In this ongoing course, students will meet fellow book lovers and explore many types of reading materials. Each week, there will be a featured reading to discuss. Since we do not have time to read an entire book in class, students can choose to read the featured book outside of the classroom. Most classes we will read a short story, article, or poem together in class. At the end of each month, a full length book will be featured and discussed. Reading outside of the classroom is not required because we will read an excerpt from the book and discuss it in class. We will explore many genres together but all of our readings will be for middle school aged children. 

In each class we will do a brief ice breaker to help students feel comfortable participating in class. However, participation is recommended, not required. Listening to the reading and activities works too. After our ice breaker, we will explore some pre-reading techniques to aide in comprehension. Then I will read aloud to the students. Once the reading has concluded, we will answer some post reading questions. Finally, we will play a game, watch a short video clip, or complete an activity based on the reading. 

Since I was a young child, I have loved to read many different types of books. I found that I could go on an adventure while in the comfort of my own home, just by opening a good book. This is what I would like to share with my students. My goal is to find books that your children will not be able to put down. We will learn many reading techniques in this class to increase fluency and comprehension. I also hope to help students improve their reading comprehension by incorporating fun activities and games into each class. In my experience as a teacher, students learn more when they can apply the new information while having fun at the same time. 

Week of October 10-16: Poems from "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein.
Week of October 17-23: "Wayside School is falling down" by Louis Sachar will be featured.
Week of October 24-30: We will explore some short stories from a book called, "Funny Shorts" by Michael Wayne.
Week of October 31- November 6: "Trapped in a Video Game" will be featured.
Week of November 7-13: Bring your favorite poem to class activity. 
Week of November 14-20: "All Summer in a Day" a short story by Ray Bradbury
Week of November 21-27: "The Unteachables" by Gordon Korman
Week of November 28-December 4:  "All Summer in a Day" a short story by Ray Bradbury
Week of December 5-11: "The Necklace" a short story by Guy de Maupassant
Week of December 12-18: "Funny Shorts" by Michael Wayne
Week of December 19-25: "Spectacular Stories for Curious Kids" by Jesse Sullivan
Week of December 26-January 1: "Kid Youtuber" by Marcus Emerson
Week of January 2-8: "A sound of Thunder" a short story by Ray Bradbury
Week of January 9-15: "Goblin Feet" "Roads Go Ever On" Two Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien
Week of January 16-22: "Interesting Stories For Curious Kids" by Bill O'Neill
Week of January 23-29: "The Proto Project" by Bryan R. Johnson
Week of January 30- February 5: "Zoo" by Edward D. Hoch
Week of February 6-12: "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
Week of February 13-19: Articles about Valentine's Day and Bring your own Valentine's Day Poems
Week of February 20-26: "The Dragon Defenders" by James Russell
Week of February 27- March 5: "Examination Day" by Henry Slesar
Week of March 6-12: Trapped in TikTok: An Epic Adventure by Quirky Viral Media
Week of March 13-19:  "Spectacular Stories for Curious Kids" by Jesse Sullivan
Week of March 20-26: "Summer of the Woods" by Steven K. Smith
Week of March 27- April 2: Kid Youtuber 2, Hungry For More by Marcus Emerson
Week of April 3-9: The Time We Ran Away by Dan Gemeinhart
Week of April 10-16: NASA is Practicing Asteroid Deflection by Marina Koren
Week of April 17-23: The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick
Week of April 24-30: "Whatever After" by Sarah Mlynowski
Week of May 1-7: Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar
Week of May 8-14: And Nobody Got Hurt by Len Berman
Week of May 15-21: The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick

Week of June 5-11: Secret Zoo Favorite Character
Week of June 12-18: Secret Zoo Vocabulary 
Week of June 19-25: Secret Zoo Shadow Man
Week of June 26-July 2: Secret Zoo Where is Megan
Week of August 14-20: Finish The Secret Zoo
Week of August 21-27: Back to School Short Stories
Week of August 28- September 3: "Whatever After" by Sarah Mlynowski
Week of Sept 4-10: Starting the Proto Project by Bryan R. Johnson 
Week of Sept 11-17: Proto Project Characters
Week of Sept 18-24: Non-fiction stories