Book clubs can be a great addition to any lesson, or subject. While reading may seem like an easy task, it is difficult to some kids and definitely helps for them to discuss what they have read and gauge their level of understanding of the text. When being put into book clubs, it can help the students collaborate and better understand scenes and explanations that they may not have understood during their first time reading it. Having them pull out hard vocabulary words, and paragraphs that were hard to grasp, they can discuss these with a group and get other people's perspective on how they interpreted it.
However, "we cannot plunge kids into book clubs without their knowing how they are to operate" (SM page 244). This is crucial for students to understand the task at hand and understand what they are going to be getting out of each activity. As a junior in college, I still did not understand the purpose for a book club until it was explained to me. If students are aware that they need to come prepared, be respectful and use this book club to its fullest potential, then I can see a great benefit to them.
The only setback is students getting off-task, or students sometimes not completing their reading. If there are some over-achievers and some under-achievers in a group, then it can be hard for them to find balance and may often be frustrating. If each student has not done the reading and have things to talk about, then a book club may not be a very effective group-work activity. And that is why it is important to set guidelines and expectations before-hand so students can participate to the fullest extent.
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Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThe quote that you included, "we cannot plunge kids into book clubs without their knowing how they are to operate" (SM page 244) is something that I did not touch on in my post, so I am glad you did. It is so important to make sure students are knowledgable on what is going on and to set goals for themselves and their book club group. When I form book clubs in my class, I will make sure everything is clear and organized for my students along with being apart of their goal-setting.
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Hey Lisa -
ReplyDeleteI think you bring ups some really good points. Something I took away from the reading this week similar to you, is know hoe to implement a successful book club in your classroom. I think it is really important that we make sure to follow the recommendations listed in the book if we want to use a book club. Having a book club in your class can really help students understand the text and collaborate with one another. What you said about making sure they know whats going on is so important. We don't want our students to think that it is just busy work, so I think it is so important that we make sure they understand what they are doing and why they are doing it.
-Kim
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