Newbery Medal Book Club – July and August 2023 – Tuesday – Grades 4 – 8
Tuesday, July 11 2023 @ 5:00PM – Tuesday, August 8 2023 @ 6:30PM EDT
Instructor:
Jonathan MeolaInstructor Email:
jonathan@opententacademy.comGrade/Level:
4 – 8Day of Week:
TuesdayClass Times:
5:00PM – 6:30PM (ET)Terms/Semesters:
Summer 2023
In this Newbery book club, students independently read, then come together to discuss each novel that has won the Newbery Medal. We will read deeply and quickly, then discuss analytically. This is a challenge!
Students will learn to begin to develop their own criteria for evaluating the books they read. Because it’s a discussion class, we encourage students to leave their cameras on, microphones ready, and to use the chatbox to expand the discussion and to think about what they want to say before class begins. This isn’t your average book club!
In this class, in addition to discussing the novel, students will have the opportunity to….
- Discuss how American literature has changed over the past 100 years.
- Reflect on how literature reveals elements of humanity or the world in which we live.
- Speak aloud and/or use the chat to participate in the conversation.
- Articulate an evaluation of the novel and why they think the way they do.
- Learn how to analyze a literary character, setting, theme, symbolism etc.
- Learn how to analyze literature in light of the culture in which it is written.
Students MUST come to class having ALREADY read / listened (audio books are fabulous) the novel. They must be prepared to discuss!
July 11 – The Story of Mankind (1922)
July 18 – The Dark Frigate (1924)
July 25 – Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (1933)
August 1 – Johnny Tremain (1944)
August 8 – Onion John (1960)
NOTE: Registration deadline is June 25, 2023. There must be a minimum of 5 students to run this class.
Learning to love the past
History. This was definitely not my strongest area as a homeschool mother. I knew to provide my kids with what they needed, I had to look at outside resources. Taking a leap of faith, I registered both my 7th and 8th grader for U.S. History with Jonathan Meola.
Learning history through simple short stories using. “A History of US,” has been fun to read-a-loud. With a subject I once disliked myself, I’ve been able to power through, and engage with my children learning to love the past. Mr. Meola is a phenomenally fair instructor, and has allowed our kids to use their creativity for the semester project. The kids have enjoyed this area most about the class. Seeing their creations from the past come to life is a gift in itself. Thank you, Jonathan! You have lit a fire for history within my children!
Thanks for making homeschooling so much easier for us parents
We have absolutely loved Jonathan’s Ancient Civilizations class this year.
He is so organized, and his classes are expertly taught – my son usually makes me leave the room but I will often go back and listen to the recordings and watch some of the videos because they are so interesting.
We are thrilled that OTA is now a vendor with our charter school, and since Z will be in middle school next year, we plan on signing up for a lot more classes.
Keep up the excellent job and thanks for making homeschooling so much easier for us parents!
Best Course EVER!
During our family new year’s celebration, everyone completed a year-in-review questionnaire. One question asked, “What are you most proud of that you accomplished this past year?”
Without hesitation, our daughter blurted out “I learned to write a five-paragraph essay!”
Our daughter, who up until this past semester would only write science lab reports, should be proud of this accomplishment. She willingly dedicated days to completing required essays, and we owe this success to Lights! Camera! Action! class.
Mr. Jonathan’s enthusiasm, instruction, encouragement and feedback all generated a newfound level of confidence within our daughter. Plus, the course spurred everyone in our family (including grandparents) to watch incredible movies, which normally would not be in our Netflix queue. Mr. Jonathan’s impact reached beyond our daughter.
Amazing course!
I would like to say thank you. My daughter, Laura, was so inspired by OTA’s Lights! Camera! Action! class. She WANTS to improve at writing instead of shying away from the process that she finds so difficult. She is putting her heart and soul into trying. I am seeing improvement and I am seeing enthusiasm that just were not there before. You have no idea how joyful that makes me. This latest essay was really, really hard but a bit less overwhelming than the prior two. Slowly the elements that Laura is learning in class are sinking in. I appreciate all that you do for the class! Thank you!
Great class!
History. This was definitely not my strongest area as a homeschool mother. I knew to provide my kids with what they needed, I had to look at outside resources. Taking a leap of faith, I registered both my 7th and 8th grader for U.S. History with Jonathan Meola.
Learning history through simple short stories using. “A History of US,” has been fun to read-a-loud. With a subject I once disliked myself, I’ve been able to power through, and engage with my children learning to love the past. Mr. Meola is a phenomenally fair instructor, and has allowed our kids to use their creativity for the semester project. The kids have enjoyed this area most about the class. Seeing their creations from the past come to life is a gift in itself. Thank you, Jonathan! You have lit a fire for history within my children!
