Dear Readers,
I have participated in many book conversations over the course of my life. Some conversations leave me feeling energized and thinking about things in a new way. For example, the last book my book club read led us to a discussion of history and the connection between war and religion. The book was about War World II and it opened our eyes to a part of history we were not aware of during this war. We pushed our thinking and I walked away from the conversation pondering how this time in history influenced culture and religion in Europe. Deep, I know!
However, I have also had conversations that are dull and I don't leave any smarter than if I had just thought about the book on my own. Often times these conversations are just a retelling of the book or people sit there quietly, not wanting to push the conversation to a new level.
I am interested in what you think a good book conversation needs to in order to be energizing and thoughtful.
When have you had a great book conversation? What made it great? When have you had a dull book conversation? What made it dull?
Remember to reread your post to make sure you answer all the questions and edit your typing!
33 comments:
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I have had a good book conversation with my Literature Colleague about the books that we are reading. We talked about the plot, problem, solution, and the characters traits. We have also had a few other book conversations too with some of my friends and they will actually recommend books too. It was great because it was open minded and their opinion with some really good detail. It was also good in some ways and they were also recommendations for the book since they liked them a lot and some were even some series. I have had a not so good book conversation with someone and we were sort of tired and that we were not really on top of things that day. It turned out that we were reading the same book so we were like, “Oh we don’t need to have a book conversation we are reading the same book”, so even though we should’ve had one we didn’t want to so it was a sort of not so good book conversation.
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I have had a great book conversation with Michael. We talked about the first "Hunger Games". Our conversation led to us talking about how Peeta stayed alive. We thought, and decided that if it wasn't for Katniss, Peeta wouldn't be alive. The conversation was good because we were honest about our opinions.
Michael and I have also had a bad book conversation. The book was "The Gold Threaded Dress." We said that Olivia/Oy would never make any friends because she was new from Thailand. The conversation was bad because we didn't give any details about the story and we skimmed through it quickly.
dear Ms.Sikes,
I have had a dull book conversation at morning meeting when we do the two circles and switch each time. I don't like this book conversation because I feel like we don't have enough time to ask questions and really take in what that person said before you have to change to the next person book converstion was with James
sinserely,
LT
Miss.Sikes,
To be honest I haven't really had a great, out there, reading conversation. In the past I’ve had some really bad, boring, non outgoing, book conversations. One really bad one was the time I had a reading book club with my big sis. We read a book called "The Titanic". When we both finished the book we sat down and talked about it. Our book conversation was all right, but not great. We talked about how we hated this part, or how we loved that part, but it didn't mean anything. It was boring, not out going, not exiting, and half the time we couldn't read the book! My advice for a book club is to pick out a book that is "just right". Sorry if I bloged twice. Didn't know if it sent.
Dear Mr. Sikes
I have had a good book conversation. It was great because my partner and I answer every question and answered it deeper than regular thought. I have had a dull book conversation, but I forgot who it was. It was dull because we didn’t get to the main point of our thinking. We didn’t have deep thoughts about what we were talking about. They were just regular thoughts.
Your student,
Camden Johnson
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I have not really had a great book conversation, but I have had an okay book conversation. One time I was having a book conversation with my friend. It was okay because we could have asked more questions to further our conversation, but other that it was good. We talked about the main characters, the plot, the setting, and most importantly we gave a summary of what we read. Unfortunately I have had a dull book conversation. My partner didn't really know what was going on in his book. That is why it is important to Read Alive. He didn't know the characters, the setting, or how to summarize his book.
I have had good book conversations with the class about The GoldThreaded Dress. It was the end of the book and every thing was coming together. We were talking about the character named Frankie and how much he changed from the beginning of the book until the end. It was great because we all talked about it as a class. Also because every body had the same question to answer but every answer was different. Every answer helped opening my brain to other possible answer that leaded me to new way of thinking. I have had a few dull conversation with my Reading Colleague that did not have much thinking put into them, but instead just saying the main parts, and the “conversation” is over. Sometimes the case is we are in a hurry but we don’t think about the more deep questions. I have always felt good when I am in a good book conversation that makes me think at a new level.
Ms. Sikes,
When I have a great book conversation everyone is engaged, talking about it, or using stratigies. They also are thinking deeply and listening what other people think. I have had a really great one when we were reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in Mrs. Pfister’s class. Each day after we read the book we would always have a really good conversation. I have never really had a dull book conversation. I think it would be like… people not listening, or not thinking deeply, and not being engaged.
