Expanding Our Minds Through An Extended Book Study!

To begin, students will be grouped according to their reading levels. Then they will be given a choice of a book to study, to allow them to have ownership over their learning. Once the books have been chosen, groups will begin by previewing the books to help access prior knowledge. This previewing activity is based on the Developmental Reading Assessment 2 (DRA2) questions.
Then students will begin reading the book. A time line will be developed according to the length of the chapters and the reading ability of the participants to ensure that all groups can finish in an appropriate amount of time.
For each chapter, students will record and define two challenging vocabulary words to help build vocabulary mastery. This is especially important for the group, since their are primarily English Language Learners. Building vocabulary is key to creating strong readers. Additionally, they will respond to one to four comprehension questions, ranging from identification to analyzing, and every Bloom's Taxonomy level in between. Each question will be answered using complete sentences and approximately two paragraphs. This will help build valuable writing skills as well as reading comprehension. The questions will guide the group through the story and help highlight significant areas of the chapter that will aid in comprehension.
Once everyone in the group has finished the book, the children will undertake a project to summarize their learning. These book reports will align to different areas of Multiple Intelligence theory, from creating to writing, to drawing or orally presenting. This will allow every member of the group to choose a project in which they will be able to excel, based on their learning modality.
Finally, the class will be able to watch the movie that corresponds with their book and complete a final project, in which they will draw a comparison chart between the book and the movie, write a persuasive essay about the book or movie, construct a diorama of their favorite scene, or record an advertisement for the movie. Currently, this final project can only be done through cassette voice recordings, because of the limited technology. However, having access to Flip Cameras will allow students to film an advertisement and present it to their peers. This will increase student engagement because they will want to have the opportunity to film their final project and show it to their class, and possibly, other classes, without the crippling affects of performance anxiety.
This extended book study will serve to help students become stronger readers and invest them in reading more difficult books. It will allow them to complete projects to display their learning and will help increase their overall reading abilities.