Smart as a Fox in Second: Novel Studies

Here's the list of novels we will be reading with our amazing second graders this fall! This list is ever growing! We are blessed to have received a grant from our FANTASTIC MCS Foundation this past year, which enabled us to purchase tons of novels for our kiddos! We read these during our ELA Block, using the 30-30 model we "created." It started as an inside joke, but it works! What's the 30-30 model? We're so glad you asked!

Each day we spend at least 30 minutes reading from literature while the students follow along in their OWN copy! This gets high quality, fun literature into their little hands and they just LOVE it! It's just a regular ol' read aloud, but something about holding their own copy transformed some of our most reluctant readers. Students would BEG to read another chapter, we sometimes even had two different novels going. We found the key is to check for comprehension along the way with guided questions and turn and talk opportunities. Most importantly, we always spend at least 30 minutes responding to our text! We write in journals, we type in Seesaw, we create Chatterpix, and we always give the students some choice in how they respond.

So , let's be honest...sometimes 30-30 is 45-45 or even 60-60, but we made it work this year! Novels lend themselves to across the curriculum opportunities. We found easy, and sometimes creative, ways to connect our novels to math, science, and social studies. During the 2016-17 school year we will work on sharing our activities with each of our novels below. Stay tuned!

Freckle Juice