Reading

Why Social Issues?  Why Book Clubs?

Our students need and deserve the opportunity to read through books with the purpose of thinking and talking about an issue of importance; to be able to develop an opinion, point out stereotypes, and decide if they want to be the type of person who goes through life thinking about social change. We need to make sure that our students are still growing as readers, learning skills that will enrich their reading lives and strengthen their reading capacities.

         This unit will teach children that a book has many different points of view about real life topics, and we can use our minds to focus zoom in and focus on one, but without losing touch of the story as a whole. As students grow and mature in their reading lives, they will begin to find that they can make more sophisticated connections to the books that they read.  In this unit students are asked to analyze not only what is happening in the story, but why. They will be taught to question whose story is being told and with what purpose. They will be asked to think about whose perspective is being left out and why.  Students will be encouraged to consider these social issues from both sides of the table in an attempt to reach a fuller understanding of the topic and to develop a more informed opinion.  As a result, students will be inspired to take action in their own lives.