[LM_NET] HIT: How often to meet for BOOK CLUB

[Paula Joseph <prj67@YAHOO.COM>]

Thanks to all who responded to my how-often-to-meet
book club dilema!  I have decided to discuss with the
kidshow often they would like to meet.  I am going to
push for every other week and I have started a blog
that the kids can access to discussin the interim.
Thanks again and here is a HIT!

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I have a seventh grade group and an eighth grade one.
Students sign out the book, read it (hopefully) and we
meet at lunch to discuss it.  I meet with
each group about once every four or five weeks.  Each
meeting is to discuss a different book.
-------

I read to kids during their lunch (and mine) 4 days a
week.  I have read about 6 books this year to
different kids in the fifth grade.  My goal is to
read to EVERY 5th grader by the end of the year.  It
is not actually a "club" but a time to interest kids
in reading.  It is so much fun.
------

We have a Reading Olympics for grades 4,5, and 6 in
our area with a reading list of 45 books.  To deflect
complaints that such an event emphasizes reading just
for facts, I initiated 4 literature circles that meet
during the students' lunch recesses.  There are 5
students in each circle and each has a role to fulfill
when we meet.  I ask them how much
they can read in a week and they agree upon a few
chapters per week.  Some do read ahead and that is OK.
 Our discussions center upon the agreed
upon reading material, but, of course, often includes
material already read which is fine.  The roles have
worked really well since that gives us a focus for
discussion.
 -----
Sounds like you are on your way to a successful book
club.  Our book club meets every two weeks at lunch
time.  We assign a managable number of pages at a time
and discourage students from reading ahead (but some
can't help themselves!).  It usually takes 3-4
sessions to complete a book.  We use the literature
circle format, have a book related snack and plan a
related fun activity.  It has been great fun and quite
successful.

-----
...  I would meet once a week though and just discuss
the chapters you all decided to read.  I don't think
it matters if they read ahead as long as you stress
that they can't tell anyone what happens.  That takes
the fun out of it for the others and it is more fun
for the person who reads ahead to say, Oh, I know what
happens next!!

------
I have a movie book club where we read the book and
then watch the movieand compare.  The students in this
club are in grades 5 and 6. We get together once a
week during their lunchtime.  I let the kids
decide how many pages we should read until the next
meeting.  We discuss the book as we go along in case
some of them didn't understand
something.  I tell them that if they don't finish up
to where we decided, to come to the club meeting
anyway and they'll catch up later.
(But I talk to any who are falling behind a lot to
encourage them tokeep going.) I have had a little
problem with some kids reading ahead of the group.
When we are discussing the section, they forget and
start talking about what's coming up.  I just stop
them and say that the rest of us hadn't
read that far yet, so they'll have to wait until the
next week with those comments.

-----

I live in Florida and run a lunchtime book club. I
bring treats (dessert) and the middle school students
eat their lunch. I use various literary analysis
questions to keep the students on track as we are
reading the FL Sunshine books from Sept. through mid
March. The students loved The City of Ember. Some had
to read its sequel, The People of Sparks, and enjoyed
it as well. Once a week is perfect as the students
then look forward to participating each week. It makes
the club special. Obviously, in my club, students are
reading 15 different books and discussing them. But,
it seems to work as I have read all of them too. Hope
my comments are helpful.





=====
Paula Joseph
7th Grade Civics
Battlefield Middle School
Fredericksburg, VA
Library Media Student
Longwood University




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