by Addie Weaver, Hamilton MS 8th Grader and Special Big Read Participant
The Big Read is comprehension’ s best friend. I am a student at Hamilton Middle School, and curriculum in 9th grade requires everyone reads To Kill a Mockingbird. Anyone who has ever read this book knows that every chapter has many themes or morals. You can make connection to not only what you read on the page, but also things you can infer. I have been to several Big Read events and book discussions. Every time I go I find myself realizing something that I hadn’t thought of, or bringing up points that I didn’t know I was capable of. The Big Read forces me to go beyond the text and think about the big picture that applies right now. Only some books can do that. Only some books can bring middle schoolers, high schoolers, parents, and grandparents together. As an eighth grader, this program allows me to show creativity and deeper thinking that may not have pos! sible in a normal class. The students in my class have been pushed in all areas of thinking. We have used The Big Read to give us background information that could not be found with a google search. The Big Read has forced competition into our thoughts. For example we all want to have a deeper metaphor to show Joel Tanis when he comes to our classroom. All of these things allow us to comprehend this advanced novel better than if we just read the book in class. Because of The Big Read we are learning how to think.