Class 2 Book Club

Date: 24th Mar 2020 @ 1:26pm

Hi my little rapid readers, 

If you have read beyond chapter 8, please look at the files and have a go at completing some of the qusetions or activties that I have added.

 

In school,  we have really enjoyed reading The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Rauf, so I have had an idea. I wondered if you wanted to join our Book Club. I have bought the book for Grace to read at home,  we have then been meeting each day at 2.30 and talking about the new chapter we have both read.  Sometimes,  I make questions and we both answer them, we even have a drink and some healthy snacks. It is a time we both look forward to each day. 

I wondered if you wanted to join us and create your own Book Club in your  own homes. Most of you won't have had time to buy the book, so I have based the first session on the YouTube video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PzuuQvPkNA

Watch it with someone in your family and then simply have a chat about what you have read. This can be as short or as long as you like. Grace and I are both quite chatty, so our first Book Club lasted about 20 minutes. Obviously, we ( Class Two) have already read this chapter in school, but is there anything that you didn't notice the first time? 

What are your first impressions of the character telling the story? What do we know about them? Do we know their name? Do you think they are a girl or a boy?  Have you ever heard of Tintin? ( Why don't you google him?)

Do you understand why the character is so excited about stationary? What do you think is the best thing about the beginning of term?

What do we know about the friends, can you remember their names? How would you describe each one in three words?

Which friend is in most of your school memories? 

Which teacher would you prefer Mrs Khan or Mr Thompson, why?

Do you know what ingenious means? 

Is there an empty chair in Class Two? Has anyone joined Class Two recently? Can you remember any children that have left?

What do we know about the boy who joins the class? 

We hope you have a good time in your Book Club, please post pictures if you can. Grace and I will try and post some back. 

Happy reading!

Love Mrs E

 

Day 2, 

Hi all, 

I hope that you enjoyed your Book Club, and liked sharing the book with other members of your family. What did they think about it?

If you still haven't been able to actually get the book, you can google: chapter 2 the boy at the back of the class on YouTube. This chapter is called  The boy with the lion eyes. 

How do you think the new boy (Ahmet) was feeling at the beginning of this chapter?  Why do you think this? 

Are there any descriptions that you think are particularly effective?  

From what you have read, how would you describe Clarisa?

Where do you think the boy goes at luncht-break and break time? Why?

What do you think about the character Jennie and the stories she tells? 

Who do you think the woman in the red scarf is? 

Happy reading, enjoy chapter 2. 

xxxxxxx 

 

Chaper 3

Hi, 

How are you all getting on? I hope that you are enjoying the book so far.  Grace and I are now on Chapter 7 and we are really enjoying finding out lots about the characters in the story. We very often start talking about the book and then our conversations turn into chats about the world around us, and Grace might ask me questions about things she has heard about linked to the story. Has this happened in your Book Club.

I have looked on YouTube and there is a lady reading Chapter 3 - Forty Winks,  I hope you enjoy listening to this together. If you have got the book, I hope that you are enjoying reading it. Grace and I take turns each day, and still meet at 2.30pm if we can.  Yesterday, I was in school so  we had a longer Book Club today, talking about two chapters. 

Here are some points you might want to discsus in your Book Club:

Chapter 3

If you could whisper some cheerful words to the seed, what would they be? Do you think this will work?

Have you ever won a prize? When and what for?

How does the narrator describe Brendan- the -Bully- Brooker? How does this make us feel about him? 

What do we learn about Mrs Khan in this chapter? Is she like the other teacher, especially the way she treats Brendan?

Do you know what a rumour is? What were some of the rumours circulating around the class about the boy? 

What is seclusion? Does it remind you of anything at this time? 

Happy reading, and happy weekend. 

Mrs E

Welcome back, we hope that you have all had a lovely Easter holiday. Grace and I have continued with our Book Club and are now on chapter ten. 

We have discussed some of the following things:

What we have learnt about the narrator's mum, how is she different to the other parents? How would you describe her?

What do we now know about their dad? 

We have now been introduced to some other teachers, what are your impressions of Mr Iron? 

Where does Ahmet come from? Do you know anything about this country? Can you find it on a map? 

What language does Ahmet speak? 

What is the role of Ms Hemsi's, have you ever heard of a translator? Is there anyone in school who speaks a different language at home? How do you help them in school?

Why was Ahmet suddenly allowedin the playground? How do you think he felt?

Have your opinions about the group of friends changed? Would you behave in the same way as them towards Ahmet? What might you do differently?

In the Unexpected Adventure what were the narrator and Mum trying to find? 

Have you ever seen or tried a pomegranate? How would you describe it? Did you like Mum's description? Why was it so good. 

How didi the authour build up suspense in this chapter? Doyou think that it would have been as interesting if they would have found a pomegranate in the first shop? What does this reinforce about the fruit? Can you name any other rare fruits?

What do you think about the dsecription of the shop keeper- " the man with the heart of a king."  What does this tell us?

How did the chapter The BIg Fight make you feel? 

Do you think that it was fair that Ahmet got punished? 

What do you think Ahmet was more upset about being told off, being hurt from the fight or the pomegranate being destroyed? 

Please remember to comment below if you are following the blog, then we can make this post more interactive. Happy reading, xxx

Chapter 10 and beyond

Sometimes, it takes a while to really get into a book and then you can't put it down at all. I'm not sure about you, but that is completely how I am starting to feel with this book. Grace has to tell me to slow down, but I just want to read more and more each day. I particularly enjoyed Chapter 10, War and Missing Pieces. I love Show and Tell in Class Two and this part of the book had a specisl Show and Tell session.  I couldn't wait to learn more about Ahmet's life in Syria and read about his journey to England. 

What did we learn about Ahmet in this chapter?

There were some really sad parts to Ahmet's story. How did the author ensure that the reader didn't become too upset whilst reading this chapter?

Gracie and I discussed this together. We thought that Onjali Q Rauf was really clever here. She managed to keep a good pace to the story, so that the reader didn't really have time to dwell on the sad parts. Ahmet also leaves out some important facts when telling the story, this makes the reader unsure of some of the details and therefore still gives them hope.

What question would you ask Ahmet? 

Remember to be sensitive to his situation.

Ahmet's life is described as like a jigsaw, how is like a jigsaw? Do you think this is a good description and why?

In Chapter 11- The Game of Scrabble, we met the famous Uncle Lenny. Why do you think the character adores him so much? 

In this chapter, we learn that the main character has something in common with Ahmet? How does he learn this fact? Do you think that it was fair of Aunt Christina to tell him the way that she did? 

Have you ever heard about the refugees in World War 11?  Who do you think the Grandmother was running away from?

In Chapter 12- Syrah and the Sea, Ahmet confides in the main character, what does confide mean? 

Who do you confide in? 

Does the fact that Ahmet confides in someone tell you anything about how he feels? Do you think that he is starting to feel more settled in school? 

Has your opinion of the main character changed whilst reading the story? Is so how?

That's all for now!  Keeping reading and responsing, remember you can now do your own blog or scrap book. 

Mrs E x