A View from Saturday

By E. L. Konigsburg

    I really enjoyed this book a lot. At times it was somewhat slow, but overall I loved all the connections between the characters. It also discusses a lot of different issues that are prevalent in many children's lives. At first it reminded me of the misfits as well since it is a group of four kids who call themselves The Souls. They are a group of sixth graders who with the help of their teacher Ms. Olinski make it to the state championship bowl. Many people ask her why she chose this group of students, seeing as most groups competing were made up of eighth and ninth graders. She gave many solid answers, but of course we don't know the true answer until the end, because at first she doesn't even really know why she chose them. She discovers why throughout the story though. It's a funny book with a lot of twist and told from all different characters perspectives.
       I would definitely use this book in my classroom since it does cover so many topics. There is moving, divorce, family issues, going through puberty, not fitting in, being the underdog and the list goes on and on. Each of these students though had taken their life experience and learned from them. This is part of the reason why they did so well in the academic bowl. They were able to recall different memories where they learned something new. Kind of like the movie Slum dog Millionaire. As a whole group I would have students make a character web. On a big poster board we would write down all the characters names and circle them. Then with string or drawing a line we connect them and write down how they are connected. Since there are a lot of odd relationships and connections that develop through the book. Also they could do a journal entry on how they relate with a character. Also keeping a character list would be important. Since there is many things going in this book I think for every three chapters or so I would have them do a save the last word. Pick out a quote and have them do small group discussions this way.