This year is flying by and I JUST got around to starting my Teacher's Book Club!
As I teach 6 classes - 3 grade levels, I tend to pick only one grade level for my book club so that I am not overwhelmed (who am I kidding?!?!?!) This year I picked 6th grade :)
I like turning the Book Club into an exclusive things that raise interest in it, and so I open it up to all of the students who manage to maintain an A in my class in that grade level, which believe it or not are quite a few.
I invite them to a meeting and explain to them what book club is and what the expectations are.
I encourage those that are interested to write their name on a post it and put it in a bag for us to shuffle.
I like to keep book club small at about 5 kids max. To be fair and make sure they don't think I favor anyone, I ask an 8th grader to pick 5 post its out of the bag and the students who's names are called are invited to join my book club.
I like giving the kids choice when it comes to reading, and so I let them pick the book we read together.
I make a few suggestions and they make their choice.
We meet every Friday during lunch 30-40 min. to discuss our books and what we've read. We act out scenes, build models together, and do other fun activities related to the book. It is worksheets FREE!
I'm a big believer in having an "adult" discussion about books with the kids, giving them an idea how WE do it!
We don't read the book together because it takes forever to finish a book that way. We decide together how much we want to accomplish on our time and read independently. They use they DEAR time in class and at home to read the book.
I also bring them a snack to share & juice to enjoy together!
Today was our first book club meeting and it was great!!!!
Our first book choice was The Giver by Lois Lowry!
What a great book! My kids really gravitate towards Dystopia.
Today we discussed Ch. 1-10 and plan on finishing the book by next Friday.
I did some online work (beg, borrow, steal) and here are some great resources I compiled for the unit.
These came from TpT freebies, SparkNotes, and other sites.
What do you do for book clubs?
What novels do you read with the kids?
This is a really neat idea. I like the exclusivity of it and how it is a reward that keeps them working! I think I might try to figure out a way I can pull this off. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIf they enjoyed The Giver, you need to introduce them to Matched by Allie Condie. It is another dystopian society and so well written!!!
ReplyDeleteIf they enjoyed The Giver, you need to introduce them to Matched by Allie Condie. It is another dystopian society and so well written!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all your great ideas!
ReplyDeleteAnytime! Thanks Victoria :)
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