Multiple Readings
Because JGB stories and poems are rich in ideas and vocabulary, we recommend that students read or hear the story at least twice.
We suggest that the first reading be done orally while students listen or follow along in their books. Hearing the story read aloud helps students get an overall sense of the story. It also helps students understand the selection's tone and grasp unfamiliar vocabulary in context.
"I didn't see that the first time!"
Sustained contact with the text is an important feature of Junior Great Books. Selections are chosen for their ability to reward the attention of multiple readings. The stories and language of these selections are so rich and layered with interpretive potential that the process of discovery and making meaning is not repeated but developed. Meaning continues to grow as careful attention is paid to the text.
Junior Great Books activities encourage students to be curious and generate their own questions as they read. When second and third readings of a text are motivated by students' own desire to learn and make sense, they become powerful opportunities for exploration and discovery.
Multiple readings also create opportunities for employing a variety of reading strategies, like note taking and generating questions.
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