Whale Talk - Day 2

Ok, so after the hook activity I was afraid of an anticlimactic second day with Whale Talk. I was wrong.

We spent the first half of class on poetry terms, and I hated it. I like poetry, but wanted to jump right into WT stuff. I didn't. I got them through the terms, but then we talked.

Some of the kids were confused - which I expected because the exposition of WT is a little jumpy, but totally necessary. They asked questions; we answered them together. I asked the 14 students how many had actually done the reading assignment, and only 2 had not. They admitted it, and even told me that they were bummed. They had forgotten, not blown it off because of disliking the novel.

One of the boys in class pointed out that he really loved how realistic this book was. He said that he admires the TJ (the main character) is a good guy (who stands up for the brain-damaged Chris Coughlin).

One girl admitted that, while she wants to believe the best in people, she was skeptical that a real person would do what TJ did.

They all hated Mike (the jock who bullies Chris in ch 1).

I was ecstatic at how many of the social issues they picked up on, and was super excited to read their journals - so excited that I gave up my Saturday afternoon to do so. Here's what I learned from the journals:

All 14 kids like the book so far. 3 even LOVE it. This is because: it's about real-life things, the characters talk like real teens (as in swear. a lot), the issues are ones they encounter everyday, and they like the narrator/main character
They are already making predictions about what will happen - and some of them are correct.
They like TJ, feel bad for Chris, and hate Mike.
Nearly all of them are EXCITED to read more!

Thank you, Chris Crutcher for writing books that get kids to read. And for writing books that I could read everyday and still enjoy.