Literature discussion strategies book club

Any larger than this, and you risk some students opting out of the discussion or simply being overshadowed by others in the group. Feb 12, 2011 classroom book clubs is a narrated slidecast that describes a fun and effective method of doing literature circles. All children desperately need more opportunities to make choices in school. The second post details how to establish expectations and create a schedule, and the third post discusses accountability and assessment procedures. Aug 21, 2017 ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Effective literacy circles and book clubs center for the. It encourages thoughtful discussion, except that literature circles are much more structured. Each member or a team of 23 takes a card and answers the question. If youve struggled to find effective ways to develop students speaking and listening skills, this is your lucky day. Literature circles and book clubs are a text discussion strategies.

When youre starting a book club it helps to set some ground rules to help ensure that all of your attendees feel welcome and want to return. Reading strategies book club packet by kristine nannini tpt. How to run a fullchoice book club in your classroom. This web site is devoted to book clubs and provides and overview, management suggestions, and a teacher forum.

At your first book club meeting, or whenever new people join your reading group, its good to spend a bit of time getting to know each other. But in the comments that follow the video, wessling adds that she also uses the strategy with nonfiction, where students represent authors of different nonfiction texts or are assigned to take on different. For instruction, explicitly teach comprehension strategies and book club roles 2. Book clubs made easy by teacher trap teachers pay teachers. We will reflect on this accessible and popular form through its history, its critical use, and its po. Texts can be assigned based on student interests, reading level, or learning objectives. Literature circles are a fun and effective way to get kids excited about reading, and they are aligned with common core state standards for speaking and listening. Your job is to prepare a brief summary of todays reading. The stu dents were discussing roberto innocentis historical fiction picture book. She used a common cooperative learning technique a fishbowl to model good discussion strategies for the rest of her class.

Generic discussion questions for fiction and nonfiction to help with almost any book. More often, though, they discuss reading materials at their independent levels, in literature circles and book clubs. Literature circles and studentled book clubs are both instructional. A literature circle is equivalent for young people of an adult book club, but with greater structure, expectation and rigor. They can also have a say about who to be with in a book group. Students divide the book into three to four reading sections. Promote a love for literature and a positive attitude towards reading.

A literature circle in your class is pretty much the equivalent of an adult book club. Book club contract book club books, 3rd grade books. For instance, after a minilesson on theme, students should read trying to determine the theme of their book. Your group discussion will start with your 12 minute statement that covers the key points, main highlights, and general idea of todays reading assignment. Ela teaching strategies for small group discussions. Literature circles and book clubs about this strategy. Book club discussion questions for the interestings by meg wolitzer book club discussion questions. Explain the goal of the paired discussionto synthesize ideas across groups, to critique ideas within a larger group, and to identify common themes and social issues.

They can also serve as a reframing device for students who have participated in literature circles before but are still refining their discussion skills. This can be as simple as going around the group taking it in turns to introduce yourself and saying what you like to read and what youre looking forward to about the book club if youre new or what you like about the club if youre an. You have to seed them in such a way that students apply what theyve learned during minilessons, guided practice, and small strategicreading groups to their discussions. Ask students to create their own discussion questions or offer openended questions that you have practiced with them. Employee development through reading start a book club. Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. Whether youre considering a classroom book club for the first time, or are already guiding your students through their third book this year, heres a list of benefits and some tips for success you can employ right away. Emphasize the importance of finding evidence in the book to support responses. For homework, the teacher asks students to use sticky notes to mark key social issues or historical events that have occurred in their novel. Aug 05, 2017 this post is the first in a threepart series about how to run a book club in your classroom.

Guided reading prompts and questions to improve comprehension. The discussion focused on the practice of literature discussion. When high school english teacher sarah brown wessling introduced this strategy in the featured video click pinwheel discussion above, she used it as a device for talking about literature, where each group represented a different author, plus one provocateur group. Creating book clubs in the english language classroom. Ongoing assessment of student response and discussion strategies. Use this helpful list to find just the right book when you need a story that sends the message that good character counts. Guides to a number of popular novels are available for purchase at. Develop a rubric for helping students assess their work. Apr 19, 2017 students can go into their book club groups with a toolbox paper, highlighter, pen, templates for discussion and you can help them add tools along the way. Fishbowl discussions are a great way to introduce literature circles for the first time. Oprah, mark zuckerberg, your neighbor in the apartment next door. Given as a student handout book mark think mark visuals and sentence starters are included as part of a scaffold for. Games to break the ice at book discussion groups and other.

