Companion Books

“A Companion Book is a literary analysis of a piece of literature.  The purpose of a companion book is for students to write powerfully and analytically about their reading; to think big about themes but always connecting them to the events and characters in the book.  As students move through their books, taking notes to follow story elements, they will begin to devise sections that showcase their most insightful thoughts about the text.  To read like a writer, students must take note of the particular crafting techniques the author used and figure out why the author might have used them.” (Lucy Calkins and Audra Kirshbaum Robb) This project incorporates both reading competencies and the competencies for information writing.