Reading teachers are faced with many challenges, including how to help their students become better readers while also developing a sustained love of reading. Since these two goals are clearly interconnected, teachers should design their units in such a way that fosters an appreciation of independent reading and makes reading fun. Student-led book clubs can help accomplish this. However, before teachers set students free to form groups and discuss a self-selected novel, they must provide sufficient guidance and scaffolding. Here’s how teachers can prepare students to run a successful and fulfilling book club.
What is a Book Club?
While book clubs can take many forms, a middle or high school student book club might look like this. Students should select a book from a teacher-provided list or one that meets the teacher’s criteria of length, reading level or thematic content. Teachers may assign groups based on students’ choices or allow students to form their own groups of three to five students who agree to read the same book.
Once these decisions have been made, students should sign up and commit to reading and discussing a particular book by a certain date. Generally, students will have some class time to read but will primarily use that time for deep discussion. Therefore, students should expect to read a good portion of the book for homework. Students can prepare a group presentation to share with the class a critical review of their chosen book.
Selecting an Anchor Text to Teach Book Club Conversation
In Comprehension Going Forward, Leslie Blauman asserts that in order for students to know how to run a successful book club, their teacher should first use an “anchor text” and model appropriate conversation using a whole class-shared novel. One book that can serve as an excellent anchor text for middle school students is Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Blauman suggests that teachers carefully select a novel that students will find both interesting and challenging—one that will also provide a variety of other important elements that incite discussion.
Maniac Magee provides a wonderful opportunity for students to analyze literary elements and discuss their purpose within the novel. In this engaging text, metaphors, similes and personification abound, inviting giggles and imagination to conjure colorful images. Vivid descriptions and examples of both direct and indirect characterization also help students envision the fast-paced plot. Teachers should select a book that encourages deep thinking and literary analysis.
Modeling Book Club Discussion
Once a teacher selects an anchor text, she can begin by making predictions about the novel based on the front cover and critical reviews often found on the back cover. When the teacher begins reading the novel, she should read with enthusiasm and resist the temptation to stop frequently while reading to point out details or ask questions. Instead, she can pick significant stopping points after, say, three or four pages of reading, to model thinking about the story. Here are some comments teachers can make to show students how to articulate their thinking about literature:
- "Some questions I have at this point are…"
- "I can make a personal connection to this scene because…"
- "At first, I found this confusing because…"
- "It seems like the author is trying to send the message that…"
- "What I am most curious about at this point is…"
To help students internalize the use of these questions, teachers can post anchor charts that document specific comments made during this modeling session. When students are ready to start their own book club, students can refer to the chart for ready examples of useful questions, comments and connections.
The primary goal for using an anchor text is to teach students how to connect to literature in a group setting. This type of scaffolding will help ensure a successful student-run book club. Blauman emphasizes that teachers need to be explicit when showing their thinking to students. Making predictions, asking questions and connecting to the text with personal experiences are all behaviors that students can mimic once their own book clubs are under way.
Sources
- Daniels, Harvey, ed. Comprehension Going Forward: What’s Next. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2011.
Thadra Petkus - Thadra Petkus is currently a freelance writer, English teacher and mentor. Although she has taught students from age two through ...
