Class Novel - Each Little Bird That Sings plus a Free Reading Activity

With the new term about to start, I have been scouring the public libraries and teacher blogs in search of mentor texts in the form of cool picture books and novels to share-read with my year 6 students this year. I came across a mention for Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles and I am in love !!!

This story reminds that life is full of twists and turns. And the biggest one of all is learning what it takes to handle them.
Please read about this gem of a novel HERE & HERE:

As I read it, I quickly saw how well it lent itself to a novel study, and when you read about how the author came about writing this book, well, there was a genuine Author's Purpose, right there.

It will also underline the message to your students that good writing comes from the heart - your own life experiences - because these are the things that you can breathe life into so that your audience relates to your message.

This novel also lends itself to a great Novel Study.

Here is a link to the 18 page Reader Response Journal that I made for my students. It includes:

3x ‘pre-reading’ activities - prediction, vocabulary, author bio
6x ‘reading response' activities - author craft, main character, support characters, text-to-self comparison,  setting analysis,
8x ‘reading application & synthesis' activities - flat/round character, family tree, writing draft & publish for text-to-world, Venn diagram, title hymn.

You will notice that the activities are NOT boring comprehension question-answer worksheets. Instead they are reader RESPONSE style that promotes higher order thinking skills like, analysis, application and synthesis.  

Of course, you can manipulate the order of the activities by moving the pages in the PDF document or even select specific activities as you need them. However if you would like to make them up into booklets, the following assembly instructions have been included. 

Journal Assembly instructions:
Print pgs. 1-18 (on 2 per page setting),
Separate out the first printed sheet (front and back covers), Fold each page in half, printed side facing out, and stack in numbered order,
Slip into cover and staple all the pages together, down the left-hand side, creating a spine
Optional - tape the spine to cover the staples, or slip a coloured paper cover over the spine before stapling, for students to decorate.

My Novel Study for Each Little Birds That Sings is available from my TPT store - One Teacher's Journey - HERE

Now for the Reading FREEBIE 

I have also made this 'Retell the Main Ideas' activity. It can be as long as there are chapters in your book so best to use as a stand-alone activity that you can use for any novel that you are reading with your class. It also works brilliantly for students read-to-self novels as an independent follow up (great for developing those summarising skills for both picture and word smart kiddies). You can get this one absolutely FREE from my TPT store - One Teacher's Journey - HERE

Thank you for stopping by. I would love some comments on what you think of this novel and any other class novels that you would recommend for 9-12 year olds.