I really enjoyed this week’s presentation of Blood on the River. My daughter read this book after her teacher used it as a read-aloud in her 4th grade class, but I wasn’t quite sure how this book fit into the elementary social studies curriculum.
After hearing the presentation, I will definitely be using this book in my classroom if I am teaching this level. I would love to use this in a reading group or literature circle, depending on the level of my students. If necessary, I will use it as a read-aloud but i think students would gain more from the content in a group discussion.
I don’t know that I would pair the nonfiction text but would rather have that book as a resource in the classroom, as Lane said. I wonder if I did pair the two texts, if students would become bored with the content (especially considering that the two books were so similar, according to Lane and Molly).
Overall, their presentation introduced me to another book to add to my classroom library.