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Book Discussion: Lulu and the Brontosaurus – Literacious
I just finished a small book discussion with six 3rd & 4th graders about Judith Viorst’s book, Lulu and the Brontosaurus. The kids overall found the book very good and enjoyed the comedic approach to Lulu’s tendency for tantrums. Structure I structure my third and fourth grade book discussions a little differently than I would for my older kids because I have found that this age group, although great about reading the book and answering questions, has a much more difficult time with the discussing part. They can each individually answer my questions, but often have trouble piggybacking off each other’s ideas to create a real discussion. That being said, the kids really like talking about the book itself! Activity After we discuss the book for 20-25 minutes, I provide an activity for the kids to do that can be integrated into the story. Tonight we made baby dinosaurs that hatched out of eggs. It’s a simple craft, but the kids can get creative coloring their dinosaur babies and the eggs too. I also found a link to a maze from the same website. It was exciting to see that the kids take a great deal of time working on their baby dinos and were reluctant to leave until they finished. I normally only schedule these book discussions for about 45 minutes, which gives us just enough time to discuss and work on our activity. I also gave the kids a few minutes to look at other books that I thought they might like after having read Lulu and I was pleased to see that 5 kids took books home with them! Suggested Reading List:
Laura Arnhold