Let's read "The One and Only Ivan!" This novel by Katherine Applegate has been adapted into a Disney because it's so wonderful. It teaches us about friendship, freedom, empathy, and the power of home.

This helps your student meet the 30 minutes of daily reading that help your student grow! According to Scholastic.com, students need 30 minutes of daily reading each day. This time is not always met at school anymore, unfortunately, due to demands of state testing requirements and other demands. (I'm a public school teacher, so, sadly, I can attest to this.) 

Reading skills can affect children's future academic success, helps improve writing skills, stimulates and enhances creativity, creates schema (a much needed tool for understanding and comprehension), as well as creates empathy.

You and your student purchase the novel we'll read before class starts. Together in class, we'll read. Sometimes we will read round robin style (students reads a page, I read a page) with whoever is comfortable reading aloud, and sometimes I will read out loud. As we read together, I'll come up with comprehension questions, so we'll spend the last 5-10 minutes discussing the chapters we've read.

After the fourth and final class, students will have the option of watching the movie adaptation of the book. An optional class will be listed to discuss the movie, and compare and contrast the book to the movie.