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Classroom Involvement
In an ideal world, you could post information about your meetings in classrooms and school libraries. Teachers would mention your group, provide titles, remind kids of meeting times, and possibly offer incentive / create some sort of tie-in to curriculum. Or better yet, you as the organizer could approach teachers to learn what books or topics they’d love to see their students read about. You could enhance what goes on in the classroom by selecting authors and titles that compliment school work.
Guiding Discussion
Some kids will come prepared to talk. And talk a lot! Others won’t really be sure how to begin. Even if you’ve given them idea starters, know not everyone will remember or even know how to get a book conversation going. Part of your role is to model how this works by coming with your own observations and questions. When kids hear you sharing a quote you think is key to the story or the obstacles a character had to overcome, they learn how to do this for themselves. Discussions naturally start to grow. Kids begin to read with ideas toward what they might share later. It’s an amazing process to watch.
Sometimes talks get so animated, everyone wants to talk at once. I found it helpful to have a way to visually show whose turn it was to speak. We passed around pencils, stuffed animals, and even a Kleenex box to show who currently was in charge. The kids loved this and were (usually!) willing to wait their turn.
Regular Attendance
To make regular attendance happen, you’ll need a combination of the following: committed kids, involved parents, a regular meeting time and place, consistent communication, a planned-out book schedule, and an easy way for children to get their hands on books. Be willing to be flexible, too. If something isn’t working, evaluate and determine how things could improve. Ask kids and parents for input. Be willing to cancel titles hard to find or add a new book everyone is anxious to read. Plan ahead but be willing to change, if necessary.
And don't forget: Cookies are always a great draw!
Ultimately, we want kids reading and responding to literature. There’s no perfect way to have this happen, but I can tell you this: when an adult is excited about books and shares this regularly with kids, it’s almost impossible for them not to get enthusiastic themselves.
There is nothing like loving children. There is nothing like loving books. To experience the two together is a gift indeed.
Running a Meeting
It’s a good idea not to have a book discussion that first meeting. Instead, talk about ground rules and what you hope your book club will become. Here are some things to think through beforehand:
- Will members be allowed to drop in when they feel like participating or will they be expected to attend regularly?
- What happens if a member hasn’t finished the book?
- How can members prepare before the meeting?
- And a key question: What’s the point of a book club?
Here’s a handout I gave my students our first week together:
Welcome to Book Club!
Here are some things you should know:
- In order to attend a meeting, you need to read the book. That’s it!
- Sometimes we’ll read a book about a boy. Sometimes we’ll read about a girl. If you are a boy, you CAN read about a girl and survive. I promise. Girls, same for you.
- To make Book Club as interesting as possible, it is good, though not required, to jot down things as you read. Here are some ideas:
- How does this book compare to others I’ve read?
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Getting Started
Book clubs can take some work getting off the ground. If you’re interested in starting a group, first think through the kind of community you’d like to form. Will this be a parent / child group? Will members be both boys and girls? Will they all be in the same grade? Will the book club have a theme of some sort?
Groups of all sorts are doable, though different approaches will be necessary in beginning and maintaining your special club. If you decide to work with all boys, for example, be aware active games might need to be incorporated into your meetings.
You’ll need to advertise your club in some way, whether it’s through informal conversation with other parents or through flyers distributed at the public library or (with permission!) your child’s school. As a teacher I was able to draw from my own students and those in other grades. This gave me an advantage but wasn’t a guarantee kids would attend.
Be sure to determine when and where you’ll meet and keep this as consistent as possible. If at all possible, print this information and make sure to distribute it not only to the children but to parents, as well. My after-school groups met on Thursdays, the youngest group on the first Thursday of the month, the middle group on the second, and the oldest group on the third.
Be prepared to remind kids of this commitment. More than once. While teaching, I was able to keep the date of our next meeting listed with daily assignments. I’d mention it briefly every day. Did kids forget? Absolutely. Several usually had to call home the day of the meeting to let parents know. When I was no longer teaching, this was more of a challenge. I asked the dates to be listed in the school calendar and newsletter. Teachers posted flyers in their classrooms. Kids still forgot. If you’re the only adult involved in your group, be prepared for this. Even responsible kids sometimes flake out. It’s just the way things work.
Picking Books
If you’re running a thematic group (fantasy, contemporary young adult, classics, historical fiction), your list will be easier to form. Book selection can be done as a group or on your own.
2 Comments on Starting a Book Club for Kids, last added: 6/22/2011
Book clubs are a fabulous way to get kids reading. I’ve run both after-school and summer book clubs with varying degrees of success. Over the next two weeks I’ll share some tips on how to form a book club, how to select books, how to run a meeting, and pitfalls to avoid.
My experience
I found while teaching sixth and seventh-grade social studies that an after-school book club naturally grew out of a classroom assignment I'd created called Where in the World Are We Reading. Students were to read 1-2 books each term and keep a detailed “Travel Log” about what they learned. By ordering inexpensive packs of historical fiction, I was able to extend the project in a new way. 
2 Comments on Book Clubs for Kids, last added: 6/22/2011
Book clubs are a fabulous way to get kids reading. I’ve run both after-school and summer book clubs with varying degrees of success. Over the next two weeks I’ll share some tips on how to form a book club, how to select books, how to run a meeting, and pitfalls to avoid.
My experience
I found while teaching sixth and seventh-grade social studies that an after-school book club naturally grew out of a classroom assignment I'd created called Where in the World Are We Reading. Students were to read 1-2 books each term and keep a detailed “Travel Log” about what they learned. By ordering inexpensive packs of historical fiction, I was able to extend the project in a new way.
