I read the entire PARI series a few months ago, and I’ve been mulling over them ever since. I’m not usually a big fan of nonfiction, and I haven’t yet worked with it at my online reading programme, but A Big Splash stayed with me.
And then, there were stray conversations that made me think of the book over and over again.
A child at my writing programme told me how much she liked it.
Earlier this month, we worked with Flyaway Boy by Jane de Suza, and during one of our activities, a label many of the children gave themselves was ‘sports-lover’.
A sportsy book? Sure! I’ve done just Cricket for the Crocodile before, and it’s time to introduce something else!
A Big Splash is a quick read, and that makes it the ideal first book for any batch of my reading programme. It’s a tale of grit and introduces so many big themes that I can’t wait to work with it!
Dares
The book opens with a dare that goes horribly wrong.
Yet, dares can be fun, and we’ll begin with a “daring” icebreaker. There’s nothing like doing something unconventional to get us to lose our inhibitions and become more comfortable with one another! From dares like saying the alphabet backwards to standing on one leg until it is the next person’s turn, we’ll have fun getting to know one another at my book club!
Friends
From the fun of the previous activity, we’ll move to something much more serious. Dhivya has no friends, or at least, that’s the way it seems. What is a friend? What does a friend do?
Since creative writing is an important component of my reading programme for ages nine and ten, we’ll also explore a few poems on friendship, attempting to write one or two of our own.
Idioms
When we read The Golden Eagle, we worked with bird-related idioms. A Big Splash is perfect for water-related phrases of all sorts – troubled waters, testing the waters, in the deep end … What do these chapter titles mean? Working with idioms is always rewarding and enjoyable!
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