Jennifer wrote: We are going to begin book clubs and I was wondering if anyone has a good website to gather vocab, comprehension questions, etc. for specific books. For example, one of the groups will be reading 'A Boy at War, A novel of Pearl Harbor".
Response: I may be opening up a can of worms here, but I struggle with the requirement of book club "jobs" each year as I invite students to form their own book study groups. My goal is for students to want to group themselves based on a desire to read a text with a small group of students whom share an interest in a topic, genre, author, etc. When adults form book clubs, they rarely assign jobs of vocabulary builder, question generator, visualizer, etc. Instead, they aim for deep conversation about the text, author, and connections they experience as they navigate through a book. I want the same for my students. So how do I, as a teacher, hold my students accountable and collect data to assess my students' thinking? I start by using the first several months of the year modeling what great literary conversation sounds like and feels like - and what it doesn't. We practice a lot - and film ourselves having meaningful conversations. We start in large group, then practice with partners, and then move to small groups. By this time students are begging to start their own book clubs...so we do. The first book club grouping requires a form (graphic organizer) for the first few weeks that combines several thinking strategy responses. After that a simple journal entry and self evaluation is due on Friday's. I eavesdrop quite a bit, but I try to stay out of the conversation if at all possible. Sometimes I will video group meetings so students can watch how their discussions are going and so I can view them at a later time. When discussions go well, students will often ask to have the video shown to the entire class. I guess you have to determine what the purpose of book clubs are for your classroom. I may be totally off track, but I'm trying to keep reading as authentic as possible and yet still maintain some form of assessment and accountability. I'd love to hear how other teachers are organizing book clubs in their classrooms! Kathy -------------- Original message from Jennifer Olimpieri _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
