B) Option 1- Book Observation by

1. The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling, Published 1952

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:56:13 UTC

This novel was a read a-loud that my AT carried out with her Gr 3 students. Each day, one chapter at a time, she'd read, pause at stopping points to ask questions, and at the end ask for students to share their thoughts. They were later asked to complete chapter questions in their booklets. From the first chapter, questions included: Describing the main character (John), how did John's love of candy affect his mother, and so forth.

With Cambourne's conditions for learning, my teacher created an immersive environment by selecting a book that the children would be interested in; based on their love for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Heydon et. al, 2022). Additionally, the story was funny, interesting, and relatable to students as John is close in age to them. Students have continued to take the book out from the school library to re-read it!

2. Matilda by Roald Dahl, Published 1988

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:56:52 UTC

This is the second novel that my AT is reading out loud to her class. The classic books by Roald Dahl are often taken out from the school library by my AT's students. Many students in the class audibly gasped when my AT shared that this is the book they would be reading. Previously, I talked about the book Matilda in my drama instruction- students either have read the book, watched the movie(s), or seen the musical. While reading the book, my AT would pause and discuss the unique/rich words that Roald Dahl would use in the story, ex-doting, twaddle, delve, etc.

As we have learned, what my AT implements is called a purposeful approach in exploring vocabulary (Heydon et. al, 2022). She asks her students what the word might mean, explains it and asks them to repeat the word. That way her students acquire new vocabulary, understandings and also understand the idea happening in the story.

3. Magic Tree House: Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary P. Osborne, Published 1998

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:57:21 UTC

The Magic Tree House books continue to be popular book series [to my great joy] and are often selected by my students to read during independent reading and home reading. They find the two characters relatable, enjoy reading about their exciting adventures as they transport out of their tree house to a new world, and collecting knowledge about historical facts/details. As we have learned, fantasy books are a popular choice for this grade level and help to engage student's imagination (Heydon et. al, 2022). As I have observed, when my students read in-class or take out books from the school library, they're typically a fantasy genre.

4. Baby-Sitters Club: The Summer Before by Ann M. Martin, Published 2010

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:57:46 UTC

The Baby-Sitter books are another popular book series in my class. The series is also one of the most popular books taken out at the school library [librarian informed me]. From what I've been told students gravitate towards these books as the characters are unique/relatable, have strong personalities, and are responsible role models. This relates to Cambourne's conditions, as these books continue to immerse readers and draw them in. The series has expanded to comic books, live action show, and a cartoon.

5. Geronimo Stilton: The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid by Elisabetta Dami, Published 2000

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:58:13 UTC

Another popular series, Geronimo Stilton has interesting characters, illustrations, and a fun storyline that focuses on adventure and discoveries. What I love about these books is that on each page, the author selects words and quotes to emphasize in different colours and text type & size. Ie- padded, smirked, scribbling, troublesome, very strange, You should be careful, etc. To the reader, this catches the eye and makes you think about the importance of what is being said in relation to the story. I fondly remember reading these books growing up and am happy that they're still well-received. The students in my class enjoy these books and often take them out from the school library or from the classroom collection of books. This relates to what we have learned about popular choices as the book easily pulls young readers in with its fantasy elements, the engaging layout of the written text and is very immersive.

6. Adventures of the Bailey School Kids: #31 Ghouls Don’t Eat Ice Cream by Debbie Dadey, Published 1998

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:58:31 UTC

A book series that I fondly remember from my childhood, these books are another popular selection. My AT has many books for her students to pick from and this is a popular choice from her many options. The children in my class enjoy reading supernatural-fantasy books. The characters are relatable to students along with the fun twist of figuring out if a character is a mythical being or not.

This relates again with the condition of immersion with story-telling and interesting ideas that make the series stand out from other types of books.

7. Anne of Green Gables, Adapted Version, Usborne Picture Books. Edited by Mary Sebag-Montefior, written by L.M Montgomery, Published 2016

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:58:50 UTC

This was an adapted version that I used for a read-aloud with the class. Students in the class expressed interest in the story after one of the drama lessons that I did; shared that Anne of Green Gables is also a play/musical. I also discovered that a few students read the first book, which was something that filled my heart with joy! During certain parts of the book, I paused and asked questions, and at the end we had a book discussion. Afterwards, I showed them a clip from the tv series and we played two interactive literacy games on Wordwall about the book (sentence scramble, fill in the blank for an excerpt from the beginning part of the book).

The book relates to course content as students are engaging in a text that is different than what they may be familiar with. As the book was published in 1908, it does contain attitudes/ideas that are not common now or uses vocabulary that is new for students. The adapted book was well-received and created a lot of memorable discussions!

8. The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, Published 2013

sandradudzinski — 2024-11-13 16:59:09 UTC

This story was a read-aloud that I introduced to tie in with our monthly focus on respect. As the book was read, I'd find stopping points to ask questions and discuss. Gr 3 students noticed many things such as the main character slowly getting his colour back as the story progressed, why he felt invisible, why it's important to include others, etc. After reading the book, we did a trivia quiz and completed an interactive online crossword puzzle with words from the book.

As we have learned in our course, picture books continue to be an appropriate medium despite the recommended age of this book. Viewing the illustrations with the story, works for any age!