I have just read a very interesting article about a teacher in Texas who is an expert in encouraging students to read.
She is known as the "Book Whisperer". In the Teacher Magazine, the article "Creating Readers" (parts I, II, III), Donalyn Miller explains how she gets students in her Year 6 class to read. It is well worth a good read yourself especially if you are a parent, grandparent or a teacher. She has some excellent tips and great lists of books for all students (after Year 2 students).
Do any of you have any great reading lists for students from K - 2??? Would love to hear them!
Donalyn has a blog which I have added to our blog listing (right hand side).
It encouraged me to have a look for WebQuests on the books she mentioned. There were woefully few WebQuests! What a shame!
I think if we could have more real WebQuests (not reading comprehension or Scavenger Hunts, or Research Assignments) but real WebQuests where the students are given a messy problem to solve eg. creating a screenplay; or, a new ending to the book; we could incorporate it into the classroom. Although I would hate to have WebQuests regarded by teachers and students alike as tasks that could spoil their pleasure of reading a certain book. That's why it would have to build on the book! Making the book even more interesting and engaging!
Of course, another way to encapsulate this great article is to turn it into a WebQuest for teachers!!! Maybe that's what I should do for these holidays instead of the ANZAC Spirit WebQuest I have had on the back-burner for a number of years!!!
Here are some of the books Donalyn recommends in the article:
Tripping Over the Lunch Lady, edited by Nancy Mercado.
Sixth Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman
On the Run by Gordon Korman
Guts by Gary Paulsen
My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen
How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Schwa was Here by Neal Shusterman
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Clique series by Lisi Harrison
Click Here by Denise Vega
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Word Eater by Mary Amato
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
The Beasties by William Sleator
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen
The following books have WebQuests that I know about:
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
I would love to hear about any other books on this list that have an associated WebQuest!
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