Find the perfect novel and sell it to your students. Prepare the students for the novel experience. First, create an anticipation guide to stimulate your students to think about topics in the story. Ask them to list questions on the board that make generalized connections to the novel. After the students have answered the questions individually, they should share answers with the group and discuss the topics. Then, bring the students together as a whole class; ask them to develop a list of predictions and write these predictions on the board. They can base these predictions on the title of the novel, pictures on the cover or within the text, or chapter titles and subtitles.
Begin the reading process. For the first chapter of the book, do "a whole class teacher think aloud" --- that is, the teacher reads out loud and stops every so often to make connections to the text. The teacher is literally thinking aloud to let students know exactly what is being thought about while the teacher reads the contents of the chapter. After completing the first chapter, ask questions and guide student-led discussions to monitor comprehension. It is also important to review the initial predictions and add new ones, as students continue to read. Throughout the novel experience, vary the reading process by using partners, group readings, independent reading times and whole class readings. This variation helps to keep the novel experience exciting.
Stop and engage students often with some hands-on reading strategies during the reading process. This not only makes the novel experience more personal but it also helps students to have a deeper comprehension of the text. There are thousands of during reading strategies, so find activities that work best for you --- based on your novel and your students. Some during reading strategies include the following: character sketches, graphic organizers (charts that help students to visualize the contents of a story), story maps and visualization drawings.
Review all predictions that were made. Make final conclusions about each prediction. Review the anticipation guide and the list of predictions. Ask students to reevaluate their initial responses. Discuss what answers they would change in response to anticipation guide questions and ask them to elaborate on why they would change their opinions.
Take thinking to the next level by developing some "text to self" activities. Ask students to compare or contrast themselves or society to an element of the plot diagram (setting, characters, conflict, climax, resolution) from the story. This activity can be developed as a writing assignment, an artistic project or a research-based project. Be creative and allow students the opportunity to experience learning in dynamic ways.