Book Club: Read Bruiser and Build Vocabulary
In this 7-week course, students will build a higher level vocabulary while reading an interesting, captivating paranormal novel by one of my favorite authors, Neal Shusterman.
Kathy Pudil
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(40)
What's included
14 live meetings
11 hrs 40 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Individual work with vocabulary in context and building meaningful sentences may be intermittently assigned. Questions to provoke thought and reflection may also be part of the assignments. These will all be discussed and reviewed at the beginning of the next class.Assessment
Students will be assessed informally through discussion of the text as we read, and intermittently with vocabulary context and meaning assignments. At the end of the course, a comprehensive review will be given, and student will be given a letter grade: A (90-100%) excellent comprehension, participation, and preparedness for class, vocabulary, and concepts studied. B (80-89%) Very good comprehension, participation, and preparedness for class, vocabulary, and concepts studied. C (70-79%) Adequate comprehension, participation, and preparedness for class, vocabulary, and concepts studied. D (69 and below) Insufficient comprehension, participation and preparedness. (May recommend additional practice or review.)Grading
includedClass Experience
US Grade 7 - 10
Bruiser is a story about a high school boy who seems to be an outcast, but actually, he has a very special gift--he can take away the pain of people whom he cares about. He navigates themes of loneliness, vulnerability, disappointment, and stoicism as each chapter reveals a new vocabulary word. We will read aloud together 25-35 pages per class, or around 3-7 chapters in each class. We will discuss vocabulary words, meanings, and learn to use these in our own sentences. We will practice using the vocabulary by recognizing context meaning. We will also discuss literary elements such as point of view, theme, voice, and characterization. There will be intermittent homework sheets to help students practice the vocabulary. We will review them in the next class. Hopefully Neal Shusterman can become one of your favorite authors, too! Here is a tentative breakdown of the reading by class meeting: I have set Tuesday/Thursday as our two days to meet for class, but if attendees agree, we can designate different days/times for our two classes per week to meet. I can be flexible. Week 1: Chapters 1-8 + Chapters 9-13 Week 2: Chapters 14-16 + Chapters 17-22 Week 3: Chapters 23-28 + Chapters 29-32 Week 4: Chapters 33-36 + Chapters 37-40 Week 5: Chapters 41-43 + Chapters 44-48 Week 6: Chapters 49-54 + Chapters 55-59 Week 7: Chapters 60-66 + closure, personal response, review vocabulary, plans for next book study?
Learning Goals
Students will improve their vocabulary with higher level words, as well as identify and discuss literary elements such as point of view, theme, voice, and characterization. As we study the vocabulary, we will also learn and identify synonyms, antonyms, parts of speech, like noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and we will examine a few word roots.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Bruiser is considered "YA Paranormal" which means that targeted audience is 12-18 years. Some subjects addressed in the book may be advanced for 12-13 year olds, and discretion is left to parents. Content such as divorce, child abuse, bullying are present in this text. We will address them with empathy and a solution-oriented perspective.
Supply List
A copy (new or used) of book: BRUISER by Neal Shusterman Notebook paper and a pen or pencil Dictionary (may introduce online resource: m-w.com merriam-webster online dictionary and thesaurus)
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined October, 2021
5.0
40reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
Missouri Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Master's Degree in Education from University of Missouri-Columbia
I have previously taught this text to 12-14 year olds as a middle-school reading class read aloud at least three different school years. I am familiar with the content and the sensitive topics that arise in the novel. We address the topics such as divorce, child abuse, and bullying with an empathetic and solution-oriented perspective. Reviews
Live Group Class
$36
weekly or $250 for 14 classes2x per week, 7 weeks
50 min
Completed by 4 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 12-17
1-4 learners per class
