Newbridge readers review and recommend books

Sixth graders are immersed in literary discussions every day in Danielle Calapai’s class at Newbridge Road Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District. Recently, they added a technology component by making digital book reviews with Google Slides.

With the book club model, each group selects a common book to read and analyze. Reading takes place at home, and students meet the next day to discuss the plot, characters and other literary elements.

Each member of a reading group has an assigned task, such as summarizing the previous night’s reading, making predictions or creating discussion questions. During the discussions, Calapai meets with the groups to assess their understanding of the book and reinforce literacy skills.

Recent books included “The Boy Who Saved Baseball,” “Resistance,” See You on a Starry Night” and “The Tiger Rising.”

After finishing the book, each group collectively wrote a book review. Then, students individually made Google Slide presentations about the book and stating whether or not they would recommend it.

Students linked their presentations to QR codes, which were printed out and hung in the hallway for anyone looking for a book recommendation.

–Jordan Vallone