Completing the Reading List

Donna Miller

Purpose:

To teach middle grades students how to log, assess, and rate the books they are reading in workshop.

Materials:

Copies of Reading List

Folders one per student

Overhead of Student Reading List

Overhead of Rating Scale

Objectives:

NCTE/IRA Standard 1: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction, non-fiction, classic, and contemporary works.

NCTE/IRA Standard 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

NCTE/IRA Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of their texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features.

NCTE/IRA Standard 6: Students apply knowledge of language structure. Language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and non-print texts.

NC Competency Goal 5: The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.

5.01 Increase fluency, comprehension, and insight through a meaningful and comprehensive reading program by:

t using effective reading strategies to match type of text.

t reading self-selected literature and other materials of individual interest.

t reading literature and other materials selected by the teacher.

Script:

Before you make your first book selection from the classroom library, I want to discuss how you will track the books you will read throughout the year. Pass out the Reading List and turn on the overhead projector with the Reading List on transparency. Each time you select a book, pull your Reading List Folder from the red crate. Record in the first column the title of the book and its number of pages. Record the author’s name — first, middle initial, and last name. This will help you in defining which authors you may enjoy better than others. Next, record the date you begin reading the book, then when you are finished reading the book, record the date you complete the book. The next column is to assess the degree of difficulty. This is your opportunity to evaluate what you are reading. Remember, that reading is an exercise. Everything you read makes you a better reader. The better the reader you are, the better you are going to do at anything that involves books. The faster you read, the sooner you finish assigned reading. It gets easier, you get less tired, you enjoy it more. The same as ice skating or running. At first, it's hard, it makes you tired and it's no fun. But the more you do it, the easier it gets, the less energy you expend to accomplish the same thing, and the more fun it gets. Ask yourself questions. Did you find the book too easy — were you able to read the book in a day or a few class periods? Was the theme of the book to elementary for you? Was it too hard? Did you understand the author’s meaning? Did you feel that you were just muddling through it? How long did it take me to read the book? Be honest with yourself. The next column is for genre. Please list the genre of the book. Was it a mystery, biography, science fiction, historical fiction, etc. We will continue to discuss this in more detail. The last column is for rating the book itself on a scale of 1 to 5. We will review this in just a minute. This column also asks you to provide the best one word description for this book. Do not put great! Use a more fitting word to describe the book. For instance, you may say Holes is intense, or Because of Winn Dixie is sentimental. Think while you read — What word best describes this book? Any questions? Answer any questions the students may have. Now, lets review the rating scale for books. Put Rating Scale transparency on overhead. Now, we will review the rating scale. A five is the highest rating you can give a book. This means that you think this is a great book. It is one of your all time favorites. A four is a good book. You would recommend it to a classmate. Three means its O.K. Two means it dragged in lots of places, it was too easy or too hard to figure out the theme, and a one means you did not like it. Remember that everyone is different. You may not like the book because it did not fit your personal taste. However, it may be a favorite to someone else. Respect these differences and we will discuss them later in a book club meeting. Is there any questions? Answer. Pass out folders for Reading Lists. Please label your folder’s tab with last name first, followed by you first name, and place reading log inside folder. File in crate.

RATING SCALE

5 = This is a great book — one of my all time favorites!

4 = This is a good book. I would recommend it.

3 = This book was O.K.

2 = This book dragged in a lot of places. It was too hard or too easy to figure out.

1 = I did not like this book.

READING LIST

BOOK TITLE — # OF PAGES

AUTHOR

DATE BEGUN

DATE FINISHED

EASY AVERAGE HARD

GENRE

RATING BEST ONE WORD DESCRIP- TION