Let's Talk About Book Clubs!!

As promised...I'm here today with a quick post about book clubs!  Increasing student motivation for reading and writing is a passion of mine.  I actually didn't realize just how passionate I was until I was scrolling my Google Drive account trying to free up storage space.  During my scroll session I found my master project on increasing student motivation for reading and writing.  Apparently I have always been passionate about increasing student motivation for all things literacy?? 

Now back to the book clubs...SO I started a book club with my little and one of her friends in our hood.  I wanted to instill a love of reading for both girls without it feeling so 'teachery'.  Kids today have to hustle ALL DAY LONG, so the last thing they would want is to come home from school only to continue with more school.  I did some research on high interest books knowing what both kiddos would find interesting, which is how I landed on the Princess in Black series.  At first I proposed the idea to my daughter.  She of course was super pumped because book clubs are what grownups do with friends.  Next, I reached out to the other little's mom and asked her thoughts/interests.  She said "sure."  Voila!  A book club was created.  The girls meet weekly to have a fun snack (anything out of the normal snacks you could expect after school), a fun 'grownup' style glass (filled with water), and a current book of interest.  The girls read at their own pace outside of book club.  When together we review what has happened since our last stopping point with the summarizing strategy of 'Somebody Wanted But So Then' and then read the next chapter together taking turns.  I facilitate the conversation asking both girls Depths of Knowledge (DOK) questions along the way.  Once a chapter or two has been read and discussed, both girls share out predictions about what's to come, favorite parts (and why), as well as anything tricky they encountered during their time outside of book club.  The total time spent doing book club is approximately 30 minutes.  Both kiddos are second graders, so the attention span/productivity starts to dissipate after the half hour marker. 

The littles hanging out on the back deck enjoy snacks and a great book!

Book Clubs can happen ANYWHERE!  Here's what it could look like in the classroom:

1. Send out an interest email to parents about setting up a book club.
2. Select the students for the book club (low performing, needing challenged, sparking interest in reading, etc)
3. Ask the selected group (or research yourself) about any books they've heard about being good; they would want to read in the club.
4. Pick a time in the week to meet before or after school (whatever works with your schedule)
5. Choose a fun snack to share with the group during or after book club time (the special treat gives it a non 'teachery' vibe)
6. Depending on age, select a facilitator to ask questions before, during, and after each read.  The facilitator could be a rotating position if upper elementary.  They could actually do the preparing of questions prior to book club meetings and sticky note them in the book at the appropriate stopping points.  (I'm actually going to try this out for two book club meetings from now.  I will report back on how it works out.)
7. Enjoy the ride of creating readers who want to read instead of have to read.

***THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY~ DO NOT GO BROKE RUNNING A BOOK CLUB!!***

Starting a book club is super easy, low maintenance, and inexpensive.  Giving a small yummy treat once a week (even if it's on repeat) is exciting to kiddos.  They really just want some of your time in a smaller setting doing something special on a regular basis.

Parting Question~ Have you used book clubs in your classroom before?  Any tips you would like to share with us?