Does anyone else plan lessons as they read books for pleasure?

Having recently discovered the brilliance of audiobooks I am able to explore some of the new titles in the school library. Trouble is I cant stop planning work based around the book.

The first book was Catching Teller Crow and it blew me away. While it ends up being about pretty sensitive material I think you could do lots of good things with this book in English or Aboriginal studies. the fantasy element will get the kids in and could be the basis for descriptive or persuasive tasks easily.

His name was Walter was the next book I listened to and for someone who isn’t really into reading fantasy these two in a row should have been too much but I found myself driving around the block to listen longer. The potential for this book was limitless. writing fairytales, researching local history, imagery, predicting, prequels, etc, etc.

Books reach kids in a way teachers can’t. We can tell them facts and anecdotes but in my experience most of the time something in a book hooks them much more than anything else happening in a unit of work. I remember a struggling reader looking at a picture in a DK book and wanting to know more. It sent him down a research path I could never have forced on him. Books are powerful.

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