Let anyone propose a book, then have the club vote on the options. Starting a book club can be an intimidating endeavor. Whether you start with a fishbowl of a book club group or you sit in on each group as they begin, follow through on ground rules to help students feel secure that their agreement will be supported. Book club for kids is a podcast where middle school readers discuss the books they love with host kitty felde. This week, i wanted to get a glimpse of the book clubs that are happening in upper grade classrooms at my school.
How to start a book club for elementary or grade school children this. 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. They determine how they want their book club to function, what the consequences should be for kids that dont do their part, and how they will share. Alternatively, each member donates a certain amount of money each meeting. Even better, imagine your student readers encouraging other student readers from home.
After 18 months of fabulous meetings, i can in all confidence declare the book club a resounding success, and im having even more fun than i anticipated. Book club is an opportunity for 5th grade students to meet with me and their classmates over lunch. A closed book club is ideal if you want a small club, for example, for your class or for a particular group of students. The reading is not evaluated in the traditional way. The book club will meet once a month hopefully at our school library to discuss a book and engage in different bookrelated activities. The fountains of silence is also marie claires book club pick this month. We improve our reading skills, have in depth discussions, and develop empathy for the characters in our books and people in our lives. 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. I sat in on several club meetings in tami heeses 5th grade class, and i saw some excellent thinking and learning happening. When book club members join you in a lunch bunch meeting, you can rely on kidwatching to note how students are developing as readers. Thompson sees the parentchild book club as an avenue for conversation and communication. I may be biased, but moms book nook is the best online moms book club youll find.
Together, we read a socialemotional chapter book over the course of several weeks. Which is near impossible when you have a brother with autism and a family that revolves around his disability. The greenbrook elementary breakfast book club is a wonderful way to encourage reading and improve reading comprehension for students in grades 1 through 5. For our second grade book club, we chose the hidden stairs and the magic carpet from the series the secrets of droon. Elementary school book clubs are a great way to engage children while developing their critical thinking skills and keeping them interested in reading. They read the same book, then gather to talk about the. Book clubs are a voluntary, studentcentered activity. 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. Books for an elementarylevel book club my good friend and neighbordownthestreet hosts a twicemonthly book club for her two elementary students and my two. Heese gave her students a very short amount of time to get into their clubs. 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.
Since this is their first book club, they should feel like this is a fun experience instead of a huge chore. How to start a book club for kids pbs kids for parents. If youre a teacher or leader of a youth organization, you might have to make multiple book clubs one for second and thirdgraders, one for fourth and fifthgraders, and so on. Follow the protocols you and the students set in place.
Scholastic book clubs childrens books for parents and. A few startup tips from vicki levy krupp, coauthor of the kids book club book. This may seem obvious, but it is the most important step, so it is worth stating. Book club ideas, structure, possible assignments teach123school. How to run a fullchoice book club in your classroom. How do i negotiate sticky relationships in the group. Book clubs for the upper elementary classroom the rigorous owl. If you all love to read fiction books, this would be an awesome name to go with. It has been a fun and yummy way to ecourage my students to read more. Book club is not group therapy a member who loves a memoir about drug addiction because she was a drug addict and then spends the whole two hours talking about her struggles or a member who hates a novel about coworkers in a corporation because she works for a corporation and then spends two hours talking about her boss have missed the.
My students truly enjoy being rewarded for something they already love to do. Ellen raskin shelved 4 times as 5thgradebookclub avg rating 4. Each book has activities to start the discussion and teach the behaviors to create a strong foundation in your classroom. Club size ideal number of book club numbers is 815, with the optimum number being 1012. 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. House rules to ensure that all members enjoy the experience of being in the book club, it is sometimes helpful to discuss some guidelines relating to meeting etiquette. Book clubs are the perfect way to get your readers reading. Here are some details to consider while building a community of readers. 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. Linda garner, a teacher librarian and a school library journal slj school librarian of the year finalist, shares some great tips on running a virtual book club for middle schoolers. Rules and order things the guys read group wasnt concerned with. We meet in a private facebook group and chat about a new book every month. In a workplace book club, members get together to form a connection with others, hear different points of view, debate, learn. Ive also learned some important dos and donts for running a childrens book club, which id like to share with you.
