I am certain that everyone has a favorite book that made quite an impression on them when they were in elementary school. The world of reading is so vast and there are so many different genres to accommodate each child’s interest and imaginations. I am here to engage your students with that interest and imagination.
This year’s 3rd grade class is going to explore many aspects of reading and the books that are going to be read will touch on many different cultural and diverse categories. It is going to take every student’s parent to be involved and to make sure that your child is doing the appropriate reading, or discussing with them the reading that we will do in class.
One featured book for this semester is one of my favorites, The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Cromer Byars. This was one of books from my own childhood that I read over and over again. It is a very sweet story that covers happiness, excitement, respect, love and working together. This book centers around a pre-teen girl, Sara, and her troubles that all pre-teen children have. These troubles include her body, her hair, and her crazy changing moods. At one point, there are swans that suddenly appear and her mentally handicapped brother, Charlie, is fascinated with them. A serious mishap with Charlie causes her to abandon her own problems and focus on her brother. It also takes Sara asking for help from one of her enemies, Joe Melby, to help as well.
The book covers many different subjects, and will entail a good classroom discussion after reading it. The book will teach students how to work together, even if they do not agree with someone else’s point of view. It will also teach them that all children are different and deserve to be treated with respect and love.
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