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Whole Novels for the Whole Class: A Student-Centered Approach
Work with students at all levels to help them read novels Whole Novels is a practical, field-tested guide to implementing a student-centered literature program that promotes critical thinking and literary understanding through the study of novels with middle school students. Rather than using novels simply to teach basic literacy skills and comprehension strategies, Whole Novels approaches literature as art. The book is fully aligned with the Common Core ELA Standards and offers tips for implementing whole novels in various contexts, including suggestions for teachers interested in trying out small steps in their classrooms first. This resource will help teachers work with students of varying abilities in reading whole novels.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 20, 2013
When teachers complain about professional development books, it’s usually the theory-to-practicality ratio they bring up. This isn’t in any math textbooks, but it represents the amount of pretty-to-think-so talk — including abundant references to research and studies — over the amount of practical, ready-to-hit-the-road ideas that can be rolled out in the classroom tomorrow, if not sooner.
PD books by consultants and administrators tend to be theory-heavy. Those by working teachers like Whole Novels for the Whole Class lean more toward the practical side. This certainly is true of Ariel Sacks’ book, a soup-to-nuts “how to” for teachers willing to try her method of teaching the entire class individual novels. Yes, it’s built on theory, which she duly notes, but the focus is more on the logistics of rolling her system out.
Some school districts have gone whole hog into independent reading to the point where students no longer share common books read as a class. Other districts, more of the old school variety, continue to teach whole-class novels and leave independent reading to the whims of students. Sacks walks a middle line. Like my school, her Brooklyn middle school does both. She is a devotee of the Bank Street College methodology, which, coincidentally, is in line with St. Nancie of Atwell’s belief: novels should be read in their entirety before they are discussed (see Atwell’s The Reading Zone).
Sacks leaves all of her cards on the table, revealing her entire year’s curriculum, what books she teaches, why she teaches them, and what she expects from her students. She gives the background research, yes, but spends the lion’s share of the book explaining the differences between literal, inferential, and critical thinking; how and why sticky notes are used; what students do while the books are being read; what students do when the due date arrives; and what everyone in the room is responsible for, from teacher to top reader to struggling reader.
As the book goes on, more and more questions may crop up in your head. Sacks anticipates many of these “what if’s” thanks to her talks with other teachers who have followed her path. Chapter titles shed light on the book’s trajectory: “A Case for Whole Novels for the Whole Class”; “Selecting the Right Books — Five Dimensions of Good Chemistry”; “Authentic Note Taking — Three Levels of Thinking, Three Levels of Response”; “Whole Novel Discussions — Everyone Has a Voice”; Making the Writing Connection — Harnessing Students’ Drive to Say Something”; Setting Expectations, Building Accountability — The Launch and Beyond”; “Developing Students’ Critical Reading and Comprehension — Activities We Do Along the Way”; “Differentiating for Diversity — Whole Novels for All Students”; and “Analyzing the Results — What We Know and Where We Can Go.”
And then the bonus — the best part of any PD book worth its educational salt — a rich appendix section filled with sample notes, worksheets, assignments, and activities. Soup, meet nuts. Thorough, meet job.
And whether you adopt the system whole hog or in adapted form, you can’t help but learn something that will improve your practice — words I don’t offer lightly. For teachers interested in investing in their students as they teach whole novels to readers of varying abilities, I heartily recommend Sacks’ book.
PD books by consultants and administrators tend to be theory-heavy. Those by working teachers like Whole Novels for the Whole Class lean more toward the practical side. This certainly is true of Ariel Sacks’ book, a soup-to-nuts “how to” for teachers willing to try her method of teaching the entire class individual novels. Yes, it’s built on theory, which she duly notes, but the focus is more on the logistics of rolling her system out.
Some school districts have gone whole hog into independent reading to the point where students no longer share common books read as a class. Other districts, more of the old school variety, continue to teach whole-class novels and leave independent reading to the whims of students. Sacks walks a middle line. Like my school, her Brooklyn middle school does both. She is a devotee of the Bank Street College methodology, which, coincidentally, is in line with St. Nancie of Atwell’s belief: novels should be read in their entirety before they are discussed (see Atwell’s The Reading Zone).
Sacks leaves all of her cards on the table, revealing her entire year’s curriculum, what books she teaches, why she teaches them, and what she expects from her students. She gives the background research, yes, but spends the lion’s share of the book explaining the differences between literal, inferential, and critical thinking; how and why sticky notes are used; what students do while the books are being read; what students do when the due date arrives; and what everyone in the room is responsible for, from teacher to top reader to struggling reader.
