My friends have been reading up a storm the last few weeks! I have been so impressed at their appetite for books. I am also proud to say that these students placed first in the Battle of the Books competition last week. This is largely because of the wonderful teachers who stay after every week to coach these teams. I am always impressed at the amount of students who are willing to read the books on their free time and then stay after school to discuss literature.. my type of learners.

 



Since my students were finished with their chapter books each group worked on a project that had them analyze the main characters. I had one student from each group trace their hands and feet onto construction paper. Then, they had to draw the main character for their book. Around the picture they wrote qualities of the characters and things they learned about them throughout the story. Then, they looked for parts in the book where the author allowed the main character to speak. This is generally when you learn important information about the way the character thinks. They also found examples within the book when other characters reacted to the main character. This allows the reader to learn more about the character as well. I am thrilled with how these projects turned out. I think the characters are spot on!