Our school is participating in the global read aloud this year and I couldn’t be more excited. The book for 2nd and 3rd graders is The BFG by Roald Dahl. With fun made up words and fantastical elements, I can’t think of a better book than The BFG.
During a portion of our reading block some students from all three second grade classes come to my room for a reading small group. Over the next few weeks I will read aloud The BFG and we will discuss it. While that is something we could do with any book, what makes this book special is that classes from around the globe are reading it at the same time. I have been reaching out through Twitter (#gra16) to connect with classrooms from around the globe so we can discuss The BFG together.
In our first week of reading, while I am still working out classroom connections, my class listened, discussed and then came up with answers to some questions posed on Twitter for all classrooms to answer. Students were excited to add to the conversation and see what other students and classes had to say about the story. I believe this kind of literature discussion makes reading more meaningful. It isn’t just a teacher saying, listen to this story now answer these questions. Instead it is a global conversation where students from around the world are a reading and talking with one another to share their opinions about a book. How exciting!
I can’t wait to see where our global read aloud takes us. Hopefully we will be able to connect with a few classes from around the globe to see what students from other countries think of The BFG. If you are a teacher looking for a class to connect with or know a classroom that would like to participate leave a comment!
Katy
1 Comment
What a great way to show how kids are kids all over the world. Reading the same book and answering the same questions is a way to make connections. I am glad to see you are participating in an event like this – it ties in so well with your global learning.