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Little girls who can move things with their minds, chocolate factories that create amazing candy, an elevator that can go any which way, and a giant peach with giant talking bugs...that's the kind of world famed Roald Dahl creates in his children's novels. Roald Dahl is one of my favorite childhood authors and I own almost all of his books. I have loved reading through all of them with my own two elementary-aged children and I am excited to share that wondrous world with your children!

Every four weeks, we will focus on a different children's novel of Roald Dahl's. We'll check for comprehension, discuss some book club questions, analyze the characters and themes of the novel, then either complete an activity or writing prompt that connects to the story. As a certified literature teacher, I will not only have the students discuss the book, like a book club, but I will be teaching about literary analysis as well. We will discuss character growth, figurative language, themes and motifs, the use of songs and poems within the novels, plot development, and much more. 

Roald Dahl's books can easily be found at local libraries, or can easily be found at any local bookstore. Students will be required to read the books before coming to class each week. Students should be able to read and have at least a 2nd or 3rd grade reading level. Exact pages numbers and chapters will be assigned each week on the classroom page based on the overall reading speed and comprehension of the students in each individual section. ***We will NOT be reading the books during class.***

*Weeks 1-4: Matilda*
Week 1: Chapters 1-6
Week 2: Chapters 7-10
Week 3: Chapters 11-15
Week 4: finish Matilda

*Weeks 5-8: James and the Giant Peach*
Week 5: Chapters 1-10
Week 6: Chapters 11-20
Week 7: Chapters 21-30
Week 8: finish James and the Giant Peach

*Weeks 9-12: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*
Week 9: Chapters 1-9 
Week 10: Chapters 10-17 
Week 11: Chapters 18-24
Week 12: finish Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

*Weeks 13-16: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator*
Week 13: Chapters 1-5 
Week 14: Chapters 6-11 
Week 15: Chapters 12-15 
Week 16: finish Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Each week, prior to class, I will post on the classroom page not only the reading assignment, but what we will be doing in class each week to give families a  heads up if they need to gather supplies.

I love student participation, but I understand some students don't love participating as much. That is fine with me - I don't require students to talk and discuss if they aren't comfortable doing so. If your student just wants to come to listen to the discussion and do the activity, that is wonderful. I tend to have a pretty lax policy with Zoom microphones, but I do prefer that students keep their cameras on during class. 

Students do not need any prior knowledge or experience for this class. We will be utilizing NearPod - students do *not* need an account to use NearPod, they will join with a code that I will share. At the end of each novel, I will also show a preview for a movie version of each book. Watching the movie is *not* part of the class nor a homework requirement. But, it can be a fun activity after reading the book.

This class will not be graded. **HOWEVER**, if you would like me to grade a student's work and progress and provide a letter of achievement after the course finishes, please let me know as soon as possible. As a certified teacher, I know many parents appreciate this for their state homeschool/charter school requirements.