Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Why You Need to Live the Book

Good readers are one with the book.  They know the characters, strive to understand them and relate to them.  They picture the setting, comparing it to places they know.  They smell the aromas, living them like passing a bakery in the early morning.  They hear sounds, from the softest whispers to the loudest screeches.  

Thinking, wondering, questioning, disbelieving, and doubting occur continually as good readers go page to page.  Why did that happen?  What is coming next? Question after question drives an interaction that controls comprehension.  Connections with the story build with the plot.  Interest in the story grows with each question, both the answered and the unanswered.

The bottom line--get your brain involved.  Think about what you are reading.  Get your senses involved.  See, hear, and smell.  Live the book and get all you can get out it, and it will give you back a great story.

So Reading Workshop students, as you read today, were you involved?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/4626893025/sizes/o/

31 comments:

Jessica W. said...

Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan


In the book i'm reading, I imagine Gabry getting influenced by a boy she likes, to take her to a wooden fence. She is not allowed to go near or around the fence. On th other side of the fence is an abandon amusement park, which is haunted. She is so hungover about the boy, she goes with him over the fence. Gabry is scared now she is over the fence and she wants to go back.

This book makes me think if I were Garby, would I go over the fence, and why?

In my onion I don't think I wound go over the fence because of a boy. I would respect the rules and not go over the wooden fence, to an abandon amusement park.

Micah H said...

In Reading Workshop I am reading the book The River by Gary Paulsen.
In The River Brian and Derek have to find shelter in the woods because they are deserted by a round lake with a river running through it.
They find a shelter that is a fallen down tree and the roots are pulled up out of the dirt and there was dirt all over the roots so it kind of made a wall.So thats were there shelter is.
I can relate to that because yesterday my friend and I were in my woods and a tree had fallen down over a small valley and it pulled the roots up out dirt and there was dirt all over the roots so it kind of made a wall and I started to think of the book The River

Seth V. said...

I can relate the story I am reading to a place in my woods where there is a old abandoned house that has the windows broken out of it and the door is half way off the hinges and everything. Also the paint is peeling off the side of it. There isn't a upstairs in it like the one in the book.
I can relate to my book because a family of mice live in this abandoned in the middle of the woods. I can relate the story Poppy to a place in my woods where there is a old abandoned house. That has the windows broken out of it and the door is half way off the hinges and everything. Also the roof is caving in and is just about to fall completely in. It also has a real old wood cooking stove in it , and it used to have a loft to sleep on but it has fallen down.

I can relate this place to my book because a family of mice live in this old abandoned house in the middle of the woods. But the one in my book has a upstairs and a downstairs. It also has a porch and has nothing in it like the one in my woods.

Rhianna L. said...

In the Reading Workshop we are talking about when you are reading a book you need to see the picture. I'm reading Abduction by Peg Kehret.

This book is about a little boy, Matt, being kidnapped by his own dad, but Matt does not know it's his dad.The dad, Denny, dies Matt's hair, black, and makes him wear glasses.Denny and Matt go to a ball game. Matt's sister, Bonnie is at the same game. Bonnie sees Matt but does not believed it is him. So she got closer and finds out it is him. Now Denny has Matt and Bonnie.

All three of them leave the stadium. While they are walking Matt has to use the rest room. So they go to a nice restaurant. Bonnie goes to the same bathroom with Matt. They find a window and climb through it to escape. When they are climbing through the window I see this fancy bathroom. I see Matt on Bonnie's back trying to get through the window with a worred face.

MollieP said...

In the book I'm reading a twelve year old boy named Toon who has a round face and big glasses that make him look like a cartoon character gets beat up. Toon gets beat up my a kid that has a gang called the 3-5-7s.

When I read this part in the book I pictured me being Toon and almost getting killed in the facility called progress. After the 3-5-7s gang was done with Toon the facility had to take him in to the doctor's to see if he had anything broken he didn't just was in alot of pain. But I imaged me getting almost killed in progress.

saraa22 said...

I am reading the book Touching Spirit Bear. It is about a guy named Cole and he is a juvenile delinquent that brakes into a hardware store and the police don't catch him. So after a couple weeks at school he starts bragging about it and one of the guys he told went home and told the police. The next day Cole went to school and started beating up the guy who told and he kept spiting on him and then he slammed his head into the concrete parking lot.

