Most elementary school teachers will agree that reading centers are a necessary part of any well-rounded reading curriculum. But what do you do when you’re feeling burned out on the same old centers year after year? If you’re looking for some new ideas, then look no further! A quality novel study goes way deeper than just comprehension skills. It will lead your students to practice a wide variety of reading skills using the text from the novel as their source. Because of that versatility, they are easy to incorporate into your reading centers as well. Here are five ways to use a novel study in reading centers that will engage your upper elementary students.
1. Use a novel study page as a pre-reading prediction activity.
A quality novel study will ask students to make some predictions about what they are getting ready to read or might read later in a book. To practice predicting, set a few books at a reading station and have students make predictions about what the book will be about based on the cover, description, and illustrations. Here is a free prediction recording sheet perfect for the task.
2. Use a novel study page to practice visualization.
Another foundational reading skill that should be included in any novel study is visualization. What scenes are your students creating in their minds based on the action and description in the text. Visualization makes for a fun reading center! All you need is a stack of paper and some drawing materials. Let students draw their visualization and add a caption under the pictures to explain the scene from the book they chose to draw. Leave some tape at the center as well so students can hang their visualizations on the wall as a display.
3. Use a novel study to start a vocabulary station.
Another foundational skill for upper elementary readers is finding new vocabulary and using it. Novels are the perfect places to find new and interesting words. Set up a vocabulary-themed station with a few copies of the current class novel and challenge students to find unknown words from the text. Once they find the word they can write it on a card and supply a definition. For added depth have students identify whether they figured out the definition from the context of the story or looked it up in the dictionary. Or have them make a prediction about the meanings based on context, then look it up in a dictionary to confirm.
4. Use a novel study at a center to practice generating questions.
While reading a novel, create a question-and-answer reading station. This activity helps students think critically about the text and provides them with an opportunity to practice writing higher-level questions. When students visit that center they should think of three thick questions and write each one on an index card to leave for the next visitor. Next, they will choose 3 cards written by someone else at that station and record their answer to the question on the back of the index cards. This activity gets bonus points for practicing the standard for generating questions as well as the reading comprehension standards. Plus, kids will have a blast answering questions written by their classmates and reading the responses to their own questions.
5. Use a novel study at a figurative language station.
This activity makes for a fun scavenger hunt through the text of your current class novel. When students visit the figurative language station, have them look through the text to find examples of figurative language like similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and idioms. Once they find one, have them write the quote and page number on an index card. They can also identify the type of figurative language used and add an illustration before hanging it on the wall near that station or turning it in for you to grade. For added rigor, challenge students to find examples of all 6 types of figurative language listed above.
There are lots of great ways to incorporate a novel study in reading centers or stations for your upper elementary students! If you’re looking for a new way to mix things up, try one (or all!) of these ideas. Having a quality done-for-you novel study as a ready resource can save you hours of planning and prepping your reading stations. Not to mention all the time they save in planning reading comprehension. I’ve got several of my favorites available here. Your students will love the change of pace, and you’ll love seeing them engage with the text in new and exciting ways!
Not sure which book to choose, check out this handy leveled novels list to find the right book for your next novel study.