HEAT, by Mike Lupica: A PDF and EASEL Digital Novel Study

Perfect for use during baseball season, this is a custom-made, PDF packet intended for independent work. It is designed to use with a literature circle or book club group composed of students in grades 5-7 who are reading the #1 New York Times Best Seller, HEAT, written by sportscaster Mike Lupica. This product is flexible and can be printed or can be uploaded as an Easel Digital product that can be assigned and completed by students digitally. If you are unfamiliar with Easel products, use these links for more information: What is Easel by TpT?, Getting Started Guide, FAQ for Buyers.

Included is a bookmark master for keeping track of vocabulary words, 20 student pages (digital or printable), plus an answer key. The student workbook divides the text into five reading assignments with questions and activities to go with each one; there is also a Culminating Activities page with ideas for further student research.

The questions and tasks in this booklet reinforce the skills that good readers and writers need to understand and maintain. These include comprehension, visualizing, point-of-view, summarizing, connecting to the text, recognizing character traits, and using context to understand expressive language. The packet gives students needed practice in writing to explain their thinking and to demonstrate their understanding. Also included is a chart for English translations of Spanish words used in the text.

The student pages are designed for independent work so that students can work on this in class while the teacher is meeting with another group or can work at home during distance learning. Typically students are responsible for completing one reading assignment with the accompanying questions/activities each week. They then meet once a week with teacher, aide, or parent, along with the other students reading the same book ( a "book club") to discuss the book and review the assignments. The student work can also be used as a project to be completed at home or it could be used with a whole class rather than a smaller group.

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Also, if you are interested in having a collection of baseball novel studies, I have another product called Baseball Bundled. This consists of nine separate baseball novel studies that I have created to use with students in grades 4-8 who are reading baseball themed novels. Included are novel studies for:

1) Babe and Me, by Dan Gutman

2) Heat, by Mike Lupica

3) Keeping Score, by Linda Sue Park

4) Shoeless Joe and Me, by Dan Gutman

5) The Big Field, by Mike Lupica

6) The Boy Who Saved Baseball, by John H. Ritter

7) The Lucky Baseball Bat, by Matt Christopher.

8) Out of Left Field, by Ellen Klages

9) Safe at Home, by Mike Lupica

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HEAT in a Nutshell:

TOPPING the New York Times Best Seller list in 2006, this book continues to be a great choice for baseball fans and remains about as popular today as it was then. The story takes place in the South Bronx area of New York where twelve year old Michael Arroyo seems to be the about the best Little League player around; so good, in fact, that some suspect he's older than 12. Escaping Cuba in a boat with his father and brother, Michael has no birth certificate to prove his age. Complicating matters, Michael harbors a secret that he and his brother fight to keep hidden. This book provides lots of baseball jargon, suspense, and hope.

The story touches on subjects that are as relevant today as they were in 2006: immigration, citizenship, Cuban refugees, Little League, Major League Baseball, and more.

Appropriate for students in grades 5-7. Reading level approximately 6th grade.