Family, Culture and Friendship: Fourth Grade Book Group Selections

Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, Any Small Goodness and How Tia Lola Came to Visit/Stay are three books that the fourth grade students have been reading in book groups.  Culture, family and friendship are themes shared with the reader in each of these books. The authors, Lensey Namioka, Tony Johnston and Julia Alvarez, use rich language, description and metaphor to capture the subtleties of characters and how they navigate their culture, create friendships and cement bonds in their own families.

The structure of each book group allows for rich discussion to occur as fourth grade students read and prepare responses to share in book group as starting points for conversation. Connections between the student and a character, connections between their book and another text and connections with society have been explored in this round of book groups as has a close look at character.  We have given much attention to the personality traits that help a character navigate through the story and the way a character changes and grows during the course of the novel.