Three Clams and an Oyster

Powell, R. (2002). Three Clams and an Oyster. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Brief Annotation: A high school flag football team struggles to keep their fourth player accountable for his participation for the upcoming season. The three friends search for a new fourth team member, while looking within their friendships since 1st grade. In the end, the guys decide to release their long time friend for good, and take on an athletic girl to be their fourth player.

Genre: Sports Fiction

Grade Level: Grade 6-12

Readers who will like this: Readers who are interested in sports and the decisions that go along with being a member of a small team.

Response/Rating (1-4): I would only give this book a 2, simply because in one chapter they use some crude language, which would be unacceptable for a reading in a school setting.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Has anyone organized a sports team before? What struggles, if any, did you encounter while trying to do so?

Reading Strategies Connection: Double-Entry Journals (Tompkins pg. 33). A double-entry journal is a type of reading log that splits a page into two columns. The column on the left is a place for students to write a quote from the text they are reading. The column on the right is for the student to reflect on the quote. The student can draw on background knowledge, write a question, simply react to the quote, or make some other type of connection. The journal is designed to help students structure their reading and to get them thinking about the text being read.
To begin, students need to design the journal pages by dividing their reading log into two columns. They can label the left column “Quotes” and the right column “Comments” or “Reflections”. Teachers may choose to word process a journal page to steer the students in the right direction. As students read the text, they write down important or interesting quotes in the left column. After reading, the student takes the time to reflect on the quotes they have written in the right column. Students will explain their reason for choosing the quote and what the quote means to them. It may be helpful for students to share with a reading buddy before putting their thoughts on paper. To narrow the focus, the teacher may assign a particular number of entries. For example, for this novel, a teacher may assign one quote per chapter to document and reflect on.