How To Set Up a Book Club in the Classroom

My Book Club Thinking Booklet

First came literature circles, then came book clubs. How do you set up a successful classroom book club that is engaging, authentic, and less work on the teacher?

Follow these steps to book club happiness:

1. Literature circles and book clubs have always been about choice. Gather three to five readers of similar reading levels, and provide them with at least three book choices (more if possible). I've collected baskets of with sets of books over the years, and arranged them by reading level.
2. Allow the students to preview the books, then choose one book that they will each read independently (the same book for every student in the book club).
3. Discuss how long it will take to read the book, and set a book club date. Students should read the whole book before their meeting (just like a grown up book club).
4. Give students a copy of the My Book Club
Thinking booklet to fill out as they read.

My Nonfiction Book Club

5. On the day of the book club meeting, students should bring their book and booklet. The booklet provides space for students to record talking points to discuss at their meeting.
6. Facilitate the book club meeting, but allow your students to do most of the talking. You might have to step in to keep the kids on track, or provide a thinking prompt on occasion.

In order to make the most of book clubs, I suggest that you spend time teaching accountable talk so that students learn how to engage in a respectful conversation. Book clubs are a great way to get students excited about reading and talking about books!

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Review of The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick

The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick

A coworker introduced me to The Houdini Box by Brian Selznick last year. She found a copy of this magical book in box of discarded library books.

Victor tries to escape from locked boxes and walk through walls just like the famous magician Houdini. After he is fortunate enough to meet his hero, Victor finds himself with a locked box. What will he discover if he opens it?

This book kept my fifth graders on the edge of their seats. There were multiple opportunities for students to question, predict, and infer.

You can also teach turning point to climax, and how some books leave off the resolution. This book provides rich characterization, allowing students to infer character's feelings, consider how the character changes, and to identify traits.

I spent three days with this book. The gasps and "a-ha's" were worth every moment.I discovered later that some of my students went home and looked Houdini up. They were quite fascinated. I give The Houdini Box five stars for engaging readers!

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Ugly Anchor Charts

I've noticed an interesting trend in education -beautiful, hand-drawn anchor charts in full color, including illustrations. I see pictures of the lovely works of art on Pinterest on a daily basis. I'm really quite jealous. I can barely draw decent stick figures, and my writing tends to slant without lines.

Prior to the great naming of charts created together by teachers and students, I filled my walls with my ugly charts. The work on depicted the great thinking that my students shared in a lesson. We referred to the charts as a point of reference: "Remember when we discussed XYZ?"

The whole point of an anchor chart is to record our student's thinking and learning. So unless you're an artist, I suspect your anchor charts will not look like a masterpiece of art, but instead, a masterpiece of thinking. Which is more important?

This is why I'm calling for an end to teacher created artwork in the form of anchor charts.I'm not advocating that you give up your colorful chart markers, abandon your doodles (if you're good at doodles), or write messy. I'm suggesting that you give yourself your life back. I know teachers who spend time before and after school making anchor charts (or recreating their ugly charts). Why? What value does it bring to your classroom? How does the beauty of your charts improve your student's learning and thinking?

Perhaps you just like beautiful charts, and that is fine, but remember that the purpose of the chart isn't the beauty of your artwork, but the beauty of your student's thinking.

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