The Junior Great Books program is an engaging reading program for children at all reading levels. The main goals of this exciting program are to make literature fun and to provide children the opportunity to share their unique perspectives and interpretations of stories with their peers.
Beginning in mid January, we offer a 8 week program for all interested 1st through 4th graders (parent volunteers read the stories to the 1st graders.) Length of time for the program depends on school holidays and classroom availability. Each grade is taught separately. The classes are taught by trained parent volunteers, and meet in Harper classrooms once a week during the lunch/recess period. A nut free, bag lunch, including a drink, should be brought from home on days that Great Books meet.
Each week the children read a new story at home and parent volunteers help the children to discuss the story during the JGB session. The stories address varied topics, including friendship, bravery, responsibility, and honesty. The children are encouraged to share their ideas about the events of the story and the characters.
This program is designed to teach students how to interpret what they read. The course material features literature from cultures around the world, including folk tales, children’s classics, and modern short stories. The Junior Great Books program provides a fun and stress-free forum for discussion. Students will be encouraged to read critically, to think independently about what they have read, and to articulate their thoughts amongst their peers. Reading materials will be distributed before Winter Break.
Send an email to jgb@harperpto.com for more information.
Per section 9 of the Harper PTO’s financial policy (http://harperpto.com/financial-policies), “All PTO sponsored classes, including but not limited to After School programs, Great Books, Chorus, and Chess Club, will not issue refunds to students once the first class has begun. All cancellations and refunds must take place prior to the first day of class.”
