Here at Lancaster Country Day School, we run a Fifth Grade Book Club every
Friday during lunch.
Students are encouraged to pack on Fridays to give us more time for
discussion. They arrive in the Lower School Library at 11:15 and are
dismissed at approximately 11:50.
We do not discuss any particular book. Children are encouraged to talk
about a good book they have read or are in the process of reading; if they
have read a good article in a magazine, we discuss that; an interesting
newspaper story is also not beyond our reach. With only 38 fifth graders,
we average 20 students every Friday---sometimes more. Very few times have we
had less than 20.
I always provide a treat..usually cookies, but we have had homemade
brownies, jelly beans, hershey kisses, candy canes, wilbur buds, etc. The
boys are not beyond asking what the treat is before they make the final
decision if they should come or not. I am not above bribing them.
The children usually stand to talk about the "item" they want to share, but
they may sit if they would like. Questions and discussion are encouraged.
I always have a book ready to discuss. I have shared easy picture books
with them as well as fiction and non-fiction titles.
Many children go on to read titles we have discussed.
The children seem to enjoy this as do I. I get some good ideas for new
titles/series for the Library. Also gives me a good insight into exactly
what children today are reading.
***
I have been running book club for 4th, 5th and 6th grade students for the
past three years. We meet in the evening once a month. It is called the
Partners-in-Reading Book Club ( PIRBC) because the students are asked to
bring an adult reading partner. Both the student and the partner are
expected to read the book. In September I post a list of the book
selections for the entire year.
They can pick and choose which months they would like to attend. At every
meeting I have a refreshment, a craft activity, a science or technology
related activity and a display of related books. All of these stations
relate in some way to the book selection for that month. Sometimes I have a
guest speaker. We spend the 45 minutes completing the activities and then
we set up for our book discussion. I provide a list of questions, but very
often the students drive the direction of the conversation. Both students
and parents are encouraged to contribute to the discussion. We have had
some really great discussions! I actually have had to stop the meeting
because I was afraid the custodians were going to lock us in for the night.
The students just did not want to stop! It has been a rewarding experience
for everyone involved.
I asked some of our members what their favorite activities were and these
are the ones that they
listed:
Olive's Ocean : We made personal journals as a craft project and ocean's in
a bottle as our science project.
City of Ember: We decorated boxes ( like the one that held the mysterious
key) and we did electricity experiments.
Island of the Blue Dolphins: We created a cave painting murals using brown
paper and chalks and then each pair of readers created tools from a pile
of miscellaneous natural resources ( Shells, string, sticks, rocks etc..)
Surviving the Applewhites: For our science activity I ordered butterflies
and we tracked their progress over the course of a month. There was also a
butterfly identifying station.
Every year we also do on community service
project. We made a quilt based on A Long Way
from Chicago and donated it and the book to a child in need. Last year we
read Love That Dog and collected supplies for the local SPCA. This year we
held a pajama drive for the Pajama program a national organization that
provides new pajamas and books to children in need.
***
I serve a K-4 building. We have Critics' Club Cafe for 3rd/4th grade
students. The club members get to read the new books first and rate them.
We put a bright rating sheet in the rated books and display them on the top
of the shelving units so that all of the students can see them and read the
critiques before they check out the books. With the new upgrade of Follet's
Destiny, we are now typing our ratings into the OPAC.
We meet before school on Tuesday mornings. We have hot cocoa or hot cider
and a light breakfast--bagel, cereal bar, etc. and fruit. I asked the
teachers to "sacrifice" any coffee cups they weren't using and have more
than enough. We play classical music in the media center while the students
read and write.
I am trying to create a coffee shop atmosphere for our students--this is a
low socioeconomic area of the metro and most of them have never been inside
an actual coffee shop. We also address expectations in such surroundings.
There is a real coffee shop on the corner about two blocks away. I am
hoping to have our last meeting of the year there.
***
I do 4th and 5th gr. book clubs every year during lunch/recess. I usually
choose Newbery winners.
This year 4th gr. is reading "A Year Down Yonder", and 5th is reading "Bud,
Not Buddy". Although the students don't vote for books, we do many
activities related to the titles since we have a whole hour every week. For
example, the grandmother in "A Year..." has some great sayings and beliefs,
so we make up bumper stickers with expressions we think Grandma would say.
