I love the way students can engage with one another when they are reading a book together. It doesn’t happen naturally, so I notice a huge difference in how well students work in these clubs from our first round of the year to the last, but every year I am so pleased with the outcomes. Students look forward to the clubs and often share that it is one of their favorite parts of our class. With that in mind, I’ve had to be strategic in how I manage book clubs in my classroom. There are a few things I’ve had to change over time. I wanted to share some of the things that any teacher should consider when deciding how book clubs will look in their classroom.
Are Classroom Book Clubs Led by Students or the Teacher?
The first set of questions has to do with how much agency students have versus the responsibility of the teacher. You’ll notice a theme- over time I’ve given over a lot of control to my students, and I’m happy with the results. This has three areas:
1. Should Students Choose Books?
I 100% believe in student choice. I am also super lucky to have figured out ways to hook myself up with literally hundreds of books for book club sets across genres and levels, so I can offer choices. I only offer some each round and I use a book tasting to have students explore their options. They MUST pick three they’d like to read, if they don’t give back-ups, they take what they are given.
2. Will There Be Defined Roles for Students in Clubs?
I only enforce one role- Discussion Director- and it rotates. Students record which weeks are theirs in their book club notebooks. That person is responsible for keeping the group on track for the day and we practice how to invite quiet peers into the conversation before launching our first meetings.
3. How Much Teacher Facilitation Should There Be?
I try to spend just enough time with every group to complete my grade sheet and participate a bit in the conversation to facilitate deeper thinking at least once each week. This means about 8 minutes per club out of two 25 minute meetings a week. Yes, I have read every one of the books, but I also ask them “where are you in the book, what has happened so far” to refresh myself if it’s been a couple years.
How Will Accountability in Book Clubs Work
I also get a lot of questions from my students and colleagues about how I hold students accountable for participating in book clubs. Overall, I’ll admit that many more students fall short in our first book club of the year, and I’m ok with them learning the hard way to be accountable. But since everyone’s learning curve is different, and they still need scaffolds, I’ve made some decisions here too.
4. Should Students Be Expected to Read at Home?
I do want students to read outside of the ELA block, but I also have students indicate how much they will really read at home on the book tasting form. This way I make sure groups have similar plans. The group that won’t do any reading at home is also generally the group that’s going to need the most support, so giving them time for partner reading within book club time, and a shorter book, becomes a good compromise.
5. Will Students Be Held Accountable for Reading, Participating, or both?
During clubs I take notes on who is prepared and who is participating. At the end of a unit, I give them a grade based on how they did overall- prepared goes into agency, participating goes into their collaboration grade.
6. Will There Be a Group Grade?
Students complete an independent notebook that they can work on with their clubs sometimes but are graded on independently. Sometimes we do culminating projects that have a group grade, but overall, I find clubs are much more pleasant and organic if Hermione isn’t complaining that Draco is going to ruin her grade.
I know that book clubs have been critical in helping my students improve in their literacy skills and their communication and collaboration skills. I love watching introverted students become leaders, unexpected new academic friendships develop, and joyful final projects emerge. Classroom book clubs have even given something for parents to talk with their tweens about (imagine!). I hope you’ll find the same success and joy I have with them.