As the book goes on, more and more questions may crop up in your head. Sacks anticipates many of these “what if’s” thanks to her talks with other teachers who have followed her path. Chapter titles shed light on the book’s trajectory: “A Case for Whole Novels for the Whole Class”; “Selecting the Right Books — Five Dimensions of Good Chemistry”; “Authentic Note Taking — Three Levels of Thinking, Three Levels of Response”; “Whole Novel Discussions — Everyone Has a Voice”; Making the Writing Connection — Harnessing Students’ Drive to Say Something”; Setting Expectations, Building Accountability — The Launch and Beyond”; “Developing Students’ Critical Reading and Comprehension — Activities We Do Along the Way”; “Differentiating for Diversity — Whole Novels for All Students”; and “Analyzing the Results — What We Know and Where We Can Go.”
And then the bonus — the best part of any PD book worth its educational salt — a rich appendix section filled with sample notes, worksheets, assignments, and activities. Soup, meet nuts. Thorough, meet job.
And whether you adopt the system whole hog or in adapted form, you can’t help but learn something that will improve your practice — words I don’t offer lightly. For teachers interested in investing in their students as they teach whole novels to readers of varying abilities, I heartily recommend Sacks’ book.
August 30, 2021
Lots of great ideas. Students read through the novel and write literal, inferential and critical sticky notes. They bring these to discussion groups once they've read the whole book.
June 13, 2017
Ariel Sacks and her approach to teaching reading and literature is inspiring and resonates with those of us who struggle to find the balance of "teaching" literature and having our students have authentic reading experiences of their own. With much of the ELA curriculum moving towards canned, inauthentic reading of excerpts, we are moving closer and closer to killing the love of reading in our students. Sacks' approach is to have students read and experience the whole novel primarily on their own (she details the support she provides for those who need it) before having whole group discussions that tease out the meaning of the text. This way students have worked through it on their own and have their own thoughts to say about it, rather than the teacher's. This process is multilayered and completely student-centered. Sacks delineates how she uses this process in her class and describes the many levels of support for her students-- each with the same goal of having students discover the answers on their own. Because of the students' autonomy and the support provided, all of the students have a place and a voice in the class, and it's because their voice is valued that gives them the buy-in of reading.
While Sacks' designs her writing assignments, support, discussions, and whatnot based on student feedback and discussion, she is very much the center that holds this student-centered class together. She shows how attentive, receptive, and cognizant a teacher needs to be to pull this off. Whole Novels teachers need to have strong connections with their students and know how to both provide support and motivation for the most reluctant of readers and the most successful of readers to get them to move their skills forward. There are always problems to be solved, but the solution is always the answer to the this question: "How can I best provide support for my student so he or she can grow as a reader?".
All of my classes are novel centered and I look forward to trying out this method of teaching.
While Sacks' designs her writing assignments, support, discussions, and whatnot based on student feedback and discussion, she is very much the center that holds this student-centered class together. She shows how attentive, receptive, and cognizant a teacher needs to be to pull this off. Whole Novels teachers need to have strong connections with their students and know how to both provide support and motivation for the most reluctant of readers and the most successful of readers to get them to move their skills forward. There are always problems to be solved, but the solution is always the answer to the this question: "How can I best provide support for my student so he or she can grow as a reader?".
All of my classes are novel centered and I look forward to trying out this method of teaching.
July 3, 2017
This book taught such a simple concept, that I recently realized I haven't been taught anywhere else: how to teach a whole class novel and support the individual needs of a diverse classroom. Sacks writing is informational, data backed, filled with usable lessons and materials, while always being hopeful and kind. I know that I will be using her methods in my own classroom and I look forward to sharing this text with my peers.
June 30, 2014
I really enjoyed reading this professional text and feel like it could have an amazing impact on a secondary ELA classroom if students and teachers stick with it. I recommend also reading Katie Doherty Czerwinski's Join the Club, which I used with success last year. I plan to structure my English 9 class for 8th graders using both models.
December 19, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Whole Novels for the Whole Classroom. It's been awhile where I've read a professional book and felt like I've learned something new that I actually want to try it out in my own teaching. I haven't been a fan of whole novels in classrooms where every student is reading the same chapter at the same time. Ariel Sacks proposes great methods in her book to allow sharing of the same literature across the classroom without holding any students back or making them feel left behind.
I wish I had this book to read when I first started teaching. This is a must read if you are an ELA/reading teacher.
I wish I had this book to read when I first started teaching. This is a must read if you are an ELA/reading teacher.
December 30, 2014
Fantastic. I devoured it and endured ridicule from friends and family for talking about it incessantly. A small, but significant difference in approach to teaching whole-class novels that I think will work for my students. If you teach English, get it and read it. There are some especially useful sections for newer teachers (0-5 years experience?) that I skimmed, but that would be invaluable to those at that stage.