We also listen to some old time radio shows in both clubs since both stories
take place during the Depression. Last year I also had the great fortune to
participate with 4th gr. students in a sponsored book club with the staff
from the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace in our state capitol.
We read "The Wright 3" and participated in activities which were emailed to
us each week. We also went on a field trip to Monona Terrace (on a Sunday!)
and met the author. That was fantastic! We do many activities with these
clubs, so if you want to hear more, just email me offline.
P.S. I also usually make treats of some sort for the last meeting (not that
that has any connection to whatever book we're reading; but it connects with
the students!)
***
I have an after school book club. It is weekly. I start about Sept and end
before Christmas (after Christmas it is writing club). We run from
2:15-3:15. We read the sunshine state books-these are picked by Fl teachers
and MAS. There is a competition for these books in April. I fell that book
club gets it going.
I bring a stack of book choices to the first meeting. I explain what
bookclub is like, explain that MAYBE after being in book club they will
choose to go to competition.
Then I give them an index card. They list book choice 1,2,3. Then they
write a friend. I promise them either a book they chose OR that they will
be in a group with a friend. I also explain the "jobs" (word warrior,
summarizer, artist, literary luminary, etc). I give them their reading
log(it is one page for each job in each book) and they decorate it and put
their name on it. Then I collect them.
After meeting ends I form the groups 5-6 MINIMUM (as kids will drop out or
be absent).
Then as I know the number of meetings (I count the Tuesday from the next
week till Dec),and I know I want to get 2-3 books done in that time, I
divide the book into the mount of sections I want so they know what pages to
read. The kids were told that if they chose a thick book-they will have more
pages to read and a smaller book, less (as we will all finish the same time)
I make a table card for each book (one is attached). I also make a mini of
this and tape it inside their reading log. Then through the teachers I get
the books to the students ASAP with heir log and assignment so they can
start reading.
Each week, kids come in, and sit at the table where they see their card.
If they did not finish their reading or job, they do it while waiting for
others. When all are present, we start eh jobs: summarizer going first.
After we complete our fist book (several weeks) we have a celebration day
with food and they choose new books. I try to get 2-3 books read between
the Sept/Dec time frame.
Book club Response
First shift we do a reading log (nothing attached-see jobs in Literature
Circles by Harvey Daniels) second shift we do a bookmark (attached) third
shift we use post it notes
I am typing this really fast because I have a class coming and wanted to
respond (sometime I tell myself I will respond later and then forget).
I would be glad to share more info.
***
I am currently in my 4th year with a Family Book Club. It began as part of
a Libraries Improving Literacy Grant and is now sponsored by a 21st century
Grant and uses parents with students and we meet in the evenings. Here's
how it works.
I purchase 50-60 copies of the book we will be using and send out a notice
to our 600 students (grades 2-6) The first 20-30 replies are in the Book
Club and I give a copy of the book for the parent and a copy of the book for
the student. They read at home in any matter they wish. Some families read
aloud, others read to each other, and still others read separately.
Discussion at home is also taking place. Then in 2-3 weeks we meet for
"Dessert and Discussion" in the evening at school. The meeting usually lasts
1-1 1/2 hours. We have a short "entry task" to complete as families sign
in, sign up for door prizes, and complete a short activity together before
we serve dessert. We eat first and then do our discussion.
I usually begin with some sort of intro--about the author, general
background info. and then we usually break into smaller groups to discuss
and then come back together for a large group discussion. At the end we
give away door prizes (books by the same author or in a similar topic or
genre) and sometimes there in an Internet activity and/or students take the
AR test on the book.
It works well and we generally have 40-50 people at the evening meeting--all
family members are welcome and I several teachers who also attend regularly.
They do return the books to the school where we house them in our Book Room
for use by the classroom teachers.
I do usually start the year with a book that is on our Virginia Reader's
Choice list. Sometimes we do books on different levels--My America and Dear
America, or several different bios--from the Who was.. series. This year I
was fortunate enough to be able to tie in our book with an author visit that
was sponsored by the Public Library so my group met at the Public library
for that event. It was no expense for me for the author's visit but I
supplied some of the food and many folks to fill their room and my families
purchased many books too.
I'm enjoying working with this kind of book club and hope to continue it in
the future!