Having your students create norms for group work is critical. Cindy yuill explains how workplace book clubs can benefit yourself and your team as software testers and developers. Want to see these questions in action, and join a fun monthly online book club no awkward silences, promise. I am the primary organizer of our book club and it really grinds me. Whether your childs a bookworm or a struggling reader, sharing a book with others is way more fun than reading solo. Make it your new years resolution to read more books in 2019.
Its more fun to read the same book with your buddies, which is why book clubs are especially great for reluctant readers. Joining a book club can seem impossible, if you dont know where to look. This book club name wins bonus points for alliteration. How to start a book club for elementary students wehavekids. The host for that month a rotating position spends the money to buy books for the club to enjoy. Imagine being able to encourage your student readers from home.
In a discussion book club, the whole group reads the same book between each meeting, usually one per month. The overall goal, of course, is to encourage the kids to discuss and enjoy different kinds of literature. In my own motherdaughter group she says, i have found that when the mothers take the time to read, listen and respond to their daughters as readers, they send a powerful message that the girls thoughts and experiences are important. Try this if the members have a similar taste in books and dont want to explore new genres. 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. In a book club for kids, all the kids should be of about the same age and reading level. It is about 70 pages, but has large print and is fairly easy reading for most second graders. Reveal the book club idea, like a fun surprise, building anticipation about the way were going to experience our. Genius guesser find special sections of the book to read aloud helps people remember interesting, powerful, funny or important parts mark with sticky notes with your group you can. Some of the rules may seem like common sense but making sure everyone is on the same page helps avoid unnecessary conflict. It is a good idea to plan on finishing the book a little earlier than you might otherwise so that you have time to think about it and prepare before your book club meets. Lunch bunch meetings should be voluntary, not required. The second half of the video shows you what not to do. There are two common ways this type of club can function.
Having discussion questions before your book club meets will help facilitate a good discussion of your book. The book club meets the second wednesday of the month october through may from 7. Read them yourself ask someone else to read have group read silently discuss with group explain thinking on job. As you read each novel, jot down page numbers and passages that moved you and where you found answers to the discussion questions. Here are some tips for how to have a successful book club and discussion in our class. We announce the book selection on the first monday of the month and discuss on the. Popular 5th grade book club books showing 150 of 140 the westing game paperback by. We announce the book selection on the first monday of the month and discuss on the last monday of the month at 9. Book club book ideas for kids in 2nd and 3rd grade. A book discussion group is a forum where readers can come together and talk about books and the reading experience there are adult groups, studentled groups, motherdaughter groups, fatherson groups, and parentchild groups, to name just a few. 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. How to start a book club for elementary students kids book club. Social issues book club unit book clubs elementary. Non fiction book club questions westfield memorial library.
This is an early release thats only available to our membersthe rest of the world has to wait til next month to read it. Kids are full of enthusiasm, which can be very conducive to a lively kids book club meeting. This post is the first in a threepart series about how to run a book club in your classroom. Rules to make your book club run smoothly thoughtco. By using these simple starter questions, nonfiction books can be introduced to the club with ease and can ensure that future meetings will be filled with intelligent discussions and the exciting exchanging. See more ideas about classroom book clubs, classroom books, reading classroom. The behavior basics book club was created to help teach students the basics of behavior through childhood classic books.
Nonfiction books can be a great addition to any book club and offer a nice change of pace from typical reading group fiction selections. There are a couple ways to decide which books to read. Use this if your book club has a tendency to alternate between different types or genres of books. Better yet, strive to read or listen to 100 books between january 1 and december 31, so you can become a member of the lafayette public library systems 100. Having established rules can be especially important if you are starting a book club thats open to the general public. The rules of engagement for workplace book clubs stickyminds. Instead of doing literature as a separate subject with the exception of studying shakespeare, our elementary kids have a twicemonthly book club that they love. While your book choice may be set, make as many other decisions as possible with. Where you hold your book club is really important for elementary school students. There will be many choices for them of which book to read together. Poster on book club rules 4 posters on what a 4 star, 3 star, 2 star, and 1 star member look like 1. Reading book clubs a what to do and what not to do. Book club guidelines poster free kids book club, book club.