I would have to say that I am a fan of reading through the book a little quicker; however, I do think it is important to incorporate some activities every once in a while to allow the students to make connections, engage in meaningful discussion, etc. If you spend too much time reading the same text, students' interest tends to dwindle. In the past, I have tried to read a chapter or two a day, depending on the length. A brief discussion would follow with an "open forum"- the students could bring up any point they felt relevent to the days' reading. I'm also a fan of incorporating a final assignment once the book is read; I usually would give my students 3 choices of a project, to try to meet all student interests. I've tried quizzes and tests and I really did not like how they worked. Students dreaded them, they weren't fun or engaging, and were merely testing their memory of the text. So keep going with the activities, but just keep them to the most important elements of the story you want to address. You want to keep the students actively engaged and wanting more! Courtney
Ashli and Paul Andersen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: A the other 8th grade reading teacher and I are reading the same books in our classes, but he goes through his books much quicker than I do. I do all sorts of activities with my students that he doesn't do. He gives quizzes and tests, but just reads reads reads. He spent about 3 weeks reading The Outsiders and I spent about 7 or so. How long is too long to spend reading a novel? I think my activities help make connections and understand the book better. He thinks the questions/quizzes get the same point across. What do you all think? Ashli _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive --------------------------------- It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar. _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