My book club has been funded through a 21st Century Grant that my school
currently receives. It is of course dependent on these funds to exist, and
hopefully grant money will continue to be there so that I can continue with
the program.
***
My counselor and I have nine short book
discussions a year called "Lunch Bunch". We
preselected titles that had a strong story, strong characters and issues
relating to "character" developement. We do two at each grade level third -
sixth and one with second grade in the spring. Lunch Bunch is totally
voluntary... teachers usually draw names from interested students to
determine who will be able to participate. Students bring their lunch to
the library and we talk about the book. Typically the Lunch Bunch has three
meetings. We wrote a grant to purchase class
sets of the books and we have added titles over the years. We started LB in
2002.
We introduce the book at the first meeting and discuss the book at the
following meetings.
We have Fall Lunch Bunch and Spring Lunch Bunch for grades third - sixth.
For second grade we
only have a Spring Lunch Bunch. We have space
and books for 24 students so it just depends on how many students are
interested. In grades second - fifth the LB fills up and there is usually
not space available for a student to participate twice in one year. In
sixth grade it is common for some students to participate twice.
Sometimes we have whole group discussions, but usually we have a list of
questions at each table and let the students discuss the book on their own.
We always try to get an adult discussion leader for each table (6), but that
has never been very successful... as I am typing this I wondering about
involving my Library Team next
year. It might be possible to teach my Library
Team (6th grade students) to lead the
discussions. The basics of the program has stayed the same over the years,
but we have tried different things along the way. We have about
2/3 of the students actually read the book. We don't allow students to stay
for Lunch Bunch who have not read the book. We have less participation in
sixth grade, but it is rare for a 6th grade student not to read the book.
It is such an easy program and the students love it. We don't provide any
food. We give the students a fancy book mark, some post it notes to keep of
things they want to talk about and check out the book.
Titles..
Sixth grade:
Touching Spirit Bear
No More Dead Dogs
Sixth and Fifth:
Among the Hidden
Lightning Thief
Gregor the Overlander
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Fifth Grade:
Flying Solo
Bud, Not Buddy
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Ella Enchanted - could be used with 4th
Fourth grade:
Riding Freedom
Dragon of Lonely Island
Rope Burn
Third grade:
Boy in the Red Jacket
The Whipping Boy
No More Talking
Tornado / Byars
The SOS File - I will add this title if I can find it in PB
Sometimes we add titles that are on the current TX Bluebonnet Book list.
***
Here's a link to my website where my bookclubs are explained. The video
reviews on my blog are done as book club projects, too.
<http://www.coldspringschool.net/component/option,com_uhp2/Itemid,98/task,vi
ewpage/user_id,83/pageid
,75/>http://www.coldspringschool.net/component/option,com_uhp2/Itemid,98/tas
k,viewpage/user_id,83/pa
geid,75/
Blog: <http://csslibraryblog.blogspot.com
<http://csslibraryblog.blogspot.com/> >http://csslibraryblog.blogspot.com
***
Several years ago in another elementary school I sponsored a parent/child
book club. Each family purchased their own copy of the book and could
purchase it at a discount from a local independent book store. We met once
a month and both the parent and the child read the book. We met in the
evening and had light refreshments after the discussion. It was a fun group
of about 8-10 families. We all liked each other so much that the parents
started a grown-up book club that still meets. The kids are now in high
school (they were in 4th and 5th grade when we
started) and they are joining us as the title is appropriate. The group
died off when my core group moved to middle school and our population became
more economically disadvantaged. I had lots of kids who wanted to join but
the parents were too busy or not interested in reading. I would do it again
if my school was in a different community.
***
I have several book clubs...one for each grade level 1st - 5th. Here are
two.
