Do you need a quick way to assess if your students are applying the reading skills and strategies you are teaching. If you have computer access in your classroom or school, you can also have them research various book selections online. The letter itself brings my middle grade students beyond the book summary and teaches them to reflect on the impact reading can have on a. Get started with school counseling book clubs confident. The classroom book clubs method is more relaxed and less structured than many forms of literature circles, and its flexibility makes it more adaptable to a variety of classrooms and students. I love sharing a good book, watching students make connections to the characters, seeing first hand my students reading and comprehension levels, and helping them improve their reading. Create a comic strip of the main events that happened in your book. How to run a fullchoice book club in your classroom. What i love about book clubs is that they are a million miles away from all of that nonsense. Various esl activities elementary to advanced activities by level. In this lesson, which can also be used in the sixthgrade classroom, introduce qar.
Favorite literature circle books for students is a collection of student books recommended by upper elementary and middle school teachers. How to start a book club for elementary students kids book club. Book clubs bring challenges in class management and assessment, but they can. I found a way to do it by creating a weekly classroom tradition.
Students arrive having read the agreedupon number of pages as decided by their book club as well as having prepared a task. A prime motivator, especially for secondary students, is social interaction. Book clubs is a place to share a love for reading and to watch your students devour books and have rich discussions about the text. The key here is that they are interested in the book they are reading thats huge. Book clubs for the upper elementary classroom the rigorous owl. Book clubs or literature circles can be a wonderful way to get your students. Book talk suggestions to get the students engaged in their reading. Books clubs can be an effective way to use these natural tendencies as a positive tool to engage middle school students in literature. Your guide to starting a book club in your school oxford.
Qar is an explicit and straightforward strategy that helps students identify questions as in the book or in my head. Explore options for setting up and running a book club. This post is the first in a threepart series about how to run a book club in your classroom. Find more advice on starting your book club in nikkis guide. Try these fun book club games to liven up your normal routine or break the ice for newcomers. Present this list in front of the class during literature circles or book discussions. So today we are going to explore 25 proven activities that can be applied to any book and at any age level. This is part 2 of a blog post miniseries to help you run book clubs with elementary students. These guides for firstyear teachers offer crucial tips for managing the classroom, students, curriculum, parent communication, and, of course, time. Here is a quick how to guide about my classroom book club. Each book club has a specific focus, such as character, theme, writing style, or how fiction reveals truth.
This guide is to help give you ideas as a teacher or even a parent to use. Library search party library scavenger hunt information literacy. I use a great deal of the teaching materials and ideas from laura candler. My primary goal for book club is to create a culture of reading among my students. Ideas for activities that you can adapt and use at different levels.
Jay gatsby the great gatsby takes twiceweekly elocution lessons the rain in spain. Whether youre considering a classroom book club for the first time, or are already guiding your students through their third book this year. For twentyfive minutes each wednesday, book club lunch gives a small group of students a chance to relax, eat together, and share thoughts about books they love in a setting free of any direct focus on building specific literacy skills. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center for the. The advantages of a book club in a middle school classroom. 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 like literature circles, book clubs put students in the drivers seat and require kids to take ownership of their reading. 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. If so, youll know that great books are at the heart of a great literature circles program. See more ideas about book club books, kids book club and library lessons. 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. While your book choice may be set, make as many other decisions as possible with. School library lessonslibrary lesson planselementary school librarymiddle school. Youve just observed the excitement of classroom book clubs, an easy and. 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.
Free activities and resources designed for younger students. As stated earlier in previous posts, thriving book clubs are rarely teacher directed. To keep students actively involved in the book club, i post. Decide on a genre when starting a book club at school with help from an awardwinning writer. Featuring the club crew from kids against bullying website. 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. Putting 100 plus students together in an online community to have conversations can be scary. These options give students a wide variety of activities to complete during book club meetings.
Home special theme center archives language arts special themes page. Book clubs book fairs scholastic education classroom magazines about us. You can get monthly book recommendations and free teaching notes as part of our oxford education book club. How to set up a book club in your school, including ideas for key questions for your discussion. Book clubs are informal discussions about books that can be used in the classroom to motivate students and to encourage comprehension and. The very quiet cricket preschool activity teaching mama today im sharing a preschool. The book clubs happen outside of school, at recess, and at times during smallgroup reading. Its a 38 page resource, common core aligned, that includes everything needed for book clubs 4th8th grades and it works with all novels. A blog post miniseries part 1 the 5 ws book clubs are a great way to get students collaborating about a book that theyre interested in. The social aspect and autonomy of book clubs appeal to middle school students and provide motivation as well as opportunities to expand knowledge.
