Running a book club in the classroom

Book clubs are a great way to engage students with reading and help build a reading culture at your school. Part 1 details information about why book club is critical and how to engage students, and part 3 discusses assessment and accountability issues. I typically run book clubs for 46 weeks depending upon the time of year and unit of study, and book clubs will meet once per week usually on thursdays. Classroom book clubs is a narrated slidecast that describes a fun and effective method of doing literature circles.

Here are some tips and ideas for starting a book or other club, and having it run without you having to do all of the work. Aug 21, 2017 ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. One would, however, require an invite to join a closed club. But, when i started book clubs a few years ago i made some big mistakes. In order to carry out book clubs successfully, students must work together to negotiate places and times to meet, along with the pacing and discussion of the books. Youve just observed the excitement of classroom book clubs, an easy and effective. This is the third installment in a series of posts with ideas and suggestions for running effective literacy circles or book clubs with students from second grade through high school.

Can you run successful book clubs in the primary grades it may seem like a stretch, but the spring is such a great time to get your students ready and used to reading, thinking about, and discussing books with their peers instead of me, the teacher. Apr 19, 2017 in it they list some of the benefits of book clubs in the classroom. See how you can get book clubs up and running in your classroom. Mar 18, 2018 here are some tips and ideas for starting a book or other club, and having it run without you having to do all of the work. Mar 20, 2014 you may be wondering how thats possible. In order for your classroom book club to be successful. It was important that most kids could be there every week.

As stated in previous sections of this series, mini lessons are not a necessary part of literacy circles book. Book club activities for first and second grade classrooms. The four rules for a good book club electric literature. How to run a fullchoice book club in your classroom. Literature circles made easy by laura candler stepbystep directions for getting literature circles up and running in your classroom. Its one, im happy to report, the ladies of the film book club are willing to follow. While its tempting to stick with your cliche, a book club is a great way to extend your circle and get to know new people. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center for the. After a week or two of running book clubs in my room, it was something that my students loved and really looked forward to. Its all fine and dandy to say you want to run a book club. How do i create a virtual book club for my students. Book clubs in first grade it may seem like a stretch, but the spring is such a great time to get your students ready and used to reading, thinking about, and discussing books with their peers instead of me, the teacher. How to start and run a book club a thousand words youtube.

Includes 6 slidecast videos, a printables mini pack, notetaking pages, and a set of study guides. Teacher nicola linde ruiz reflects on her experience of running book clubs with her learners and provides clear steps for starting a club of your. Promote a love for literature and a positive attitude towards reading. Organizing clubs, managing them while theyre up and running, determining the. If you are looking to start an online book club for the classroom, it may be advisable to initiate a closed club. How we set up book clubs in middle school pernille ripp.

If youve made it here, youre ready to find out how to get book clubs up and running in your classroom. Dec 10, 2012 the topic changes every year, but this year, we are studying book clubs. Having a gap in the book clubs allows us to continue our allyear focus on joyful independent reading, as well as see their growth. Many people would love to try running a book club in their classroom. An open club allows anyone to register and become a member of the club. Feb 12, 2011 classroom book clubs is a narrated slidecast that describes a fun and effective method of doing literature circles. Opening the book is a site designed for book professionals and supplies tool packs for book clubs and courses in running groups. My high school has a student lead book club and i was elected our president. Try using a classroom book club, which is a great way to enrich, engage, and differentiate in secondary. Theres a lot to juggle when book clubs are happening in our classrooms. The classroom book clubs program is a variation of traditional literature circles in which groups of students read the same book and have weekly meetings to discuss their thoughts and feelings about the book. In it they list some of the benefits of book clubs in the classroom. How to start a book club that doesnt suck book riot.

What to do when youve tried book clubs in your classroom, and. Scholastic book clubs is the best possible partner to help you get excellent childrens books into the hands of every child, to help them become successful lifelong readers and discover the joy and power of. Today, i run the modern classrooms project, where i help other. Of course, students may choose to run their own book clubs at any point, but they are not required to discuss their books like this except for these two times. As stated earlier in previous posts, thriving book clubs are rarely teacher directed.

When i started book clubs with my littler learners i needed a lot of guidance. This method does not include literature circle roles, so the program is easy to implement in a flexible manner. Wanting to revamp your independent reading program. How to discuss books litlovers book club recommendations. The classroom book clubs method is more relaxed and less structured than many forms of literature circles. Maybe i can break my class into groups, have them do a reading project and then present on it. Reflect a studentcentered model of literacy employing the gradual release of responsibility. Literature circles made easy includes 5 short videos for teachers plus the printables you need to set up and run literature circles in your classroom.

Scholastic book clubs is the best possible partner to help you get excellent childrens books into the hands of every child, to help them become successful lifelong readers and discover the joy and power of good books. Follow this easy checklist to ensure that everything is completed so you can enjoy your book stress free. When you run a club meeting, you communicate with all club members at once, plan future club activities and make important decisions. When done right, it can be such a fun learning experience for both the. This is the fourth installment in a series of posts with ideas and suggestions for running effective literacy circles or book clubs with students from second grade through high school. These lessons can also be taught to the entire class or to certain groups on an. May 05, 2015 my book club was part of a formal after school program so each 10 week session was held right after school in a classroom for one hour every week for 10 weeks. Starting a book club with your class cambridge university press. In this lesson, which can also be used in the sixthgrade classroom, introduce qar through a readaloud, sorting questions as they are answered and. Organizing and simplifying book clubs in the classroom. This means that they will meet with their groups 46 times, so this will equates to approximately 50 pages of reading across 5 weeks for a 250page book.

Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to. The meeting facilitator maintains order throughout the meeting while tackling all topics on the meetings agenda. Scholastic book clubs childrens books for parents and teachers. Scholastic book clubs childrens books for parents and. Today, ill explain why i use book clubs as an integral part of my reading block, and how to launch thriving book clubs in just one week. Classroom book clubs transformed my reading instruction and led to huge gains in my students reading comprehension and fluency. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike. Andersen 19 comments ive been asked on twitter by a few different people how i run fund my high school book club, so i. They take on responsibility for their own literacy learning. To run the meeting effectively, you must be organized and have a plan.

Establishing independent reading expectations and creating a schedule this article is the second in a threepart series about how to run classroom book clubs. Try using a classroom book club, which is a great way to enrich, engage, and. Andersen 19 comments ive been asked on twitter by a few different people how i run fund my high school book club, so i decided i should write a post about it. Explore options for setting up and running a book club. Read with an online group courtesy of you magazine. Lots of kids wish that their school had a book club, but very few actually have the drive to make it happen. We have 7 tips to help you lead a great book club discussioneverything from book discussion questions, prompts, games, handouts, even index cards. Book clubs bring challenges in class management and assessment, but they.

Because all of my experience with book clubs comes from my years in a 3rd grade classroom, i have been spending time with younger students to learn about how these clubs might strengthen their reading. Find ideas for discussions and activities your book club will enjoy. They learn to value one another as readers and learners. Book clubs build community in the classroom, get students excited about reading, and break up the daytoday routine. So i created a unit to share some of the resources and tricks that worked in my room. After a photoshop nightmare of an opening montage, in which we learn these four friends have been finding time in between marriages and divorces, law. However, when book clubs are not going well, teachers need to intervene with.