So, last year I started teaching reading using the Daily 5/CAFE model. I have loved it immensely, for the record. I usually start us off by modeling one of the cafe strategies using a read-aloud. Occasionally this will be a picture book, but more often than not it is a chapter book. I'm kind of mixing our "read aloud just for pleasure" with an intro to a strategy. It's relatively low key, about 10 minutes of reading at a time and the kids do not necessarily have a copy of the text to follow along with.
Anyway, this year I flip-flopped our read-aloud between a unit related historical fiction to a high interest fiction chosen by the kids from a pool of six or so books. I found this to be hit or miss for a couple reasons. Sometimes the kids who didn't vote for the winner would be reluctant to enjoy the chosen book. More importantly, we would choose the book about a week before we started reading it and I often scrambled to get materials ready and to match the book up to the CAFE strategies.
This year I'm still going to read historical fiction and then another fiction every other time. But I think I am going to have set books.
So far I'm thinking: Holes, Fake Mustache, Hatchet, Number the Stars, The Phantom Tollbooth and Bridge to Terabithia are all options.
Any other high interest fiction favorites I'm missing? Any picture books that match up well with specific CAFE strategies?
I highly recommend No Talking by Andrew Clements. It's a fantastic book about fifth graders who have a competition between the boys and the girls to see who can go for 2 days without talking. It's very funny, and the kids really enjoy it. I also usually do a writing lesson that ties into the book by making the kids create a class story where they can each only contribute 3 words at a time. It turns into a great lesson about focusing in on a small seed and being descriptive rather than just adding fluff.
1. Because of Winn Dixie
2. Bridge to Terabithia
3. The Mysterious Matter of I.M. Fine
4. The Wednesday Wars
5. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
6. Measle and the Wrathmonk
7. Loser by Jerry Spinelli
8. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie (a few bad words though)
9. The Girl Who Owned a City
I love reading aloud Tuck Everlasting and anything by Roald Dahl.
Other good choices...
Crash
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Bud, Not Buddy
Pictures of Hollis Woods
Mick Harte Was Here
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
I Survived Hurricane Katrina
Harriet the Spy
Blubber
Extra Credit
Shiloh
Esperanza Rising
Holes
Letters From Rivka
The Fighting Ground
Number the Stars
Bridge to Terabithia
Indian in the Cupboard
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (the girls especially- there is a love triangle involved)
Among the Hidden
This year I am going to be doing Holes and When You Reach Me plus some of the titles above.
I see this post is fairly old, but I have to recommend a great set of activities relating to Holes at Flashlight Readers. Even if your kids read this a while ago they will still enjoy this site.
My all time favorite read aloud (for 5th grade) that all of the students loved is "There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom". I went back to that book for theme, plot, subplot, character development, etc. We could discuss that book so much because it resonated with the students.
My other read alouds were Number the Stars, Crash, there is more, but my mind just went blank.
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck is a wonderful read aloud.
Other favorites I have done in 5th grade:
The Skin I'm In (bully content0
My Teacher is an Alien
A Wrinkle in Time
Pictures of Hollis Woods
Anything by Andrew Clements
