Janice Robbins

I received this quite some time ago. I took it to school with me and completely forgot to write my review. So many books I have on my school shelves or have shared with other teachers are all about working with reluctant readers. This book is all about working with those gifted students who read well but don’t respond to the same types of lessons.

The book starts off with information to help students choose a variety of books. From there it shows you how to help students interact with the books. I have my students keep a notebook. One of the things they use the notebook for is to write down things that pop into their head as they read. They also write down words, phrases or sentences that they find interesting for whatever reason.

There is a section that talks about asking questions about the novel. For those teachers who think that it is ridiculous that someone should talk to them about asking questions, I am here to tell you that after almost thirty years of teaching it is easy to fall into a rut. We need books like this to help remind us of all those great ideas we had when we first started teaching.

For me this book, full of ideas for the gifted reader, but has ideas that will work for those reluctant readers as well. I loved the sections on different genres. This book is something that every beginning teacher should have.… (meer)

A fantastic resource for guiding gifted students in reading and novel studies. Lots of great ideas for projects, discussion, and further reflection. Includes chapters on specific genres, their make-up, and suggested books.

Especially helpful is POV definition, content considerations, bibliotherapy for gifted students, and character development charts. A wonderful addition to the professional shelf.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewer, Prufrock Press Inc., and Janice I. Robbins, Ph.D. for this arc copy.… (meer)

A well-organized reference for a middle school English/Language Arts teacher. I particularly like that the activities are very open-ended and could be used with any novel study. Sections in the book include vocabulary activities, story elements, and specific genre studies. A good section on how to get students to pose good discussion questions with practice forms included to help prepare them for deeper discussions. Book lists are included for the various genres and would be a good starting place when planning a novel unit.… (meer)

I requested this book because I am a librarian. I am constantly helping students find a good book or something they need to read for a book report. I also occasionally take small groups of readers and work with them to give some help to their teachers. One of the first things I noticed is a list of guidelines to help me help students find quality reading material.

In chapter 3, we learn how to ask open questions rather than stopping with closed questions. Closed questions is asking for basic information that the student can find from the text. Open questions require thought. An example of an open question would be "Who in this book reminds you of someone you know?" I am not adept at questions, so this is a great help to me.

Each chapter has many ideas, activities, charts, and worksheets that will add to the fun of reading the novel. There are chapters that focus on different types of novels: realistic, historical, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and graphic.

There is also a chapter on using technology with your students in your novel study, a chapter on discussion, vocabulary, and developmental bibliotherapy. This is a great resource for a school.… (meer)