Dear Ms. Sikes
A good book conversation includes, paying attention to your partner, eye contact, and getting into details but not way too far. Sometimes one thing can lead to another (example realistic history): You start with the main character for the book ,and then you just want to tell more about what the character does, and after you told your partner what the character does and how he/she got invlolved, and so on until you find yourself talking about REAL HISTORY that was near that time period. When I talk with my partner we both like to ask each other questiones about what part we are in , in our books , and sometimes we ask questiones about how we like our books. Our conversation at morning meeting could last for minutes! But, luckily you stop us after about 1 or 2 minutes. Lots of good book conversations have questiones, and more deeper thinking.
Ms.Sikes,
I had a conversation with my Mom about The Hunger Games. We talked about what it would be like to live during that time. To live in the future and see what the planet would look like.
A dull conversation I've had was with my friend. He was talking about his book and he gave me a complete play-by-play of the whole book. That ruined the book for me and I decided not to read it.
Ms.Sikes,
When I had a great book conversation was with my mom asking her about "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riaoradan. What made it great was that we talked about what was going on in the book and if we liked that part or not. When I had a dull book conversation was with my friend. What made it dull was when I d=hadn't read the book and the friend wasn't giving muck detail.
Dear Ms. Sikes,
One day my friend Margret, and I were having a book conversation. It was a gook conversation because she told about the book in a way so that I really wanted to read the book, and she explained the book without giving away the ending.
Another day a friend of mine said to me,” You should read The Lost Hero.” It was not a good conversation because they told me nothing about the book
Dear Ms.Sikes,
I had a book conference about my book. It was a dull book conversation. All we talked about is the summary. We put no detail into the conversation. It felt awful. I felt like that person wasn’t listening to me. Putting no detail made it really dull. When I had my first book conversation that person was excited about the conversation. He put in how the character reacted to the situation, and how his characteristics were different in the beginning. An actual book conversation felt amazing. You can say oh, I want to read that if you convert with the partner right. Telling about good opinions and how the story went on in your own way made it feel awesome!
Ms. Sikes,
I had a good book conversation with Sophia. It was about Charlotte's Web, and The Witches. Th.e conversation was very very good
What made it grate was that we asked questions to each other, and recommended books. At one point we made sure it is a just right book. Once during a period we gave a short summary to each other.
Last year with my brother we had a very very dull conversation. It just did not feel right. The books were about The Lightening Thief, and Peter and The Star Catchers.
What made it dull was that the books were not right for us at the time. We were giving a summary, and there was not any excitement on our faces. We could not explain the book's well. It was not a just right book.
I have a great reading conversation when people you are talking to ask questions to deepen your thinking. And I have a good conversation when you just started or ended a book because, if you start a new book you can make predictions about your book.If you end a book you can tell about the book.But, if the person you are talking to is in the middle of the book that is also fine with me.
I have a dull conversation when the person you are talking to is asking no questions at all and you are stuck with a awkward moment... Nobody likes that! I also have a dull conversation when the person is fidgeting with a feather, pillow, hair, and many other things.
I had a great book conversation when I was reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I think I had good book conversation because it was a book I was liking it so far. Also because I was reading alive and really into my book before the conversation. I had a dull conversation once because I was in a very boring part and it was hard to have a good conversation when it was boring. Then I worked through the boring part and things went back to normal.
I have had a great book conversation that was with my Mom. She asked me what the story was about, what it's characters were, the setting, and if I enjoyed it. It was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The time I had a dull conversation was when I finished the Hunger Games. I told her that it was not enjoyable, it was sad, there was too much violence and killings, and that I could never like it. Right now I am reading an enjoyable book called The Secret Garden.
Ms. Sikes,
I have great book conversations with my literacy Collie when we are talking and going over what we read from the night before. We push our conversations by asking questions but not spoiling the book for each other. A dull conversation is the other way around than a good conversation, because you are not sure what you are talking about, or not pushing your conversation to a new level from reading alive. Jack and like to push to a new level and try new challenges to have a good book conversations.
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I have had a great book conversation.
What made it great was that we pushed our thinking to a new level. We asked questions like... What do you predict will happen next? How would the story be changed if the character chose a different decision? How did the character react to a problem, and how would you react to the problem? We told how we felt reading the book. If we got lost and what point we got lost in the book.
I have had a dull conversation. What made it dull was that we just told if we liked the book, what page we were on, and then totally switched subjects.
