Help me give my students multiple copies of Knockout by author K.A. Holt (the sequel to House Arrest, which the entire school will read and discuss this February) for our independent reading libraries.
My students are voracious readers! They always have an independent reading book in hand, ready to read whenever they finish an assignment early or have a spare minute – some even read while they’re waiting in line for lunch! The entire school, all 360 fifth through eighth graders, is constantly reading, and many often have a spare book (or three) in their backpack). Last year, the fifth grade alone read over 53 million words!
My students really shine in rigorous student-led conversations, both whole class and groups discussions.
From debating whether John Brown was a terrorist or hero in 8th grade history to proposing their own question (whether a character’s change was genuine) and discussing it in 5th grade English, they are constantly pushing each others' thinking. Step into any classroom in any subject and you will hear students thoughtfully responding to each other, pulling textual evidence throughout the text to support their claims, and proposing questions to clarify or push the conversation. Their discourse is impressive!
My Project
This winter, the entire school (all 400 students and staff) will all independently read House Arrest by K.A. Holt and come together for two mixed-grade level discussions on this highly engaging book. Students will discuss the ethics of the protagonist’s decisions and the systems he is fighting against to be able to provide adequate medical care for his sick baby brother – including stealing expensive medicine, which is what puts the protagonist on house arrest and requires him to start writing the journal in verse that is the book. Students will not be able to stop talking about this book!
Keep the conversation going by providing copies of the sequel for our classroom libraries.
Knockout, the sequel also told in verse, features the baby of House Arrest as the teenage protagonist! Students will be desperate to find out what happens next! I know my students will be eager to read these books and talk about them with their friends!
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