The Magic Treehouse books are great for children ages 6-9. They appeal to both boys and girls. They are designed to be “page turners” because as the reader you simply have to know what’s going to happen next to Annie and Jack. I find both readers who desire chapter books but need a small step up love these as well as reluctant readers. 

There are 2 reading/comprehension levels in the series. The Magic Tree House books are designed for younger, first time chapter book and reluctant readers. The plot is very simple and the vocabulary stretches a reader just a little bit. The chapter and page count range for 80 to 110 pages with a predictable 10 chapters. Nearly every page has illustrations. The Magic Tree House Merlin Missions have a more complex plot making comprehension a little more challenging. There are more pages making the books 10 to 12 chapters much longer. The illustrations are cut down by 50%. The books are designed for the reader to jump in and read any book of interest. The have a prologue at the beginning to help fill in any important details. 

Now to keep the reading excitement going this book club will be very hands on! We’ll share artwork, play games based on the book, and craft something from the books main theme while we chat about the story. See our trip itinerary below for a few more details. Of course, we’ll also talk about the book so we can be sure that comprehension and vocabulary aren’t getting bypassed with all this creative fun.  This book club meets once a week for 60 minutes. 

**NOTE** Each week the kiddos will bring a book inspired project like artwork, diorama, song, poem, a letter written as Jack or Annie to the class, collage art, diary entry from Jack or Annie, one part of the book turned into a comic, make a travel brochure, model of something or someone from the book with clay, lego’s, or something else creative to share with the club members. The sharing project is only limited to your child’s imagination and available supplies. There are enough ideas here so they can create something new each week. Also the kiddos do need to prepare for 2 games each week using the book they have read. This homework is equal to 2-3 hours per week including reading depending on how fast your child reads and writes. Many kids can complete the reading in 1 hour. This hour is normally broken down into 20 minutes over several days. It they read 2-3 chapters a day they will complete the book in 3 to 4 days (20 minutes per day). This allows them to have time to write 4 trivia questions about the book they read and prepare for the game of the week. Some kiddos will even find enough time to make a special project in under 30 minutes.

In this book club, we're going to join Jack and Annie on their travels through time and dive deep in the sea. If your a fan of Magic Tree House and a fan of dolphins or sharks this is the place for you to be.

All Magic Tree House and Magic Tree House Merlin Mission books are a work of fiction and may include some fictional ideas about possible real historic events. They are not meant to be used as a historical text books in any way. The goal of these books is to inspire children to learn more about a time period Jack and Annie visit, the main theme, to build reading and comprehension confidence. The Treasure Chest Book Clubs by The House of Education hosted with Ms. Kyria are created around these books to help young readers fall in love with reading, to express their comprehension skills verbally and to practice problem solvingf skills through in class crafts. 

In this four-week book club we're going to be reading:

Dolphins at daybreak book #9 (Lexicon of 350) 

Summer of the Sea Serpent (Lexicon 350) 
Original Magic Tree House # 31 or Merlin Mission #3 

Dark Day in the Deep Sea (Lexicon 520) 
Original Magic Tree House #39 or Merlin Mission #11 

Shadow of the Shark (Lexicon 550) 
Original Magic Tree House #53 or a Merlin Mission #25 

Our 4 Week Deep Sea Diving Adventure itinerary:

Week 1: Dolphins at Daybreak 
-Book inspired project sharing (homework)
-Book Trivia (email 3 trivia questions w/page number where they answer can be found -homework)
-I Spy (in the book) homework
-Interactive paper project. (Supplies needed: popsicle stick, glue, paper printouts, scissors)

Week 2: Summer of the Sea Serpent
-Book inspired project sharing (homework)
-Book Trivia (email 3 trivia questions w/page number where they answer can be found -homework) 
-Call My Bluff
-3D baby seal (Supplies needed: glue/tape, paper printout, scissors)

Week 3: Dark Days in the Deep Sea
-Book inspired project sharing (homework)
-Book Trivia (email 3 trivia questions w/page number where they answer can be found -homework)
-Word Challenge  Hide & Seek (in the book)
-Mixed media Octopus (Supplies needed: crayons, construction paper, glue, scissors,)

Week 4: Shadow of the Shark
-Book inspired project sharing (homework)
-Book Trivia (email 3 trivia questions w/page number where they answer can be found -homework)
-Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Quote game from the book)
-Shark origami (Supplies needed: Paper printout and scissors)

Of course, I will also post extended activities based on the theme of each book for you to experiment with and to add on to the learning experience that's provided by Magic Tree House. These activities will be posted a few days before class.