Once again we were on the lookout for a new class read aloud to study character development for our 4th grade students. Should we use a tried and true novel from the past or try something new? Is that really even a question? Something new without a doubt!
So, we began by looking at the 2017-2018 Texas Bluebonnet Book Nominees. We were looking for a novel that
wouldn't be too daunting because we know our time constraints, and we hate to run out of time to finish a book with our students. Every year a student comments, "Well, my teacher started reading that book to our class last year, but..." That makes us cringe inside! Another quality we were looking for in a book, are great characters that show growth throughout the story's plot. Last, the book needed something that our students could draw a connection from and make inferences.
With that in mind, we found the perfect new read aloud in the novel, Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes. If you would like to purchase the book, click HERE.
After reading the book, in one day because I couldn't put it down, I was a little hesitant about discussing the tragic event with our fourth grade students. We consulted our school librarian for her thoughts, and she reassured us by reminding us that it was part of our state's list of the best books. She even mentioned that the genre was a 21st century historical fiction which is very uncommon. With all that being said, we decided to share this wonderful book with our classes.
Before we began the novel, we read a short nonfiction article about that tragic day. Much to our surprise, most of our students knew many details about that historic event in American history. After a brief discussion and a short Brain Pop video (If your district has an account, follow the link!), we began reading the book.
We created a booklet with various blank graphic organizers by the wonderful and talented, Amy Groesbeck. Click HERE to visit her TpT store and snag her fabulous product! As we began reading, we started by making connections and predictions. Sharing them aloud with our classes opened the door to wonderful discussions. Next, our students chose one of the three main characters to analyze (Deja, Sabeen, or Ben) throughout the book. Also, we created student exit tickets. We had the exit tickets both on paper and an online discussion board. They really enjoyed the discussion board. The platform, Padlet, would be a wonderful tool for discussion board activity.
One expected surprise from reading the novel was learning about and discussing cultural diversity with our students. We believe that by teaching cultural diversity, we can help our students recognize the many different cultures that make up our schools, neighborhoods, and lives. With this knowledge, we hope it will build in our students respect for differences, value for what other cultures offer, encourage the cooperation within diverse groups, and celebrate rather than just tolerate differences. We saw so many different project based learning or self directed learning opportunities for students.
As we finished up reading the novel, we introduced to our students a reading menu project. If you would like a freebie, click HERE. We have provided you all our reading menu for Towers Falling.
Before we began the novel, we read a short nonfiction article about that tragic day. Much to our surprise, most of our students knew many details about that historic event in American history. After a brief discussion and a short Brain Pop video (If your district has an account, follow the link!), we began reading the book.
We created a booklet with various blank graphic organizers by the wonderful and talented, Amy Groesbeck. Click HERE to visit her TpT store and snag her fabulous product! As we began reading, we started by making connections and predictions. Sharing them aloud with our classes opened the door to wonderful discussions. Next, our students chose one of the three main characters to analyze (Deja, Sabeen, or Ben) throughout the book. Also, we created student exit tickets. We had the exit tickets both on paper and an online discussion board. They really enjoyed the discussion board. The platform, Padlet, would be a wonderful tool for discussion board activity.
One expected surprise from reading the novel was learning about and discussing cultural diversity with our students. We believe that by teaching cultural diversity, we can help our students recognize the many different cultures that make up our schools, neighborhoods, and lives. With this knowledge, we hope it will build in our students respect for differences, value for what other cultures offer, encourage the cooperation within diverse groups, and celebrate rather than just tolerate differences. We saw so many different project based learning or self directed learning opportunities for students.
As we finished up reading the novel, we introduced to our students a reading menu project. If you would like a freebie, click HERE. We have provided you all our reading menu for Towers Falling.
This might be one of those novels we read for the next couple of years!
I read the book to my summer school class, they were so into it!!! Is this something that you would consider doing at the beginning of the year when you aren't so busy with the hustle and bustle of STAAR, or keeping it for the end of the year?
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