Sign me up for book club!
What 10 year old would read a book someone else chose, finish it within a month, and then skip recess to talk about it? In my schools, there are a lot!
When I came up with the idea of an elementary book club, I wasn't sure if there would be interest. First of all, I was going to choose the book for the group to read. Students would need to read the book on their own time and finish it by a certain date. And, they would need to skip recess to meet and talk about it.
I was surprised last year by the response to my idea. Students couldn't wait to be in book club. I was overwhelmed by the number of students who wanted to be part of this, and actually had to draw names. If students had their own copy of the book, they were able to join the group. The size of the book club was limited to the number of copies I had ... which happened to be 12. I kept track of who was in the book club, so I could make sure all those who were interested had the opportunity to participate at least once during the school year.
Last week was the first meeting of the fifth grade book club. So many students wanted to participate that there are two groups reading the book, one after the other, with a total of 24 students reading "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate. And the kids asked if they could please be in book club again. At my other school, fifth graders just finished reading "Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo.
What has made this so successful? I think the books that were chosen for book club have been a draw. We've read "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate, "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio, "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate and "Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo. These books appeal to both boys and girls. I also think that the flexibility of the book club entices
students to join. I tell students this has nothing to do with reading levels ... if you want to be in book club, sign up. I also encourage them to be creative in how they read the book. They can read it with their parents, they can listen to an audio version of it, and if they don't finish the book, I still want them to attend the meeting. Sometimes we need to hear from others about the book to motivate us to finish reading it.
Book club has been a great way to get students to read without worrying about the level of the book, or being concerned about passing an Accelerated Reader test. It has been a motivator for some students and it has been fun ... which makes me one happy librarian!
When I came up with the idea of an elementary book club, I wasn't sure if there would be interest. First of all, I was going to choose the book for the group to read. Students would need to read the book on their own time and finish it by a certain date. And, they would need to skip recess to meet and talk about it.
I was surprised last year by the response to my idea. Students couldn't wait to be in book club. I was overwhelmed by the number of students who wanted to be part of this, and actually had to draw names. If students had their own copy of the book, they were able to join the group. The size of the book club was limited to the number of copies I had ... which happened to be 12. I kept track of who was in the book club, so I could make sure all those who were interested had the opportunity to participate at least once during the school year.
Last week was the first meeting of the fifth grade book club. So many students wanted to participate that there are two groups reading the book, one after the other, with a total of 24 students reading "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate. And the kids asked if they could please be in book club again. At my other school, fifth graders just finished reading "Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo.
What has made this so successful? I think the books that were chosen for book club have been a draw. We've read "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate, "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio, "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate and "Flora and Ulysses" by Kate DiCamillo. These books appeal to both boys and girls. I also think that the flexibility of the book club entices
Book club has been a great way to get students to read without worrying about the level of the book, or being concerned about passing an Accelerated Reader test. It has been a motivator for some students and it has been fun ... which makes me one happy librarian!
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