Subjects Matter-Book Clubs

All across America adults are gathering in book clubs to read Oprah's book list, but why is this devotion to reading not found in the classrooms? Book clubs or literature circles encompass two educational ideas; collaborative learning and independent reading. The basic element of book clubs are that students select the reading, they are then put in groups based upon their text choices, students keep notes on their reading, groups meet regularly to discuss the reading, discussion topics are formed by students not textbooks,  during discussion students bring up questions and personal connections to the novel, the teacher does not lead any group but acts as a fellow reader, and at the end of the book a presentation is compiled by each group and presented to the class as a whole. There are six key steps in establishing successful book clubs in the classroom; 1. Training, 2. Group Formation, 3. Scheduling, 4. Five kinds of notes, 5. The Teacher's Role, 6. Projects.

Training
Students can't be expected to perform well in a book club when they don't understand how book clubs operate. Teachers provide examples of successful book clubs to their students whether they show them a movie about book clubs, have them read an article about book clubs, or have the previous years students come in and share their experience with book clubs. After the students get a basic understanding of book clubs they should create a list as a class of proper book club behavior. Another concept to explore with students is collaborative learning, have them practice peer led discussions about an article so that students can get a better sense of how sharing in groups can be an asset.
Group Formation
Teachers should offer their students a choice of five to ten different books, but these novels should cover a large variety of reading levels.   The teachers should provide a quick, thirty second overview of each novel, the students then write down their top three choices on a paper. The teacher then goes home and sorts the groups, keeping in mind that not everybody is going to get their first choices. Groups of four are the ideal size for book clubs because they provide just enough diverse perspective, without allowing people to shy away from the reading.
Scheduling
Book clubs should not take up a lot of class time because the reading is done outside of class. Book clubs should meet based on the length of the books, if a book is average taking the book and dividing it into thirds creates the opportunity for three club meetings. It is important not to drag a book on for too long because students begin to lose interest.
Five Kinds of Notes
In order for book clubs to work students need to be taking notes at home as they read otherwise when it comes to discussion time in class the students won't have anything to talk about because they wont be able to remember. There are five different kids of notes students can take; book marks, post-its, double entry journals, text coding and role sheets. "A role sheet not only stores ideas to bring to your group, it also helps set a purpose for reading when you sit down with the book. There are different types of role plays; the connector- finds connections between the novel and the outside world, questioner- questions that pop up while reading, passage master- locating key paragraphs or sentences that the group should look back on, vocabulary enricher- highlight new, important words, illustrator-draws some kind of picture related to the reading, and researcher- connects background information to the reading.
Teachers Role
While book clubs are meeting teachers need to assist and observe. It is important for students to know that if you sit with a group they need to continue talking instead of looking to you for feedback or instructions. Teachers can share an idea but not as the leader, just a regular group member.
Projects
 Book clubs allow for creative and useful projects. Once students have finished the novel and discussed the conclusion they should have the freedom to create individual or group projects that display what they have learned through the process.

I am glad an entire chapter of this novel was focused to book clubs because I mentioned them in my previous posts and I think they are an incredible tool for teachers to use in the classroom.