My first reaction to this was to wonder if your principal also suggested
which classes or services you should drop in order to add this to your
workload, or if he could share this magic pot of time that he has that adds
extra hours to the traditional 24!!!
Below I have pasted a HIT about book clubs that Toni sent early Tuesday
morning (Australian time) that you might find helpful/ Good luck Barbara
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
I'm writing a "Dear Mrs. Skorupski" column for LibrarySparks Magazine about
different kinds of book clubs that elementary librarians offer to their
students. I've searched the archives and have that information but I'd love
to hear from some more of you. My experience was in running a lunch time
book club centered around various Maine Student Book Award list titles.
Another teacher and I ran that "club" together every few weeks until voting
rolled around April 1. It was a way to get kids interested in the MSBA
titles and also to gather a group of enthusiastic readers to discuss books.
What sorts of book clubs have you run at your schools?
RESPONSES:
I don't call my group a 'book club' anymore. We are a Library Lunch Bunch.
My group got too big to sit and discuss anything for such a short time, so I
have all kinds of things they do. Each week something different. Last week
they learned EBSCO and they go back to their classes and teach them and
their teachers about it. Another week they learned how to search for books
on our OPAC by their 'lexile number'. THAT WAS VERY HANDY. They write book
reviews on 5 x 7 cards and we post those in the library. For 'Poem in Your
Pocket' week they cruised the campus and asked other students if they indeed
had a poem. We play library games, scavenger hunts or whatever the heck I
come up with.
Please post your other response, because this lil girl is just trying to
come up with something to keep her babies interested!
It started off with between 7 to 10 regulars, this year I average 20
students.
Because of how the lunches are broken up it is 4th through 6th grade.
We use to eat lunch together in the library but that was too big of a mess.
Once they arrive we have 25 minutes to get things accomplished.
My 3rd grade students cannot wait until they get into 4th!
I forgot to mention that I am a Library Tech, so I have very limited
education and cannot 'teach'.
***
I am not a librarian yet, but I teach World History at a high school. I had
the idea for a book club after seeing how much fun it was on the Oprah show.
I thought of referring to Texas Reading Lists and having students vote on
which
books they would like to read. It's great to
share your comments, opinions, and favorite parts of a book when you have
just finished reading it but even more when you are sharing it with someone
who has read it as well. I think that it is a great way to give students an
opportunity to read a book they really want to read as oppose to having to
read a book because it is part of the curriculum. I think it would be great
for the book club to meet in the library in order for students to be
motivated to visit the library but also have the opportunity to make new
friends, become active listeners, and share their artistic and writing
talents. An alternative to meeting in person is having a blog since it
might be difficult to get all your members together at the
same time and at the same place. By blogging
students can also use nicknames and feel more at ease in expressing their
opinions and thoughts while remaining anonymous.
***
I got a local Junior League grant a few years ago and had a Chat N' Chew
book club. The grant
($500) was used to purchase multiple copies of books along with the book
study materials. The school was like 85% free/reduced lunch and this was a
good way to get the kids reading something beyond Captain Underpants, not
that I do not enjoy his follies. I just focused on Newbery Award winners
and I enjoyed our lunches as much as the kids did!!
Chat N' Chew was at the first school I was with right out of library school.
The current school I am the LMS at, they do Jr. Great books and it is parent
led. I kept the groups small with 6-8 students, so that we could have a
good discussion with no intimidation of a large group. I had teachers
recommend students based on reading level and behavior and I sent a
permission slip home that outlined the rules and I had parents sign and
return them so they knew my expectations.
I did at least one meeting with first and second graders. We read THE MAN
WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS, THE THREE PIGS, OLIVIA. With the older
students we met several times to discuss chapter books such as JOEY PIGZA
LOSES CONTROL, SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL, and HOLES. The groups took everything
seriously and we had great discussions. VERY fun!!
***
I hosted a Mother-Daughter Book Club this year after school and we
read(surprise)"The Mother-Daughter Book Club". We met each month and each
team of mother/daughter took turns making a dinner at home together and
brought it for our book club to share. We had a theme every meeting.
The favorites were the facial/make-up demo and going to see a local student
performance of "Little Women", which was a big part of the book we were
reading. The culminating activity was a phone interview with the author
Heather Vogel Frederick who graciously gave us a 45 minute chat. Our
girls(aged 11-13) were ecstatic!! Our mothers were really excited to spend
quality time with their daughters while discussing the dynamics of the
relationships of the mom & girls in the book.
EVERYONE thanked me many times. I look forward to dong it again next year.
We met for 5 months(5 meetings).
We read just one book because I then did a Parent-Child Book club with
grades 2-5 "Spiderwick Chronicles" and our culminating activity was viewing
the movie together as a club. I got free movie tickets so at least 1 family
member went free.
Yes both clubs met at 5:00 pm because it involved parents. It was great fun
to view Spiderwick with kids who had already read the book and during the
movie they would whisper to me"...oh they left out..." or "I was wondering
how they would do that"
This is the 1st year we have expanded to middle school so I wanted to do a
girls 8th grade lunchtime book club. They bring their lunch every Wednesday
and we read Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli. Oh the discussions were wonderful
and very insightful. What a fantastic way to get into young teen heads!
They didn't want it to end-so I suggested the sequel, Love, Star girl and
they couldn't wait for the books to come in. Btw-the students were given
the books free (paid for with Book Fair funds) and they were so appreciative
of this that I didn't have to coax them to read at all. One last thing I
think you'll love...
One of my girls said that her mom was curious about the book because she
would go and start reading immediately after dinner. Her mom thought she
must be "reading something inappropriate" because she couldn't put it down.
Another mom started reading the book too when she saw how her daughter was
"hooked" by it.
I love my job!!
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."--Harry S. Truman
LHS Mission Statement: "The art of caring, the mission of excellence in
studies, and the pride in achievement ensure success for all. Logansport
High School---a school of champions."
Tedine "Teddy" Soule, Librarian
Logansport High School
P. O. Box 549
Logansport, LA 71049
318-697-4338
tsoule@desotopsb.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation.
* LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
* LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
* EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://lm-net.info/
* LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
* LM_NET Wiki: http://lmnet.wikispaces.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LM_NET
Mailing List Home