Questioning by john close reading, guided reading, reading skills, teaching reading, reading. School counseling book clubs in elementary school are some of my favorite twists on a classic small group counseling. The first step in starting a book club at school is talking to a teacher, principal or administrator. Book clubs is definitely a place to pull listening and speaking grades and we also use them for work completion grades, but to us, book clubs is not a place for grades. Classroom book clubs transformed my reading instruction and led to huge gains in my students reading comprehension and fluency. Elementary activities national bullying prevention center. Now we re teaching virtual classes remotely from our homes in china. Elementary school book club ideas classroom synonym. 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 reluctant readers. See more ideas about book club books, library lessons and library programs. Instructables is always helpful for new ideas as well as sparking my own creativity. The beginning of book clubs in b book club activities.
Students meet every other day or so or as often as they wish to briefly discuss what they have read and to map out how much to read next. Explore topics of social skills, accepting self, developing selfconfidence, peer relationships, and bullyingconflict. Reveal the book club idea, like a fun surprise, building anticipation about the way were going to experience our. Books clubs are a fun way for kids to get a deeper understanding of a book and learn to have a discussion with other readers. Having socialmedia like conversations about our books. 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. Special theme page celebrate childrens book week with classroom activities in celebration of book week and school library media month, education world presents dozens of book themed activities, lessons, and projects, from our archive. Then, around the title, draw several pictures with words underneath about the events that happened in the story. As stated in previous sections of this series, mini lessons are not a necessary part of literacy circles book. Now were teaching virtual classes remotely from our homes in china. Favorite resources for book club and literature circles. Students then use the strategy to develop questions for a peerled book. To meet this challenge, the authors suggest using questionanswer relationship qar as a basis for school wide comprehension instruction.
Teachers of elementary school art ideas instructables. These activities are easy to follow an suitable for most age groups within an elementary junior high school level. This page includes two different types of resource recommendations. The goal is to creatively engage them through conversation, activities, art and music to build their understanding of how to handle bullying situations. Find ideas for discussions and activities your book club will enjoy. Book clubs are a great way to engage students with reading and help build a reading culture at your school. Origami yoda is a great book club title for upper elementary and middle school boys. Theyll remember the books they read and the people they shared them with. Where you hold your book club is really important for elementary school students. How to start a book club for elementary or grade school children this. Along with these jobs, students prepare, what we call, discussion seeds, discussion seeds are ideas that popped into their head while reading. Minilessons that support effective book clubs center. Middle school libraries middle school reading elementary library up book book club books book clubs teen library library ideas read it and weep. I have had several questions about how i go through each step with my students so hopefully, this helps.
This post will share five ways teachers can get free classroom library books. Get started with book clubs in the elementary classroom. Some ideas for book club books upper elementary august 17, 2014 july 31, 2015 pernille ripp i thought i had been doing book clubs well my first few years of teaching, but it wasnt until i went to teachers college and really learned how to do book clubs that i. 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. Scholastic book clubs childrens books for parents and. When my students leave my classroom, i think what they will remember most are the experiences that didnt feel like school. 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. If the group meets in the library, make it a club corner where there are comfy chairs to sit in or a place for the kids to lie down on their stomachs and stretch out on pillows.
To do this draw, a circle in the middle of your paper, and in the circle write the name of your book. Students arrive having read the agreedupon number of pages as decided by their book club as well as having prepared a task for the days focus as decided by me. This product will revolutionize the way your class has books clubs. Students read the book, discussing it along the way. Seldomridge, a grades 68 project lead the way teacher at granite falls middle school in north carolina, knew a dystopian book club would not only grab students attention, but it would also connect to a range of subjects they were studying. An unconventional librarian book club activities for kids. It also provides a common language for teachers and students to discuss texts. If the group is held in a classroom, throw down a reading rug and some bean bag chairs. A group of high school students sitting in a circle, discussing a book.
1050 578 79 1405 1285 382 1107 270 755 241 866 448 1180 532 1047 1444 915 1524 477 84 1527 725 534 644 1593 836 392 1021 1092 673 270 176 870 1108 271