details to find the author's larger message. We did this by noticing how the author set up the information, and by noticing what the author mentioned over and over.
Or next book was a fiction story called The Museum of Crime and Horror. We used it to practice fluency, with a specific eye toward having the suspense of the story reflected in our voices. We also practiced writing in response to a prompt.
Our most recent book was another fiction text - Swim Free. This book gave us a chance to think about how an author can use a few words, or a short phrase, to give us hints about the characters or the events.