0 Comments on Book Clubs for Kids as of 1/1/1900
When pulling together my after-school book club lists, I made sure to include plenty of my childhood favorites. I thought it would be especially fun to share these classics with young readers starting to form their own opinions about literature. And the chance to discuss books that shaped my childhood with my own boy was too special to pass up.
This month, the third grade read HENRY AND RIBSY. Fourth and fifth-grade read Laura Ingalls Wilder's ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK. It has been such a delight to return to these books I read several times in childhood and again in college (while studying to become a teacher and beginning to toy with the idea of writing myself).
I loved reading again about the earnest hard work of Henry Huggins, his sweet relationship with his dog, and those silly Quimby neighbors. Beverly Cleary writes in a voice fully connected with childhood.
Those of you who've known me forever (or just since the beginning of this blog!) know I have a soft spot for the Ingalls family. I love the loyalty, hard work, love, hope, and gratitude that run through all the Little House books. All those difficult things their family experiences, and they still make it work somehow. As one of my book clubbers said, "They're so nice. No matter what happens, they're hopeful."
I've coined a new phrase for those old titles we keep returning to: Comfort Books. What are yours?
Today I am thrilled to share with you my guest post at Booking Mama. Last fall, Julie Peterson developed a weekly feature about book clubs, which runs every Thursday on her blog. I sent along some information on my after-school groups, and she responded immediately, saying she'd love to share my story.
My Sitemeter account indicates that most people who stop by Caroline by line, apart from you regular readers, are looking for information on book clubs for kids. I hope this post will equip others to develop their own programs, find new titles for their children to sample, or simply encourage the oft-forgotten notion (in school, at least,) of reading for pleasure.
Stop by!
As I was checking Sitemeter a few minutes ago, I noticed someone had come my way via the Chicago Courier News. Strange, huh? Well, I clicked over and found a post about my after-school book clubs (originally posted in October for Books on the Nightstand)!
This afternoon: Off to discuss THE STOLEN LIFE by Jane Louise Curry.
From the back cover: The year is 1758 and Jamesina Mackenzie has been living quietly in the Scottish highlands surrounded by her grandfather, aunts, and uncles. However, her father's death forces Jamesina to go into hiding. Disguised as a boy, she is sent to live with neighbors, but even this deception cannot keep her safe.
She is kidnapped by "spiriters," men who kidnap young people to sell as bond slaves to planters and farmers in America. Still in disguise, Jamesina must make her way through a strange new world -- a world that takes her from a Virginia plantation to the mountains of Cherokee country and finally to a reunion with the family and friends she thought she'd lost forever.
Stop by Books on the Nightstand to read my post about after-school book clubs!
For those of you interested in the books we're reading, here are the lists:
Third-grade book club
Fourth and fifth-grade book club
Sixth and seventh-grade book club
One of the reasons I love reading (and writing, for that matter,) is the opportunity to connect with others beyond myself. Stories are meant for sharing. I love recommending books. It's like introducing two people you know are meant to be friends.
That's why it's so important for all of us, but especially children just starting to "own" their reading, to discuss, share, and explore literature with others. I could feel the energy in the air yesterday (silliness, too) as my fourth and fifth-graders came to discuss Pedro's Journal, a mid-grade historical novel about a (ficitonal) boy who sailed on the Santa Maria during Columbus's first voyage. Not all of them liked it, but all of them came with something to say.
Stories create worlds, characters, and circumstances bigger than ourselves. They point out what it means to be human. It is so key to share these things, making meaning beyond ourselves. I love that kids love this. I love that I get to be a part of the process. Thank you to everyone who fosters reading in the young -- parents, teachers, librarians, volunteers, writers, readers, dreamers. Your efforts make a difference.
Twelve kids -- six boys and six girls -- showed up last week for our first book club. That's half of third grade at our little school. How amazing is that?
Tomorrow is the first day for my fourth and fifth graders. You may recall some silly fifth-grade guys telling their classmates that book clubs are for girls. Really! My eyes-glued-to-their-books-when-it's-time-for-lessons boys, too. We'll have to see who shows.
Here’s the list of books we’ll be reading.
assigned due
1.Pedro’s Journal * 9-10-09 10-8-09
Pam Conrad
Book level: 5.8 / AR points 2.0
2. A Stolen Life * 10-8-09 11-12-09
Jane Louise Curry
Book level: 5.9 / AR points 8.0
3. Sign of the Beaver 11-12-09 12-10-09
Elizabeth George Speare
Book level: 4.9 / AR 5.0
4. Freedom Crossing * 12-10-09 1-14-10
Margaret Goff Clark
Book level: 4.6 / AR 5.0
5. On the Banks of Plum Creek 1-14-10 2-11-10
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Book level: 4.6 / 8.0
6. Riding Freedom * 2-11-10 3-11-10
Pam Munoz Ryan
Book level: 4.5 / AR 3.0
7. The Ballad of Lucy Whipple 3-11-10 4-15-10
Karen Cushman
Book level: 5.8 / AR points 7.0
8. All-of-a-Kind Family 4-15-10 5-6-10
Sydney Taylor
Book level: 4.9 / AR points 5.0
*school copies will be available
You will notice that the book levels fluctuate throughout the year. Why are students not reading material from easiest to most difficult? I’ve focused our reading on historical fiction and am taking students on a “journey” in chronological order, from Columbus’s voyage to New York City in the 1920s.
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you are a VERY special someone.
xo
b
Beth, thank you.