Today we started our new class read aloud, War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. This book is a classic written in 1898. While it is beyond the independent reading ability of many students, I feel it is a great read aloud because of the rich vocabulary, the exciting story, and the interesting conversations the book will spark. If you have seen the movie (which many students have), you might remember it as being a bit intense. I have discussed this with the class and we all realize it is a book and not true (after all, it was written 112 years ago and the story line clearly never happened!). If your student feels concerned about the intensity of the story line, please let me know; it is not my intention to have kids worried when they head home. I have reminded all students they have every right to let me know if they wish to leave the room for read aloud or have more individual conversations with me about the book to process the story. As a class we will be recapping the story daily to help us sort out the details.
The remaining read aloud choices will be classics. This is a deliberate choice on my part to help introduce more challenging books in a less intimidating fashion than independent reading.
