What are novel studies?

Teaching a novel study is more than just teaching a book and quizzing students on their knowledge of the plot. Teaching a novel study is inviting students to engage with a story and go beyond the words on a page.

Novel studies require learners to immerse themselves in the text. In doing so, students will develop essential reading and critical thinking skills that will be valuable for their English language arts classes and beyond. Plus, a novel study provides a shared reading experience that exposes students to different perspectives, helping them develop compassion and background knowledge. When done right, it fosters classroom community, essential literacy skills, and an appreciation for reading! 

As you can see, novel studies are much more than just reading a book together as a class. Consequently, they can take a lot more time and effort to prepare than traditional reading assignments. 

Luckily, Education.com’s new novel study resources can help eliminate the stress of lesson planning so you can focus on supporting your students.

Plan novel studies stress-free with Education.com

Teach your next book the smart way with Education.com’s new ready-made novel study worksheets! Even if you’ve never planned a novel study before, our novel study sets give you everything you need to make the process easy and straightforward. Designed by our team of expert educators, you can rely on these resources to minimize your prep work. 

Each novel study set comes with: 

• Pre-reading activities: Prepare students for the novel by sharing background knowledge to grow excitement and curiosity about the story! 
• Discussion guides: Get students talking about their reading and encourage critical thinking through personal connection, comprehension, and analysis questions. 
• Post-reading worksheets: Give students the opportunity to reflect on major themes and events through thoughtful prompts.  
• Extension activities: Extend student learning beyond the text with creative activities that reinforce key themes from the book. 

Choose from these popular titles: 

• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• And more to come!

Ready to keep students engaged from prologue to epilogue? Start planning with our novel study worksheets today!