This reminds me of one of our Logan Elm
high school football
games when two guys got in a fight and one of the guys went to jail and the other went to hospital in serious condition. The guy who started the fight is the one in jail. The one guy who went to the hospital was thrown up against a fence slammed into the concrete and punched in the face. The other guy didn't have a scratch on him.

Ashlee J said...

Rehab by Randi Reisfeld


The book that I am reading in Reading Workshop is Rehab. I am at this one part in the book where this girl named Kenzie is in rehab and she has to go to group therapy.

I imaged group therapy like school. I imaged group therapy like school because at school there is a lot of people and at group therapy there is a lot of people.

Just image like all of the students at school are like all the people at group therapy and image that all the teachers are the therapist.If you are not getting the picture then maybe you should read the book to get a picture of your own.

Lindsey H said...

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

In my book there is a girl that is into nature. She lives in town with lots of houses everywhere around her and she has a big Sycamore tree by her house and that is all she does is play in the Sycamore tree.

I can relate to this book by the girl because I can picture her in the tree everyday watching the sunset of orange fire shooting though the clouds.

I can picture her in the tree watching the sunset of orange fire shooting though the clouds! This girl is in love with a boy named Bryce and I can picture her thinking about getting her first kiss with him but she keeps embarrassing herself instead.

This girls name is Julianna and she is in love with this boy named Bryce and he wants nothing to do with her and she is chasing after him. she gives his family a carton of eggs and Bryce thinks they are poisoned.

Nick U said...

In Reading Workshop I'm reading Missing by M. Sobel Spirn.

In Missing there is this kid name Sam. Sam lies a lot and one day when Sam went to his dad's to put up his book bag so he could go to the park with Josh and two men walked out of his dad's house with his dad and the two men through his dad in the car and took off. Sam told his mom and she didn't believe him. So Sam and Josh stared to look for Sam's dad.

I'm like Sam I would look for my dad if he got kidnapped and know one believed me.

dustinf2222 said...

Wierd In the Book I am reading the boy tried to help the girl before she hit the wire in the trail when she was snowboarding. Then when I read more in to the book. The girl hit the boy for trying to kill her but the boy was trying to help her from getting killed. Then I pictured that the girl didn't see him taking the wire off of the tree. So when the girl hit the wire she got mad because he did not save her from the wire but he tried. Then the boy showed the girl his hands that had blood on it and she still did not believe him for trying to take off the wire. Then I read more into the book and she still didn't believe him. If I picture me being the boy trying to save the girl and then I get punched in the face by the girl. It is a good book if you can picture it.

Megan said...

In Reading Workshop the good readers are one with the book.

Yes I was involved in my book Vamped by Lucienne Diver as Gina (one of the vamps) creeped down the hall. I could see her in the hall as quite as a mouse and as sly as a cat trying not to get caught.I was asking myself if she was going to get caught.Then Mellisande (a woman who kidnaps vamps and trains them to be in her army.) snapped ''what are you doing here!'' in an evil voice.Then she marched right pass Gina.

heath said...

In reading WorkShop I am read a book by Gary Paulsen. The book is The Transall Saga.

It is about a thirteen year old kid named mark go's on a hike in the desert. He is transported to a new planet and time by mysterious beam of light. The plant had red grass and trees. The first people on the planet he finds are green. He must find a way back home and make a new life on the plant why he doing that.

I can,t relate to the book but I can picture it. The and I think it the best book ever.

stephend22 said...

THE CAR

The character I am like is Terry. He is trying to fix an old rusted car! I like to learn and work about that stuff.


When terry is working hard and he gets hungry he eats lunch meat! most of the time when I'm splitting wood or something I'll eat that if I'm hungry!


Terry doesn't even care about his grades, I care about my grades a lot! He doesn't even care about what he eats. that's surprising. I know I care a lot about what I eat.

Austin D said...

The book I am reading is Shiloh. I like the book because the main Character Marty loves a dog he calls Shiloh. Shiloh is the best book I have ever read because it is about a boy that found a dog and he likes it, but the owner is mean to the dog.

Marty and his dad brought Shiloh to the owner Judd. Judd kicks and beats Shiloh and Marty doesn't like it. Marty or his dad do not like Judd because he always causes problems for people. Judd is the mean character in the book.

