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Favorite Books Activities Kit

Favorite Books Activities Kit

The word "Kit" in the title might be a little misleading since this is simply a 324-page book. The word kit is supposed to reflect the completeness of the resource book, which includes quizzes, project ideas, and activity sheets for 48 books appropriate for grades 4-8. Books are divided up into groups of four per month, with attempts to group them seasonally or with a holiday. The four books reflect a range of reading levels, so we could use the easiest books the first year with a fourth grader, then move up to more difficult books in subsequent years.

Three different, reproducible comprehension tests are included for each book, although we only use one. Comprehension questions operate at the lower thinking levels, for the most part avoiding analysis or deeper thinking. Reproducible activity work sheets for each book generally works on language arts skills such as grammar and writing, and sometimes on reading skills. Project pages list a number of wide-ranging ideas such as rewriting a scene from the story, making a poster, and making a model of a room.

Selected books are popular children's literature, which means you and I might not want our children to read all of these books. Short synopses of the books are provided at the beginning of each section so we can be selective. Answers are in the back of the book, and record keeping charts help us track children's reading and scores on tests, activities, and projects.

The value of such a resource is that it saves us having to read all the books our children are reading, yet provides a method of checking up on their comprehension.