Real readers devour books, talk about them and then do something when great books change them. Student book clubs based on these truths have proven extremely successful.
Now what?
We just finished some awesome book clubs where students were enthusiastically reading more than before, discussing plot and inferences with peers and sharing their own reviews with the world. In short, it was really exciting and students felt a great sense of accomplishment. Read more about my Book Club success in the new Book Clubs tab at the top of my site.
From a teacher's standpoint, I am thrilled! Students are ready to begin again and asking about when we can start our next book clubs. ASAP, of course! The only problem is that they take at least a week or two to set up. We need to select books, source them, introduce the choices, have students choose, group students and hand out books. These are not difficult tasks at all but in the short delay between book clubs, I am sad to see students not reading in class with the same motivation. You would think that going back to a "Read to Self" sort of free book choice for a short bit would be exciting to them but it turns out that without the social aspect of looking forward to talking about their reading, they seem to not really read.
From a teacher's standpoint, I am thrilled! Students are ready to begin again and asking about when we can start our next book clubs. ASAP, of course! The only problem is that they take at least a week or two to set up. We need to select books, source them, introduce the choices, have students choose, group students and hand out books. These are not difficult tasks at all but in the short delay between book clubs, I am sad to see students not reading in class with the same motivation. You would think that going back to a "Read to Self" sort of free book choice for a short bit would be exciting to them but it turns out that without the social aspect of looking forward to talking about their reading, they seem to not really read.
My Experimental Solution: "Any Book" Clubs
 | I introduced the idea yesterday in class and after the 20 seconds it took them to understand the concept, students ran off eagerly to secure a great book and get reading. They were even jotting down some inner thinking to share with their new groups! |
So what are "Any Book" Clubs?
Simply, they are clubs that will leverage the success of our recent book club structure without requiring that students read the same book. I have heard of adult book clubs like this and thought it might work with students too.
Students will read any book they like, bring that book to a meeting, share a selected piece of text from their book and have others discuss that text. I am hoping that students will inspire each other to read a wider range of genres and start talking about different kinds of books more. The social aspect aims to keep students accountable to their peers with regular club meetings, while allowing them some fun talk time that will offer new perspectives from new people about their favorite literature.
Simply, they are clubs that will leverage the success of our recent book club structure without requiring that students read the same book. I have heard of adult book clubs like this and thought it might work with students too.
Students will read any book they like, bring that book to a meeting, share a selected piece of text from their book and have others discuss that text. I am hoping that students will inspire each other to read a wider range of genres and start talking about different kinds of books more. The social aspect aims to keep students accountable to their peers with regular club meetings, while allowing them some fun talk time that will offer new perspectives from new people about their favorite literature.
Looking for Your Help
The one thing I am not so sure about is grouping. I would like to keep students in the same groups for a while in order to develop social accountability that can encourage regular reading and deep thinking. At the same time, I would like to mix groups up enough to get a wider range of perspectives from peers and expose my students to a variety of texts they might be interested in reading too.
I was thinking of starting off with groups of four students. Aiming to have two girls and two boys in each group, I would be sensitive to place less capable readers with sensitive, supportive peers. Since groups will meet 2-3 times a week, I was thinking that they could stay with these peers for a week or two before switching.
Any recommendations? What do you think? Please comment!
I was thinking of starting off with groups of four students. Aiming to have two girls and two boys in each group, I would be sensitive to place less capable readers with sensitive, supportive peers. Since groups will meet 2-3 times a week, I was thinking that they could stay with these peers for a week or two before switching.
Any recommendations? What do you think? Please comment!
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