|The Finest Hours | Non-Fiction | Reading Unit | Novel Study | Distance Learning

This The Finest Hours Non-Fiction Middle Schoolreading unit and novel study is exactly what you need to teach your seventh or eighth grade middle school learners in an engaging Socratic Seminar, discussion-based, and reading response focused format with this nonfiction book.

This resource has gotten HUGE updates (August 2020) since creation in 2015:

• Update: Teacher suggested answers for comprehension questions
• Update: Teacher suggested vocabulary words
• Update: PowerPoint and PDF Display slides for all Guiding and Interpretive Questions (JPEG images included to upload to Google Slides as well)
• Update: Digital Student Reading Response Notebooks
• Update: Editable PowerPoint Reading Response Rubrics
• Update: Editable Google Slides Reading Response Rubrics
• Update: Small group and individual conference teacher forms
• Update: Lesson plans and the Common Core standard alignments are their own file now so teachers can easily and quickly access the novel lessons.

Now included in a separate file for teachers:

• The Socratic Seminar: research base and strategy in practice
• Using this resource in your classroom
• Different reading workshop set-ups
• Scripted lesson examples
• Reading response notebook examples from my classroom

What files are included:

1. The Finest Hours 13 Lesson Reading Unit (teacher suggested answers and vocabulary now included)
2. 40+ page Implementation Teachers Guide: Socratic Seminar, Tips and Tricks, Pacing, Student Examples, FAQs, scripted lesson examples, etc.
3. PowerPoint and PDF Display slides for all Guiding and Interpretive Questions (JPEG images included to upload to Google Slides as well)
4. Digital Student Reading Response Notebooks
5. Editable PowerPoint Reading Response Rubrics
6. Editable Google Slides Reading Response Rubrics
7. Small group and individual conference teacher forms

This unit is exactly what you need to teach your 7th and 8th grade learners in a fun and engaging format with the award winning book, The Finest Hours: Young Reader’s Edition

How are these reading units different?

• This unit digs deep into EVERY SINGLE common core reading non-fiction and main writing standard.
• The backbone of these units is The Socratic Seminar, which pushes students to have discussions with their peers, about the novels (by using the guiding and interpretive questions provided) while using text-based evidence and critical thinking.
• Their thinking and discussion build a strong foundation of understanding for their reading responses (which will blow you away because of how much they grow throughout the year).
• This was designed when I had no reading or writing curriculum: I didn’t want to just “hit” the standards. I wanted to dig deep into every single standard multiple times throughout the year.
• This unit teaches your students about every single seventh and eighth grade CCSS nonfiction standard in an engaging, though-provoking, and fun unit and all the work is done for you.
• I still do guided reading, book clubs, literature circles, and Daily 5 in my classroom, so I know this can work with any type of reading program that you already have in place.
• In this unit, your students will get tons of support and conversations from their peers, will be exposed to literature and vocabulary at or above their grade level, and become part of a reading community. Yet it still gives you the flexibility to work with groups of students at their particular reading levels.