CLASSROOM USES CONTINUED
Reading Diagnostic Tool – The game’s questions reveal knowledge about students’ lives, passions, hobbies, likes and dislikes that can drive the teacher’s choice of books to stock his/her library with, reflecting student interest. The game’s booklists component will also reveal the authors that your students know, like, or need exposure to as a starting point for suggesting books to students and parents to read and enjoy together. The questions in the game will give the teacher information regarding what areas of comprehension his/her students are weak and strong in. This information can help drive instructional choices and modeling. The cards are labeled with story elements and levels. See Bloom’s Taxonomy and Story Elements.
Book Club Event (Events- A daytime classroom/school event, an evening classroom or whole school event Fundraiser) – Families come, share a book and play The Book Club Game. Teachers, parents, and students get hands-on playing time to see how much fun the game is and all that it does. Participants leave with bookmarkers of great titles and a sampling of the questions to be asking themselves (or their children) before, during, or after reading. (This can be done as a fundraiser where games may be purchased at the event and money goes back to the school for each game sold.) See Events.
Grades 7-12 Edition of The Book Club Game, What’s the Big Idea? offers an exciting alternative way to analyze literature without dissecting a story until it is unrecognizable, but still incorporating critical thinking. Following a fun collecting of the facts of a story, the game allows students to view literature at a higher level through a guided sharing
of perspectives developing a genuine love for reading. Students also reinforce and build communication skills as the game mastery demands listening as well as speaking within a strategy that all are given equal time to do both. There is no down time within this interactive game where each person’s turn is everyone’s turn.
The Reading Companion Journal Guides, at all levels, offer individuals all the reading strategies, critical thinking and comprehension skills of the games in a silent journaling format. These can be consumed or reused many times with an empty journal. They can be used by the class individuals as seat work to prepare for The Book Club Game or What’s the Big Idea? while others are playing the game at a center or designated class table. They are also ideal for the teacher that likes a “quiet classroom”. They can be used to prepare for a whole class game with the Large Game Edition.
The Large Game Edition can be used with the whole class in teams.
