How to Teach Through Chapter Books
Students should always be able to enjoy simply sitting down in a comfortable spot and reading a chapter book. Sometimes however, you'll want to use a chapter book for a series of lessons. Many chapter books lend themselves very well to the study of a variety of literary concepts. The best books also give you the opportunity to teach history, geography or science in context. You can create an entire unit based on a chapter book that you've decided has value and will captivate your class.
Instructions
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Select a chapter book that is slightly above the students' independent reading level. This will give you the opportunity to use the book to teach vocabulary words that are unfamiliar to many of your students. It also gives students who are insecure readers, the opportunity to expand their reading skills without becoming frustrated if they attempt to read the book without guidance. The book you choose should have content appropriate to the maturity level of the students, and ideally, should provide an opportunity to study rich language and tie into other content areas.
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Obtain enough books for each student to have his/her own copy to read during class. If you are teaching a higher level course, students should be given a copy of the book to take home for periods of independent reading.
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Decide what activities will work well with the book you chose. All chapter books lend themselves well to studying vocabulary and literary elements such as similes, metaphors, themes and character. You can tie in language arts activities that deal with these learning goals. You may want to add activities that help students create a personal connection with the book, such as writing a letter from the point of view of one of the characters, writing an alternate ending to the story or writing a critique. International Reading Association President Kathryn H. Au advises teachers to, "Teach students to generate their own questions about the text." This increases reading comprehension. You'll find that students will become more involved with the story when they have this opportunity.
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Create a timeline with activities that you want to use during your chapter book study. Don't make the book unit too long, or students will become tired of the book long before you've finished. Three weeks is a good amount of time to read and study a chapter book.
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Plan a project to implement at the end of the unit. You can have students create a board game based on events in the book, make a travel brochure detailing the advantages of visiting the setting of the book, or put on a puppet show where they reenact their favorite chapter. One project that artistic students enjoy is making a comic book based on events in the book. Whatever the project, consider counting it as an exam grade, as students can often demonstrate understanding better through projects than through recalling facts on an exam.
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