For 5th graders I have the Sequoyah Book Club. We meet between 4 to 6 times
a year...once a month October through March...on a Wednesday afternoon after
school from 3:30 to 5:00. Students pay $5 to join - this is more for
commitment reasons and ownership than fundraising and I do offer library
"work" scholarships for any student who can't afford the cost. I pre-select
paperback titles from the state Children's Sequoyah list and get the books
donated or use book fair incentives to acquire enough books. Each student
will receive a free book to keep for each club meeting they attend - up to 6
free books. Students normally start coming in around 3:20 so we begin with
snacks, I ask different parents to volunteer to provide these. Then students
are broken up into partners and asked to read a small section of the book --
anywhere from 6 pages to 2 chapters depending on the length of the book. I
provide pencils, highlighters, sticky notes, etc. that they might want to
use to take notes or keep track of important information. When students are
finished reading, the partners each decide how they want to present their
portion of the book in less than 90 seconds...a quick summary, a skit, a
song...and they rehearse. At 4:30 we all come back together and share with
the large group...and we share in the order our pages were assigned, so
Chapter 1 goes first. At the end of the presentations students have a great
background of the book...enough so that the last 10 minutes we can have a
good discussion. For example after reading Abby Takes a Stand this year we
had an amazing discussion about the 1960's civil right movement...the
setting for this story.
For 4th graders we have the Reader Round-Up. We meet twice a month at lunch
and recess from September through December. Before meeting I assign a
genre. Each student who wants to attend has to read a book in that genre
before the designated lunch. My only stipulations about the books are that
it needs to be an appropriate book for their reading level and their
interests. I want to avoid having students choose a picture book or books
that appear easy that they don't really enjoy what they are reading. While I
am trying to get them to read across the genres, I want them to pick books
that will appeal to them. At the beginning I do get a lot of "Is this book
long enough?" and "Can I use this book?" I don't say 'no' to a book unless
it is obvious that the student doesn't understand what the genre is and then
I use this as a teaching moment. Generally when students ask about whether
a book is appropriate, I ask them questions until they can make their own
decision.
At our book club lunch (which does include their
recess) we break into small groups and for the first 5 to 10 minutes the
students book talk their books to their group. Then I ask them questions or
give them discussion topics, such as "Give a specific example from your book
that proves it is historical fiction." At the end I assign the next genre.
We meet 8 times before Christmas break, so a student who participates in all
of them will have read 8 different genres. Then if they will read a poetry
book and read an award winning book and do a literature response for both
(these can be anything from writing their own poem to a traditional book
report to a poster) then I have a special 'field trip' that they are
eligible to attend. (If a student misses one of the 8 meetings, they can do
a literature response to make it up.) Students have until the end of
January to have all 10 books completed. The special 'field trip' varies
depending on funding...when I can get someone to pay for it we went bowling,
when I couldn't we had a "Half-Day off School" where I worked with the
teachers and the students came to the library at 1:20 and stayed with me
until the end of the day. We went outside and had extra recess (extra
recess is huge here since recess time is tightly controlled until after
state testing in mid-April), they got popsicles, did an art project and
things like that. Students go back to class at 3:10 when our get ready bell
rings.
***
For information regarding the book clubs I have offered and currently offer,
please visit my
blog:<http://eclectechlibrarian.blogspot.com/>http://eclectechlibrarian.blog
spot.com/
and articles I have written for our School Library Association -
<http://www.ssla.ca <http://www.ssla.ca/> >www.ssla.ca (the direct link is
<http://ssla.ca/medium_articles/submissions/hollywood_glitzy_library_theme_n
ov2007_cwalter.pdf>http:
//ssla.ca/medium_articles/submissions/hollywood_glitzy_library_theme_nov2007
_cwalter.pdf)
The students who participated ranged from grade 4
- grade 8. We are a K-9 school. The 9s are away at industrial arts at
lunchtime and could not participate.
The Artrageous Book Club (looking at Caldecott and Graphic Novels) is also a
lot of fun.
****
I run a breakfast book club with two other teachers for 20 5th and 6th
graders once a month in the library. We each rotate making breakfast for
the kids. We choose popular fiction as well as some classics. We are
funded through ourselves and sometimes the PTA. They eat, we talk/do an
activity/ and then receive the next book. I've been doing this for about 5
years and love it. If you would like to know more, let me know!
Each child gets a copy of the book every month. I have a simple check
in/check out procedure that I maintain. I also house the books in the
library and keep inventory on them. We choose the books based on a few
things; what the kids like, what we can get for free from Scholastic at my
book fair, and what we like. We rotate the books as well from years past.
At the beginning of each year we ask that all students in 5th/6th that are
interested submit a letter of "interest' as to why they want to be in the
book club. We choose 10 5th/10 6th graders. Choosing the students is
sometime tricky and we try to be fair. Some years we get lots of letters,
other years, we have to really push it for kids to join. Just depends.
"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
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