{"id":1447,"date":"2015-04-27T09:19:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T13:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/espace.bsu.edu\/bestpractices\/?p=1447"},"modified":"2015-04-27T09:19:21","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T13:19:21","slug":"student-led-book-clubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espace.bsu.edu\/bestpractices\/student-led-book-clubs\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Led Book Clubs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Club Allows Students to Take Ownership for Their Reading<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Book Club was originally created through collaboration with a third grade teacher(me) and fifth grade teacher who were seeking a way to empower students to have meaningful discussions on complex texts that were being read in class.\u00a0 When Book Club was first created, the whole class still read the same book, which was at a level appropriate for that age group of students.\u00a0 At the beginning of \u201cReading Time\u201d, students would use their Book Club materials to find out their job assignment for that day.\u00a0 Students were then given approximately a half hour to read the assigned pages in their book and then complete their job in the Book Club packet.\u00a0 Jobs ranged from Word Wizard, Passage Picker, Illustrator, etc.\u00a0 Students would then come together to discuss their jobs for ten to fifteen minutes.Quickly, as teachers we saw students taking ownership for their reading.\u00a0 Students were answering complex questions and having meaningful discussions in regards to the texts that they were reading.\u00a0 No longer were students answering simple questions one at a time as the teacher called on them.<\/p>\n

Soon after beginning Book Club, we saw a need to make the jobs even more meaningful and connected to standards.\u00a0 The jobs were changed to new titles and linked to standards:\u00a0 Discussion Director (leads the small group discussion and asks thought provoking questions), Connector (Connects the story to another one\u2019s self, another text, or the world), Summarizer (Writes a retell of what has happened),\u00a0 & Meaning Mapper (creates a Graphic Organizer to document new knowledge).<\/p>\n

This year Book Club has adapted once again.<\/p>\n

Our school, like many others, has a leveled guided reading program.\u00a0 Using Fountas and Pinnell, students are assessed to find their instructional and independent reading levels.\u00a0 Once those levels are known, students are placed in small groups with others whom are at their reading level.\u00a0 Students are then given reading instruction at their level.<\/p>\n

When I was working to meet with my own small groups, I was of course focused primarily on the readers at the low end of the spectrum.\u00a0 Students that were doing okay or even better than okay were given centers or other work to do, while I met with the others.\u00a0 I decided to revamp Book Club.\u00a0 I could teach the whole class how to do Book Club.\u00a0 Then, I would let students meet every day to discuss novels on their level while I was meeting with students who were not ready for independent reading.\u00a0 You could walk into my classroom and see myself working with a small group of students and three other small groups meeting and reading texts independently.<\/p>\n

In January, our school combined grade levels to enhance our guided reading program.\u00a0 I am now leading five Student Led Book Clubs while other teachers and support staff work with Guided reading groups at 4 different levels.\u00a0 Grouping is fluid and changes when needed to support students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

Now, students begin Book Club by finding their group.\u00a0 They meet for 10-15 minutes about their reading assignment.\u00a0 They are then able to self-assess how they thought they did.\u00a0 The student Discussion Director also assesses their group.\u00a0 I then walk around and give my assessment for the day.\u00a0 Students then have approximately 15 minutes to begin reading and preparing for the next day\u2019s discussion.<\/p>\n

Book Club is my favorite time of day, because I just get to be a spectator.\u00a0 I walk around and read with each group 3 times a week.\u00a0 I keep track of time and redirect if a group has gotten off topic.\u00a0 I ask questions when giving my assessments.\u00a0 But for the most part, I get to watch my students teach one another.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Challenges or Obstacles:<\/h3>\n
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