The literature circles discussion bundle includes 1 membership in facebook group. Findings indicated that a literature discussion increased student enjoyment of reading, and b students understood a text better during literature discussion when they used reading strategies along with prior knowledge to make connections between a text and their own lives. Students are expected to come to group with reactions and thoughts to share. Through shared discussion and reflection, families will explore themes and issues that matter and learn how to better help their. Some of the rules may seem like common sense but making sure everyone is on the same page helps avoid unnecessary conflict. A book club can be yet another method for continuing the education and development of your team.

Similar to a book club, students get the opportunity to discuss and. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center for the. Rich, strategybuilding discussions dont just happen. Book clubs, or literature circles, are a powerful way to build stronger readers and better reading comprehension in your students. Literature circles book clubs are a time for very purposeful independent reading in a book shared with others. You may wish to use bj nambas journal response rubric pdf as a guide. The book explains how book clubs support students need for extensive reading and highinterest reading. Carnegie neighborhood library and center for learning. We have 7 tips to help you lead a great book club discussioneverything from book. With all of this said, it is still true that the more background students have had in reading for deeper meaning and working in collaborative settings, the less support they will need with lists, prompts, or minilessons. Discussions are held on the books description page, where it says join the discussion see image below. The power of literature circles in the classroom edutopia. Its your turn to moderatelead your book club s discussion.

Literature circles and studentled book clubs are both instructional strategies that allow students choice, voice and motivation in reading. Best article writing strategies for affiliate marketers anchor chart for powerful book club convos shared by mary. This post is the first in a threepart series about how to run a book club in your classroom. The book to art club was founded in 20 as a sister project to the library as incubator project laip. Discussion forums on black literature, culture, and more. Nycs district 75 published their middle school units of study, developing autonomy when engaging with literature, online. The aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. Tell them that they will be reading their book and writing questions for the book club discussion. Explain the goal of the paired discussionto synthesize ideas across groups, to critique ideas. It doesnt come across as a set of rules, and it is stated positively. The day before book clubs are scheduled to meet, a teacher delivers a minilesson on how social issues and historical events can affect a novels plot. Whether youre considering a classroom book club for the first time, or are.

In trying this simple method with my middle school students, i found that something was missing. If youre interested in learning about an easy method of implementing literature circles, head. Book clubs can be used to support indepth analysis and discussion of a variety of texts including literature, historical accounts, movie clips, and lyrics. In each strategy, students select books they wish to read with a group of their peers. After teaching a minilesson on any topic below, students should read with that purpose in mind and be challenged to discuss this focus first in their book club. The overall design of a literature circle is to gather students together into a small group to discuss a piece of literature. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center.

To learn more about book clubs, you may want to read book club plus. The guide below provides before, during, and afterreading discussion questions to guide reading comprehension and promote dialogue about issues of resilience, trust, independence, family, and community. However, when book clubs are not going well, teachers need to intervene with. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Readthinktalk a guidedreading chart to use while youre reading. To gather this list of 40 book club favorites, i polled you on the mmd facebook page, asked you on twitter, and combed through your suggestions here. Anchor chart for powerful book club convos shared by mary ehrenworth grade 3 art literature circles this is a really good set of expectations for book club.

Having established rules can be especially important if you are starting a book club thats open to the general public. In mondays book club 101 post, we talked about how a fabulous book club discussion starts with the right bookand it takes more than a great book to make a great book club novel. Students are usually given the opportunity to select one of several books that theyd like to read. Rules to make your book club run smoothly thoughtco. Effects of literature discussion groups on reading. Discussion strategies western washington university. Look for book club guides that you can tweak for your students. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike. There is a spot for students to sign at the bottom.

Impact of literature discussion circles rel southwest. The intent of literature circles is to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers dalie, 2001. Students meet every few days to discuss their reading. Engage students in the concept of a literature circle by. Thoughtfully planned book clubs position learning in the hands of the students and provide discussion tools. Browse this collection of printables to use with your literature circle activities. Select a number of questions, write each on an index card, and distribute. Classroom book clubs is a part of the literature circles discussion bundle which also includes talking sticks discussions and discussion connections, two products to help foster more collaborative discussions.