I relate to this book because my dog Cowboy is just like Shiloh. My dog is a Pit Bull and he is friendly just like Shiloh. I play with my dog every day. I also have another dog named Lexi. She is a Doberman Pinscher. She is a friendly dog but she is hyper and excited all the time. I love both of my dogs, they are the best dogs I have ever had.

CassieD. said...

The book I am reading in Reading Workshop is Hoot. I relate to this book because in this book when Roy and his two friends are riding down a road with a barbed wire fence and a cop goes down the road. Sometimes I ride my bike down the road with barbed wire fence and a cop has gone down the road when I was riding my bike.
Another way I connect to this book is Roy makes me think of myself in a way. He is very curious and has a lot of fun.I am just like that in many ways.One time we caught a praying mantis and did a whole bunch of research and was able to keep for a week. then we let him go. He sounds like someone I could be friends with (If he was real!).

Jared said...

Right now the book I'm reading is Shiloh.
Becky has mood swings most the time. I can picture Becky as my sister having mood swings like being happy and all the sudden angry. My sister has mood swings if I were to make her angry then My mom makes sis happy.

I picture myself as Marty, Marty always likes to take his dog for walks and go places and so do I with my dog Max. One last thing My mom is also like Marty's mom in the book, My mom is always polite and serious.

Alex H. said...

In the book Chasing Yesterday #1 Awakening J.D and Daniel are running from this woman with a Taser gun and they run in this abandon house. When they went inside there was nothing. I mean n o t h i n g .On the outside the paint was all off. The windows where smashed and some boards were missing on the porch.

It reminds me of an abandon house I have seen before with the paint scraped off and some windows smashed . So when I was reading that part in the book I could really picture the house.

dustin said...

I relate to the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID THE LAST STRAW because  burying a time capsule seems like something I would do in real life. In the 5th I made a time capsule. We are supposed to get them when we graduate.

ALISON G. said...

In the book Fever, there is a girl named Matilda. Her friend Polly died. Matilda was worried about Polly and her mom just said Matilda go to bed you got to get up early to help me clean out the fire pit.

I relate to that in my life because ill be worried about something that is going to happen or already happed, and my mom will just be like " Go to bed u got to get up early and help me clean".

caleb said...

I relate to Jack in my book, Ghost Town at Sundown because he rounded up the cows and put them behind the fence. Sometimes my dad and I round up the cows. When I round up the cows, I worry about them getting out . I think Jack feels the same way. Me and Jack looks like the same age.

HayleyF said...

he book that I am reading it is called CIRQUE DU FREAK A Living Nightmare. The title just said to my mind get that book. I have read this book four times before so I know what happens.

The charters in Cirque Du Freak are Darren, Steve, Alan, Annie Mr. Crepsly. The setting in Cirque Du Freak is at school, at Darren's home, at Steve's home, at a old theater, in the hospital at a old abandoned Theater.

How the book relates to me is that I had a friend in 2nd grade that got bit by a spider. Jordon, my friend got sick and was going in and out of consciousness just like Steve.

I think that I am like the main charter because Darren is worried that Steve will die. I was scared that Jordon would die. One of the differences between Darren and me is that I want to be a Vampire and he doesn't want to.

DawnB said...

The book I am reading in Reading Workshop does not connect with me because this boy is always jumping off the walls and being noisy all the time. But with me I am always calm and quite. I'm nothing like Joey Pigza.

In one part of the book Joey and his classmates and some teachers and some moms all went on a field trip to the Amish. The Amish cooked some pies called shoofly pies and Joey took off with one of the pies and ran into the corn field and started eating and shoving it in his face. But if I went to the Amish for a field tripe and they cooked really good pies I would not, absolutely not run off with a pie into a corn field and start eating the whole pie. I am not that kind of person who would do something like that.

andrewm said...

I relate to Spongebob in Spongebob Squarepants Survival guide because his friend is his nieghbor. He knows a lot of people. He goes to school. Sponge bob also does a lot of random things in his spare time.

My friend is my nieghbor. I know a lot of people. I go to school. I also do a lot of random things in my spare time. I relate to Spongebob in a lot of ways.

Caitlin W. said...

