To the Parent Volunteer
and Enrichment Teacher

Leaders involved in Junior Great Books programs that meet once a week can make their Shared Inquiry Discussion more rewarding by drawing on the interpretive activities. These activities reinforce the habits of active reading, note taking, and close textual analysis that Junior Great Books leaders have always encouraged in their students.

Because of the program's flexibility, some activities may be assigned as at-home work, while others can be incorporated into the weekly session. Leaders can also ask the students' classroom teacher to read the story alod to the class. (Even children not in Junior Great Books will enjoy hearing the story.) Junior Great Books students can then do their second and third readings at home, in conjunction with the at-home questions.

Reserving a few minutes at the beginning of the meeting for students to share their reactions and questions is an excellent warm-up to discussion. Not only does this sharing get students talking, it demonstrates to them how valuable multiple readings are for their understanding and enjoyment of the story.

Students who engage in the interpretive activities have a greater command of the facts of a story and are therefore better prepared to offer evidence in support of their opinions. Students who work consistently with the activities see their reading and thinking skills improve.

To order a FREE Sample Unit
or to discover how The Great Books Foundation promotes
Shared Inquiry Discussions
of great literature for children and adults,
please visit the Great Books Foundation website