Effects of literature discussion groups on reading comprehension. I was in a book club once, i said, explaining how a group of friends read the same novel and then discussed it over dinner. A complete readers resource with information on well over 200,000 fiction and readable nonfiction titles. Read students summaries to assess how much students recall. Veronica roth this guide was written by teens for teens to accompany the reading of this resilience literature. Implementing literature discussion groups in classrooms enhanced. Consider asking students to assess themselves using tools such as bj nambas book club discussion selfassessment pdf or her discussion group selfassessment pdf. By creating roles within each literature circle or book club group and specific tasks for the group to accomplish during their text discussion time, teachers can modify the work to make it more studentcentered. Book club not your mamas book club join in a lively book discussion. They prepare for a group meeting by reading agreedupon pages, with the followup discussion led members of the group. Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts. This book club contract sets clear expectations for the book club or literature circle activity. A conceptual framework to organize literacy instruction by taffy e. A number of the links provide activities connected to the literature as well.

Raphael, susan florioruane, and marianne george, which. Several of janine kings sixth graders had participated in literature circles the year before. Going beyond thinkpairshare for paired and small group discussions. Imagine the topics being learnergenerated and the discussion natural, without formal comprehension questions or postreading exercises. These groups of four or five students may discuss a section of a novel, short story, myth, fairy tale, or nonfiction selection that they have recently dealt with in a strategicreading group.

The big list of class discussion strategies cult of pedagogy. The contract explains about reading the assigned reading on time, completing any assignments that go along with the reading in a timely fashion, as well as participating in discussions, and behaving appropriately with peers. This book club or literature circle packet uses the six reading comprehension strategies in a book club or literature circle format. Recent literacy research has revealed that choice is the key ingredient in a successful reading program. Oct 09, 2017 literature circles and studentled book clubs are both instructional strategies that allow students choice, voice and motivation in reading. Ways to start discussions through novels could potentially work with narrative texts. Preparing for literature circles through a fishbowl discussion. Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to. Chapters show how discussion and analysis are sparked by making personal connections, cultural connections, and media connections to book club texts, and by asking questions, making predictions, and drawing inferences. The second post details how to establish expectations and create a schedule, and the third post discusses accountability and assessment procedures recent literacy research has revealed that choice is the key ingredient in a successful reading program, especially for. Launch book clubs in just one week with these handy tools and resources. Mar 25, 2015 in mondays book club 101 post, we talked about how a fabulous book club discussion starts with the right bookand it takes more than a great book to make a great book club novel. Litcourse our 10 free online literature courses are short and fun. Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group might want to discuss about this part of the book.

Literature discussion groups have been called by many names. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. Book clubs raphael and literature circles daniels have developed as effective ways to organize student discussion around multiple texts. Put your students in charge of leading their learning. Managing a discussion in a large class, part of a youtube channel from center for excellent in learning and teaching at iowa state university see description. I turned each comprehension strategy into a job to be completed in a student book club or literature circle. The purpose is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. The laip is an online and brickandmortar organization that works to promote libraries of all types as places to connect and create. Explain that each group will join together with the other group in the class who read the same book and conduct a 15minute paired book club discussion in front of the class. Reading strategies book club packet reading strategies. Free webinar and information about how to use classroom book clubs with your students. I magine your students, sitting in small groups of. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center for.

One of the first paired discussion strategies i used as a student teacher was the good old thinkpairshare or, as i call it, elbowbuddy talk. Use these prompts and focused questions to help students gain the reading behaviors and comprehension strategies they need to become stronger readers. Each reading group selects their own book and each group member is given a role or a job to complete. Choose one question at a time and toss it out to the group.

Literature circles and book clubs are a text discussion strategies that supports studentled facilitation and discussion in small groups. Have students summarzie a book discussion in their journals bimonthly. Literature circles allow students to make choices about their learning. Free printables for literature circles laura candler. Ela teaching strategies for small group discussions english. Students completed the reading and held discussions.

Oct 05, 2017 any larger than this, and you risk some students opting out of the discussion or simply being overshadowed by others in the group. Includes book discussion guides and book talks for several titles. Best book club ideas for kids grades ideas 50 literature circlebook discussion question task cards for grades interactive book club for fiction and nonfiction books see more. This would make book club meetings run more smoothly because everyone would know what is expected of them.

Students can also be involved in selecting texts for their book club to study and discuss. In fact, literature circles have become the cornerstone for many reading programs in the classroom. Literature circles and book clubs betterlesson coaching. The book to art club is a reallife extension of the work of the laip. The objective of literature circles is to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers dalie, 2001. Focusing literature discussion groups on comprehension strategies. Book club groups remixed to share onepagers and focus on the essential question of the unit assignments this week. The interestings by meg wolitzer discussion questions. Use your my link library card to access this resource.