Novel Study Ideas

Are you looking for some creative ideas for novel studies?  There is value to the traditional question and response method and I would encourage including that at times.  However, there are so many things that you could be doing, especially for those children who read books faster than you can have them sit down to answer chapter questions!  Perhaps try out some of the following general ideas and personalize them to the book your child is reading/has read:

1.  build a model of the house or an interesting location in the book or specific chapter
2.  create a 2D or 3D map showing the travels of the main character
3.  write a review of the book including a summary, the highlights and lowlights and reasons for their own critique
4.  research an interesting aspect of the book and write a report about it (a location, a skill/job/trade, a medical/emotional condition, a type of animal, etc)
5.  find one (or more) concepts in the book that could be used to symbolize God, His love or a fruit of the Spirit, and give reasons
6.  do a word study by choosing some interesting vocabulary and learning/writing their meanings
7.  choose a section of the novel to present to your family as a monologue, memorize it (word for word or the 'flavour' and content) and present it to your family (costumes are optional!)
8.  explain what the general message(s) of the story is/are
9.  create a crossword puzzle of the key words/interesting vocabulary of the story and write the clues so that someone else can fill in the answers (which are the chosen words from the book)
10.  compare the book to other books by the same author or that have a similar theme and write about the similarities between them
11.  identify a personal connection made in each chapter (connections are when something you read reminds you of something else), connections can be to personal experiences, other books, media items, family discussions, even world events
12.  find a descriptive section in the book and draw a picture (paint, model, etc) of what you imagine the author is describing - with details (special item like a treasure chest, a main character, the view described by the author...)
13. create a set of comprehension questions for your family to give back to you as the test for the book (make them good or they won't use them!)
14.  act out your favourite scene in the story and recruit your family members to play parts alongside of you.

Keep going with your ideas!  :)  Having your child write either answers or responses/reflections about a book and then doing one of the above ideas is enough work for kids who want to finish the book the same day they start it.  If your child spends a week reading the novel, then have him/her finish two of the above projects, along with some writing.  If your child spends longer reading the book, you may want them to complete one of the above assignments for every chapter or every other chapter.  The main goals are cultivating a love for reading and helping to ensure your child is understanding what he/she is reading.  Have fun with this!

Virtual Grade 6-8 Book Club

Are you interested in joining a book club?  Grade 6-8 students are invited to join our HCOS Virtual Book Club.  Check out the details at:

Grade 6-8 Virtual Book Club

Reading Clubs

Join and become a reading buddy!  Check out the information at

K-3 Reading Buddies

Want Access to More Free Resources?

The Heritage Christian Schools Learning Commons is having a webinar to show you the resources available to you as HCOS families and how to access those resources - some practically instantly (digital sources)!!  Check out:

The Learning Commons

BC Lions Faith Night

Do you enjoy Canadian football?  Think you may be in the Vancouver area in November?  Check out this opportunity!  https://fluidsurveys.com/s/bc-lions-faith-night-2014/

*A word of warning this event runs LATE and thus is not recommended for young children. It was after 11pm when we were exiting the building last year.

After the game, some of the Lions' players and coaches will address a crowd of atendees for this event. They will share a Christian message with us, answer some questions and even sign a few autographs. (This was a great event last year.)  

The Learning Commons

The Learning Commons is a resource-packed virtual place for our HCOS families to visit, use, tour, download from and more!  Here is a newsletter to help you to discover some of the cool stuff they have available for you!  Follow the link:

The Learning Commons

WOW!

Our Ft. Nelson WOW - Week of Welcome - event is this Friday at the pool from 1:30-2:30.  I believe this is the same event as last year and the year before (it must be a great time!).  When you arrive, let the staff know that you are with HCOS and then go have a swim!  Have fun everyone!  Bruce and i are sorry that we won't be there for the event - perhaps one day we will be attending this WOW!  :)  We are looking for someone who would be willing to pick up the coffee and donuts form Timmy's.  If you can, please respond on the Facebook page.  Thanks!!

Have a great time everyone!

SLPs and Reporting

What a treat it is to connect with families to consider the learning goals and plans for this coming year!  I have enjoyed the calls and emails that have given a picture of what you plan to do for homeschooling this year.  I'm still waiting for some more information from a couple of you, however most of the SLPs are done and many of you are already in the swing of sending in your learning reports.  Thank you everyone!  It's a pleasure to work with you and pray for you.

We are all in this together!

Want to Go to Space?

What does it take to go from teenager to space explorer? Retired NASA Astronaut, Commander John Herrington, will share his personal journey as a youth who didn’t think the world held much opportunity for him, but who discovered that he could truly be whatever he wanted to be. And so can you!

Join us for a free PIR Live Event on Sep 11th, 2014, at 12:30-1:30 PM EDT. Tune in to the live webcast and post questions on Twitter using the hashtag #askHerrington!

For more information, visit  http://www.vroclive.com/Public/Live_Event/Flyer_Meet-an-Astronaut_Herrington.pdf

To join the conversation, register at http://bit.ly/1lYZpr1 

As long as you can watch a YouTube video with your computer/device, you will be able to tune into this webcast — no special software required.