i heart book club!

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i heart book club!
By mk

YES!
I am a 5th grade teacher in Western Colorado, and I just started book clubs this year. It is something I've been thinking about, but never quite got around to until now.

I highly recommend book clubs
(and book talks) to promote a climate of readers in the classroom--kids in my room are CONSTANTLY talking about books!

I made my book clubs voluntary. We meet at lunch (I know it is hard to give up lunch, but it is so much fun it is worth it!). I gave book talks on 3 books and had the kids fill out little forms to sign up for their favorite (I only let them sign up for one--reading

more than one book at a time is just too much). From the initial 3, I chose the 2 most popular books to have clubs. Give a wide range of choices and reading levels. The two that got chosen in my class were Walk 2 Moons and Hank the Cowdog.

Start the first meeting by going over expectations/requirements together. My kids decided that the requirements would be: have fun, come prepared, and be respectful.

The kids decide how much to read and when they want to meet again. I ask them to mark connections and questions on stickys in their books, and when we meet we start with each person's questions (usually only 2 each) and then move to connections. I view myself as both facilitator and participant, but not really as a teacher. I let the students dictate where the discussion should lead, and I encourage them to answer each other's questions.

This has been so much fun. Many of my students cite books from book club and the best ones they've ever read. They can't wait for the next one (Ida B.) to start.

I found that 2 clubs was a little too much for me to handle, so I am narrowing it down to one next time around.

I do not assess book club. I think that defeats the purpose of having meaningful discussions and getting the students excited about reading. This is just a time for us to hang out, eat lunch and talk about great books!

BTW--Day to Day Assessment is Frankie Sibberson's new book. It just came out, so I haven't read it. However, if you're an intermediate teacher, her Beyond Leveled Books and Still Learning to Read are great resources.

Hope that helps--it's really fun to share what's going on in my room.