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Dear Parents,

Some of you may wonder how and why I use novel studies in my 4th and 5th grade classroom. A novel study allows students to develop their reading comprehension and thinking skills through high-quality literature. It lets them practice and refine their skills related to the standards in an engaging format.

A novel study is also an opportunity to build a love of reading and learning. When done as a whole group, it can create a shared experience that builds communities and creates connections. With the right text, it can help the skills and strategies we've been teaching our readers become more tangible.

There is no single purpose for doing novel studies in the classroom. In fact, the purpose of the novel studies I do may differ across the year. There are so many great benefits of using novel studies in my classroom. For starters, a literature-rich curriculum has been shown to improve reading and writing skills across the curriculum. Novel studies can also serve to give students exposure to perspectives or experiences. They are a chance to help readers visualize and develop an understanding of things that may never have happened to them, or may have happened in their lives. Even when a novel covers a familiar experience, it often offers a different perspective.

I have over 15 years of experience developing and using novel studies for grades 3-6. My novel studies are not just about reading fluency, they are much more. Each novel unit I use is composed of reading foundational skills, such as pace, accuracy, and decoding. As well as, comprehension skills, such as making inferences and drawing conclusions, point of view, authors purpose, summarizing the text, identifying the main idea and supporting details, just to name a few. My units also incorporate language skills, such as grammar, figurative language, writing and vocabulary skills. Vocabulary skills include context clues, analogies, synonyms and antonyms, just to name a few. Each unit also includes, standards relating to speaking and listening skills. Having conversations about reading can serve as a tool for building students' abilities to carry on an intellectual conversation with peers and develop social and communication skills that are important life skills. I also bring in Theology standards. Often these standards are based on how we view and treat ourselves and how we view and treat others.

So, in the end, it’s not just about reading a book. It is about diving deeper, making connections and building the skills necessary to become lifelong learners.

Sincerely,

Bobbie Piecyk