Book Club. It is a marvelous, intimidating time spent exploring the ins and outs of a novel with students. In this case, I led two groups of students through the book The Twits by Roald Dahl. In all honesty, it is quite the disgusting book: Mr. and Mrs. Twit never bathe, eat bird pie, and play awful tricks on each other. So, in short, it is a book third and fourth graders love.
My students and I made books out of paper bags, lined paper, and rubber bands to document our journey through the novel. We stopped often during our reading in order to:
1. record our favorite quotes and why we like them.
2. draw a picture of the scene.
3. write a ten-word summary of the chapter.
4. predict what will happen next.
5. reflect on how accurate our predictions were.
After allowing the students time to write, I always gave time to share. I believe it is important for students to be able to explain their ideas in an open, nonjudgemental environment.
As a culminating activity, students chose to either draw a picture of Mr. or Mrs. Twit, or recreate the scene of when the pet monkeys turned the Twit's house upside-down. My students were proud that they read a book themselves. They also liked that they had such a fun project - a book they made themselves! - to show for their hard work.
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