More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education.
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Implementing classroom book clubs with high interest novels and nonfiction celebrates books and a love of reading with students. Most novel sets available through school or for free on the Internet are written by long deceased white men many students no longer relate to. Although it would be nice if students were to buy their own copies of books for class, this is not a requirement that schools can enforce and not one many students can afford.
Students love getting together and discussing a book of their choosing and putting themselves in leadership roles. When students engage with texts and one another in this manner, they take control of their literacy in positive and rewarding ways. To set up classroom book clubs, I present mini book talks to the class. These book talks include the author biography, book genre, and synopsis. Students 'speed date' the books to make meaningful selections. They number their top two picks. I create groups of 4-6 students for classroom book clubs. Each group will read the same novel, with up to six different books being read and discussed in one class.
After forming groups, students have one month to read their books, and I assign the pages for the first week of reading. Each student uses a double-entry journal to track their thinking as they read (I give them a “Track Your Thinking” worksheet to help them in case they're stuck). One side of the journal contains comments about the reading, which must include one quotable quote in MLA format. The other side of the journal contains questions they have. The questions they have could be some clarifying questions about parts they were confused about, but at least one question must be open-ended to invite discussion with other group members.
About my class
Implementing classroom book clubs with high interest novels and nonfiction celebrates books and a love of reading with students. Most novel sets available through school or for free on the Internet are written by long deceased white men many students no longer relate to. Although it would be nice if students were to buy their own copies of books for class, this is not a requirement that schools can enforce and not one many students can afford.
Students love getting together and discussing a book of their choosing and putting themselves in leadership roles. When students engage with texts and one another in this manner, they take control of their literacy in positive and rewarding ways. To set up classroom book clubs, I present mini book talks to the class. These book talks include the author biography, book genre, and synopsis. Students 'speed date' the books to make meaningful selections. They number their top two picks. I create groups of 4-6 students for classroom book clubs. Each group will read the same novel, with up to six different books being read and discussed in one class.
After forming groups, students have one month to read their books, and I assign the pages for the first week of reading. Each student uses a double-entry journal to track their thinking as they read (I give them a “Track Your Thinking” worksheet to help them in case they're stuck). One side of the journal contains comments about the reading, which must include one quotable quote in MLA format. The other side of the journal contains questions they have. The questions they have could be some clarifying questions about parts they were confused about, but at least one question must be open-ended to invite discussion with other group members.