Hello Readers!

Recently we’ve been learning about how readers…

1) Identify what the author’s message/moral is

2) Think about whether or not they agree with what the author is saying

We are at the end of our Social Issues unit, but this lesson applies to all fiction that we read! Throughout a book, it’s important to be active thinkers and allow our brains to ask questions, make predictions, put ourselves in our characters’ shoes…and much, much more! But, the question is, what to do at the end of the book? It’s easy to say whether we liked the book or not. But what about the reasons why the author wrote the book?  Occasionally, author’s come right out and tell us on their websites or in the author’s note that you can sometimes find at the end of a book. But often, readers are left to figure out the message for themselves.

And nobody says it’s easy, either! There’s also no right or wrong answer. As long as you JUSTIFY or EXPLAIN why you thought that way, then that’s all that matters!

We read Your Move by Eve Bunting and used that as an example before we tried it in our Book Club groups. You can see in the picture giant Post-it notes that we used to record our thinking.

So, readers…give it a try! The next fiction book you read, try to figure out what the author’s message is and whether or not you agree!

Happy reading,

Miss B.