December 21, 2013
Much needed in MS ELA!
Ariel Sacks shares a great approach to reading class-wide novels in the middle school. Would you like to start watching a movie - just to have someone stop it in the middle and ask questions about it? The same goes for novels. They were meant to be read as a whole. This book details exactly how to do this - with lessons you can start with right away!
Ariel Sacks shares a great approach to reading class-wide novels in the middle school. Would you like to start watching a movie - just to have someone stop it in the middle and ask questions about it? The same goes for novels. They were meant to be read as a whole. This book details exactly how to do this - with lessons you can start with right away!
November 6, 2013
The kind of book only a reflective practioner could write. Her research is top-notch, and except for the tiny classes (25) and huge classroom, her ideas are more than doable in another teacher's classroom.
March 2, 2014
I'd give this book 6/5 if I could. I went back to it over and over during the 3rd quarter. Sacks' ideas never seemed stale and were never stuffy and arrogant. Whole Novels for the Whole Class may very well be the best 'teaching' book I've ever read - useful from cover to cover, no filler at all!
April 3, 2016
One of, if not THE best educational book I've read. Based on the readings of great literacy writers, it takes the philosophy, and puts it into practical, tangible classroom applications. This books has totally transformed how I teach novels. A must have for any ELA teacher.
April 3, 2016
A fabulous resource for any Language Arts teacher! Well written with very progressive ideas, Ms. Sacks has developed an approach to teaching novels that just makes sense. I am excited to have found this book before my first year of teaching.
August 4, 2014
This book will occupy space on my PD bookshelf next to my books by Penny Kittle, Donalyn Miller, Kelly Gallagher, and Jim Burke. It will occupy space in my heart and head as one that continues to inform and transform my teaching. It is helping me move my teaching and my thinking to the next level.
October 21, 2016
Sacks offers practical ideas for successfully teaching a teacher-selected, whole-class novel in the middle school classroom. But I'm still a skeptic of sticky notes...
July 22, 2024
Practical and packed with ideas. Sacks walks us through exactly how to implement her classroom-tested approach to reading in our own classrooms. It's hard to find the balance of holding kids accountable to actually read with encouraging kids to read for enjoyment and discuss with enthusiasm, but I'm hopeful that I've learned some great tools that will allow me to do just that.
Biggest Takeaways:
1) Model with a short storytelling example at the beginning and have students write down any responses they have to this story. List their responses and then categorize: literal comprehension or questions, inferential responses, critical thinking about the text. These are the three levels of response to be used in sticky notes.
2) Set a reading schedule and offer reading time in class 2-3 times a week. Take time to talk with kids and check sticky notes. Track progress informally (and eventually make this part of the grade). She makes this 30% of their grade for that novel unit (reading progress, participation, etc.)
3) Do "mini-projects" along the way to deal with character, setting, conflict, theme (she has some great ideas for these--usually using posters & partners). Students are still reading at this point so this helps generate continued energy for finishing the story as they make sure they have some foundational understandings.
4) Split class into half for final discussion and allow three days for each half. The other half does a creative writing prompt (she has some good ideas for these as well) while the discussion happens. Take notes during discussion so that you can return to those notes next session and deepen the discussion. In general discussion seems to follow a) go-around (everyone speaks briefly) b) literal, comprehension based discussion (all on the 1st day) c) more inferential, evidence based discussion--go back and read passages students brought up or ask kids to find evidence to support inferential claims (2nd day) and d) consider the role of the author in creating this novel, and discuss in context (3rd day)
5) finish with writing. She asks the half-group "What questions would you want to write about based on our discussion" after they discuss the first then sends them home to write. I would pair this with my Write, Discuss, Rewrite and have them rewrite on that topic after the 2nd or 3rd day of discussion?
Final projects include creative writing AND an essay (at least, that's how I interpreted it and what I would do in my setting).
Biggest Takeaways:
1) Model with a short storytelling example at the beginning and have students write down any responses they have to this story. List their responses and then categorize: literal comprehension or questions, inferential responses, critical thinking about the text. These are the three levels of response to be used in sticky notes.
2) Set a reading schedule and offer reading time in class 2-3 times a week. Take time to talk with kids and check sticky notes. Track progress informally (and eventually make this part of the grade). She makes this 30% of their grade for that novel unit (reading progress, participation, etc.)
3) Do "mini-projects" along the way to deal with character, setting, conflict, theme (she has some great ideas for these--usually using posters & partners). Students are still reading at this point so this helps generate continued energy for finishing the story as they make sure they have some foundational understandings.
