Mayor Hubble is in Trouble!

I have found that the current reading curriculum wasn't quite challenging or engaging enough for some of my students... students who at the end of October were reading at the end of the 2nd grade level! 

Even though it is extremely important that they read the same stories as their classmates in order to retain the same phonics skills, I wanted to make sure that they continued to stay engaged. So, today I started Literature Circles. The kids were so excited (don't tell them, so was I!)

With just four students I choose a novel that I thought would keep them engaged. When browsing through Scholastic Book Clubs I found some perfect books... INCLUDING: 

I have a couple Weirder School books in my library but this one looks like a blast. I can't wait to see how the story unfolds. 

 Today I passed out the student's Literature Circle Journals (click the title to buy them for $1.00). We talked about the jobs and started reading. I created the schedule below but did not complete it... I'll keep you posted on my success. If you have any ideas or have done lit. circles, I would LOVE to hear from you! 

Literature Circle Schedule

20 minute rotations/ 2 days a week = 40 minutes a week

Day One:

1. Assign Jobs- allow the students to review the instructions for their job during the week 

            *There are four jobs and each students will receive a new job for each chapter.

TIME:  2 minutes

2. Read Story- Round Robin Reading, Sticks-each student reads a page until

            *The goal is to read one chapter in 15 minutes. However, this may take longer at first

            *The teacher can start by reading a page to demonstrate fluency and expression for the students

TIME: 15 minutes

3. Student Practice-work on assigned jobs

            *Students will have to complete the rest of the job during their free time

TIME: 3 minutes

Day Two:

1. Story Map

            *Pass out stick notes. Each student will be assigned the task of writing down the story elements:

            Every Time

            -beginning

            -middle

            -end

            Alternating:

            -main idea

            -setting

            -predictions

TIME: 10 Minutes

2. Student Presentations

            *Each student will have 2 minutes to present their job

            *Then the teacher will discuss anything important that may have been missed.

TIME: 10 Minutes