Read Aloud Activity
Submitted by: Deb Weissman weissman@top.monad.net
This activity emerged when we wanted our kids to read a book that was out of print and we only had 2 copies of it. We did it as a read-aloud. Each student was given a blank booklet. The cover was made of oaktag and inside were 10 half sheets of lined paper, and 10-15 half sheets of blank paper. On the lined paper, kids kept notes.
We asked them to label one sheet Vocabulary, skip a page, then the next sheet was Characters, skip 2 sheets, next sheet was Setting, skip a sheet, and then Notes. We read the novel aloud and each time we read, the students were given several vocab words. As they listened they jotted down info about character and setting.
Each day we read, they needed to draw a picture on one of the blank sheets, illustrating something in the chapter that interested them. Each time we read, we would ask students to focus on specific info. Notes from class discussions about conflict, plot elements, etc. were recorded in the Notes section. These booklets were used to study for quizzes and at the end of the novel were collected and graded for completeness, quality of notes, etc. The kids loved this technique and their illustrations (in colored pencil) served as a visual outline of the events of the book.