No Talking is such a fun book! I’m often wary of ‘Boys vs. Girls’ stories because I don’t like books that reinforce stereotypes. No Talking does the opposite; in fact, rather too explicitly so, for me. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I loved how a contest between the boys and the girls in a class slowly morphs into a team game, where the students overcome their differences and come together. What emerges is a school story that is utterly believable and good fun!
Three Words at a Time
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve played the one-word story and the one-phrase story. In No Talking, Mr Burton introduces the three-word story, and I love it! It’s perfect for my book club too. Can we create a story together, three words at a time? I’m sure we can!
Three Word Debate
Mr Burton takes the three-word challenge further with a debate: Should there be soft-drink machines in school cafeterias?
Debating is a great way to get children to express opinions, not just facts. With just three words at their disposal, even children who aren’t confident about speaking can give it a shot!
Dialogue Writing
Writing is an important part of Read, Write, Explore, and the dialogue in No Talking sparkles – all the more so because it’s sparse and well thought-out. Once we’ve finished reading the book, we will try to write dialogue of our own, challenging ourselves to use as few words as possible in each speech.
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I love Andrew Clements’s books! We’ve read:
I’m sure we’ll read more as the months go by!
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