4) Split class into half for final discussion and allow three days for each half. The other half does a creative writing prompt (she has some good ideas for these as well) while the discussion happens. Take notes during discussion so that you can return to those notes next session and deepen the discussion. In general discussion seems to follow a) go-around (everyone speaks briefly) b) literal, comprehension based discussion (all on the 1st day) c) more inferential, evidence based discussion--go back and read passages students brought up or ask kids to find evidence to support inferential claims (2nd day) and d) consider the role of the author in creating this novel, and discuss in context (3rd day)
5) finish with writing. She asks the half-group "What questions would you want to write about based on our discussion" after they discuss the first then sends them home to write. I would pair this with my Write, Discuss, Rewrite and have them rewrite on that topic after the 2nd or 3rd day of discussion?
Final projects include creative writing AND an essay (at least, that's how I interpreted it and what I would do in my setting).
August 16, 2022
I read this text, as well as Kate Roberts's A Novel Approach, and feel like they're both valuable texts that offer great ideas for teaching full-class novels. I went to a teacher prep program that was really enthusiastic about the workshop approach and giving students freedom of choice in what they read. Teach the skills but let students choose the text. So, I tended to avoid full-class novels. Mostly because I want students to be enthusiastic about what they read and develop lifelong reading habits. But these books have shown me that full-class novels are not antithetical to rich reading lives and there is a way to teach a full-class novel that achieves these goals. I just never want to teach a boring novel, give comprehension quizzes that kids cheat and tell each other the answers for, and turn students off from reading. And I think I can avoid that while teaching novels with these books.
July 10, 2017
A compelling rationale for waiting until the end of a class text to do the grunt work of discussion and analysis instead of splitting it up with daily chapter talks. I'm not sure I agree with the emphasis on post-it notes while reading (even independent) books, but I like the explicit teaching of ways to codify thoughts, reactions, and questions based on a text. Definitely food for thought.
July 12, 2019
I'm always looking for books that not only propose a new way of teaching but that also lay out the nuts and bolts of implementing its proposed innovation. Ariel Sacks's book does just that. If you're looking for an innovative way to approach novel studies, this book will help you craft a novel study that will encourage kids to read and hold them accountable for their reading!
July 14, 2021
This is the rare teacher education book that is grounded in a solid teaching philosophy without being idealistic or unattainable. The approach Sacks prescribes counters many of the trends I've noticed in ELA education at the moment, and it sounds manageable and practical for teachers and engaging and authentic for students. If you teach English, you should read this book.
May 7, 2017
I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and read this book. It gave me lots of great ideas and I started making (imaginary? or potential? depends how you look at it) plans for how I'll change my curriculum next year, if I'm at the same grade level and content area anyway.
April 19, 2019
Lots of Practical Advice
I liked the practicality of this novel. I found that I was already doing a lot of these things, so it wasn't as novel for me, but I appreciate the guidelines and the data at the end.
I liked the practicality of this novel. I found that I was already doing a lot of these things, so it wasn't as novel for me, but I appreciate the guidelines and the data at the end.
June 8, 2019
The resource I was looking for
I chose this book because I want to teach using novel studies and this seemed like the book I was looking for and I was not wrong. A very useful resource to help any teacher get started teaching whole novels. Highly recommended.
I chose this book because I want to teach using novel studies and this seemed like the book I was looking for and I was not wrong. A very useful resource to help any teacher get started teaching whole novels. Highly recommended.
November 4, 2020
I don’t think I could pull off her method in its entirety, but there are some ideas here I might try, and some good tips for guiding discussions.
August 5, 2021
Probably the most relevant and useful teaching book I've read in years. I'm excited to start implementing her ideas this year.
June 5, 2022
This was SO helpful my first year of teaching. It transformed a classic lit study into one of my students’ favorite reads of the year! :)
May 9, 2024
Definitely one I will continuously refer to in my career!
July 1, 2025
I’ve had this resource sitting around for years and finally got to it. Some chapters offered some useful tips, but most of the examples are only do-able with smaller class sizes.
July 1, 2025
Best book on teaching novels that I have read. Filled me with joy to find a kindred spirit.
December 7, 2020
This book genuinely changed how I see reading in the classroom. I hope to implement the whole novel approach as soon as possible. I am EXCITED about this idea.
April 19, 2023
Trying to implement some new whole novels strategies?? This book is for YOU! I have been using this book almost everyday to plan my lessons in real time with my students for our novel study unit right now and these strategies are a game changer!! 10/10 recommend for all ELA teachers. It's practical and teaches things you can start implementing TODAY.
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