Your student,
Anna
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I have had a great book conversation at school when we were talking about The Gold Threaded Dress. What made it so great is that everybody was particapating in the conversation and everybody had something to say. I have had a dull book conversation last year when our class was talking about a book and all we talked about was the summary of the book.
I think that one of the best conversations I ever had about a book would probably be with my mom on a Sunday afternoon while we were reading . We got very into what the book was about and she had said a lot of descriptions with her words. The reason it was so great about it was that the conversation kept going and going and we were really engaging to what each other was saying about the book. I would have to say that the book that I chose was not the best book in the world, and the book was not very interesting to talk about unless we made some of it funny.
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I had a good book conversation last year when we had book clubs. What makes a good book conversation is when you are focused, know what you are talking about, and enjoy the book. A few months ago I had a dull conversation with a friend because we were not reading alive, were not focused, and did not have a just right book.
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I agree with the things you said.
I've had two great book conversations. They were both with Briah. The first one was an e-mail. I had sent her an e-mail asking what book she's reading. She responded with not only what the book was called , but she told me a lot about the book without giving it away. It was as if she told me just enough but did not give it away. The second one was a Sammy Keyes book. This time she did the same thing but she said her favorite parts and described one of the characters.
One time we were in the classroom and I asked a friend what book he was reading. He said Goosebumps. So I asked him what it was about. He said "a monster." That was all he said so I think that's a dull book conversation.
Dear Ms. Sikes,
I once had a good book conversation after we finished reading The Gold Threaded Dress. It was a good book conversation because we talked about how some of the character's personalities changed. We also talked about how Oy learned a very important lesson. Another thing we talked about was how Oy looks different, and she is being bullied because she looks different. When our conversation was over I felt like it was good to take time to really think about what we read, and also to share some of our connections and thoughts.
I have had a dull book conversation with my dad. We talked about where we had left off in our books. We would also talk about what we had just read, but we never really discussed it with deep thinking.
Dear Mrs.Sikes,
I have had good book conversations with my partner, we would explain what are happening in our books. Sometimes it is very intesting, and sometimes it's dull, so yes, I have had both kinds of conversations. But, most of the time I have good conversation.
`When I have a great book conversation it was with Mathew. It was when we were thinking what happend and then we got into ts,tt,tw and recamendation to eachother about the book. It makes me feel happy when I have a good conversation.Sometimes I want to talk about a book really badly but we cant.
I have had a dull conversation. What made it dull is that we did not go into deatale.We only talked about a deataleless summary I felt like I did not learn anything about the other persons story.
I had a great book conversation after reading a Nancy Drew the dancing pupet. My best friend Aaliyah was reading that book the same time with me. What we would do is she would come over to my house, and we would set my moms kitchin timer to twenty minutes.
Every time the timmer went off we talked about the book. I had so much fun having conversations with Aaliyah.
I've had a really dull conversation with my causin. My causin phillip had braces ,so it was hard to understand
him. My causin also made us stop the book about every minute. I started to get confused. We didn't relly discussed it with reading thinking.
I had a great book conversation with my mom about the hunger games. It was about a boy and girl that were poor and wanted to think what would happen next. My mom said it sounds like a good book to read she was right it was. I thought it was a really good book.
My bad conversation was about the 39 clues book I really didn’t like it because it wasn’t that interesting. I thought it didn’t pop out my mom agreed it just wasn’t a good book. I thought it was boring but I kept reading and I still didn’t like it.
Dear Mrs.Sikes,
I do book conference with my mom, my dad, and Carter my brother. They ask me about what I read and all sorts of stuff. We finished The Gold Threded Dress and had a great book conference. I can't wait for the next book.
I had a great book conversation when I just started the Hunger Games. The part that made it great was that I was interested and my mom ,and dad can relate to it. Also I can let out my thinking. I had a dull book conversation last year with a friend. It was dull because all they said is they liked there book ,and they really didn't now what there book was about.
Dear Ms.Sikes
My parner, and I have had a conversation about the new book were reaing called Supper Fudge. This book can get dull, And happy because of how different it is.We cant wate to se what new thing is going to happen in our book.
From,EKC
Dear Ms.Sikes,
I had a really good conversation last year when William and I read the book The Year Of Ms.Agnes. It was a conversation because it was a just right book for both of us, and we both had a lot of questions to ask each other. I had a dull conversation with Regan last year when we were reading Ramona. It was a dull conversation because we didn't like it, and we didn't have any questions to ask each other. Also it wasn't a just right book, and it was a girly book
I agreed with all comments!
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