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

I am reading Hatchet.
Brian's pilot has a heart attack. He has no one to drive the plane. There is no where to land Brian is going to land in the lake. I picture it, but it feels like they are landing in Lake Ontario because the book said Brain going to Canada to see his dad, but don't know what part of Canada.
When the plane crashes, Brian is the sole survivor. Left with only the clothes on his back and a hatchet that his mother gave him as a parting gift. Brian must the devastating truth. He must learn to survive.I would like stay out in woods and learn to survive. I like this book a lot.

Cade V. said...

In On The Run 2,The Fugitive Factor a brother and sister broke out of juvenile corrections and went from Nebraska to Massachusetts to prove their parents innocent. They find their aunt a trader that turns them in but the boy got away. Then he sneaks into the police station and finds the room that she is in. He looks in the room that the police called the crash pad. It has a folding cot that cops take a nap in between shifts. It also has a small bathroom. He looks every where doesn't find her. She is crouched down in the closet hiding behind uniforms. She thinks it is the killer from the summer house that she watched out of the window pull into the parking lot of the police station. He was nicknamed Hairless Joe.
I picture it as a little girl scared to death like her house is getting robbed. I also picture it as a little girl playing hide and go seek. I can see it as a a girl scared of their parents were fighting or she gets scared during the night. I can can see a lot of pictures in this book.

Katie said...

In the book I'm reading My Last Best Friend there is a character named Jenna. She is the popular preppy girl. I do not relate to her because, she think she is perfect and best at everything and she thinks everyone likes her. I'm not popular or perfect, I have friends but I'm not popular. Jenna does have a lot of friends but not all of them like her. Jenna thinks she is perfect, I'm not perfect I make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes.

Jenna is the class president that is why she thinks she is perfect. The main character Ida has a mom that makes her do things with Jenna, like go to the movies and go shopping together and every time they go someplace together Jenna is mean to Ida. Ida has no friends at school because Ida used to have a best friend named Elizabeth then she moved away.

Jenna is mean to everybody even to her friends. The only people I'm mean to is anyone who makes me mad or my big brother. Whenever somebody else gets a question right and Jenna gets it wrong Jenna always interrupts and changes the subject. Whenever that happens to me I just move on. Whenever one of Jenna's Friends talks to Ida Jenna takes that friend away from Ida. Whenever that happens to me I just talk with them.

Lisa B. said...

In the book I am reading now, Love Stargirl. I am and am not like the main character Stargirl. I am not like her because, she erases her mind. It confuses me but just a little bit. What I am trying to figure out is, Why she erases her mind?

Another reason why I am not like her is. She is home schooled, and I am not. I have never been and probably never will. I don't think that you learn as much when you are home schooled as you do when you are in school.

I am like her because, Stargirl has moved. I moved when I was 5 years old. I moved here from Columbus. It was a big change, but I am so happy that I did. If I didn't move here Mr. McGuire wouldn't be my teacher.

Dylan H said...

I’m reading Ranger’s Apprentice 4. Will is different from me because he’s a warrior. And I’m still in school. Also I have never been out in open ocean. Will has but it wasn’t his choice. So I can’t think of any way I am the same as Will.

Really being a warrior is some thing you have to practice to do. Also being in open ocean is something that can be done at any time. So the ways we are different are not permanent ways that we are different.

caleb said...

I relate to Jack in my book, Ghost Town at Sundown because he rounded up the cows and put them behind the fence. Sometimes my dad and I round up the cows. When I round up the cows, I worry about them getting out . I think Jack feels the same way. Me and Jack looks like the same age.

jakob said...

I'm reading a book called Outernet. its a pretty good book. On the cover of it has a guy named Jack and he has green beard and an orange hair. When I was in pre-school. I had got my hair spiked and my mom got orange hair coloring and I had orange spiked hair. It was cool.

This is a good book it tells you about Galaxies,space and there's been some pretty good adventures in this book to. This book makes a connection to me by, When I was little I got my hair color orange and the guy named jack has his hair orange.


This book has all kinds of weird stuff in it. Like there's orange aliens,Talking dogs and cats,Talking spaceships. This book just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

tylerw said...

I relate to my book because the character likes to ride horses. I like to ride horses too. It reminds me of riding with Shawn and my uncle Rob. We rode in the corn filed for like three hours.

In the book I am reading the Indians went to hunt buffalo and they could not find any so they made a fire and danced around. In like three days they found buffalo. That is like when I went hunting. I hunted for thee days and finally got a deer. I was excited