That's right folks - a second post today! And there will probably be a third later tonight since I'll be starting a new book shortly. After finishing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the middle of the night, I got a good night's sleep and started a new book this morning. I purposefully chose a simple book, that has been waiting for months to get read, to give me a since of accomplishment after struggling to get the previous book read at all. After only three hours, I achieved success. I just finished reading Extra Credit by Andrew Clements.
Now, if you aren't a school teacher or parent, you probably aren't familiar with Clements writing. But, his writing is simple and easy to read and a great introduction to chapter books for young readers. I studied his book Frindle with my second graders two years ago, and many of my fifth graders read his work. I enjoy his writing very much - he is one of my favorite comtemporary realistic authors.
Extra Credit follows a young girl named Abby, who is dangerously close to failing sixth grade and not being able to move on to middle school. She is given an ultimatium - complete all homework, get a B or better on every test and quiz, and complete an extra credit assignment. Her extra credit is to find a pen pal and do a report on her experiences writing to another child in a foreign country. Fanscinated with rock climbing and mountains, the girl choses to write to a child in Afghanistan. Naturally, this causes trouble both for her and for her pen pal. Clements carefully breaches the subject of prejudice and the war without stepping on toes or going too far into depth.
Extra Credit would make an excellent book study for third or fourth grade with great opportunities to find pen pals for students and allow them to recretate the projet that Abby undertakes. Also a fantastic way to bring multicultural literature and understanding into the classroom. Definitely worth a look if you teach third or fourth or even fifth grades, or if you are a parent of a third, fourth, or fifth grader.
Extra Credit is written by Andrew Clements and published Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Recommended for ages 8-12.
I absolutely loved Frindle. We had pen pals this past year in class and so if I teach 3rd grade again this year, Extra Credit sounds like it might be a winner.
ReplyDelete