Using book clubs in the ELA classroom is a dream for many teachers. Many book club ideas can be found online, including a recent post I shared on the benefits of book clubs. I have used this method for improving student engagement with reading for 19 years in my classroom. In this post you will learn about 5 ‘dos’ for getting started with book clubs. These book club ideas work for any age group and will help you plan and implement your book clubs confidently.
#1: Do Start Small
The best way to start is by planning with the end in mind. For your first book club experience, the goal may be fostering student discussion, or maybe building student reading independence. Maybe you develop a few essential questions that guide the learning and discussion. No matter your goal, keep in mind that all of the amazing book club ideas you find online do not have to be accomplished in one book club experience.
You can also start small when it comes to grouping your students. I prefer to keep groups to a size of 4-5 students because it allows for each student to be seen and heard. In a class of 25 students, you would have 5 book club groups, which is manageable.
Lastly, start small with how many times students meet in their book club group. I prefer students to meet once a week for a longer book club meeting. I also plan for book club groups to collaborate during mini-lessons as a way for students to apply learning from the lesson to their book club book. Those short discussions are focused on the lesson content while the longer book club meeting is student-led.
#2 Do Involve Students In Book Selection
Allowing students to select their books is one of the best ways to increase engagement in book clubs.
One way I have provided choice for students is by allowing students to form a group first and then select a book from a text set. This idea for book selection is great if you have a class of students who work well together. When students form their groups they negotiate with one another on the text. When I’ve used this method most groups can come to a consensus pretty quickly, but I’ve had students ask to join another group who may have selected a text they would enjoy. I facilitate the student in joining a new group and it typically works out positively.
Another way I involve students in book selection is by doing a book tasting. This involves students previewing the books in a text set and indicating their top selections. Then I place students into groups based on their book preferences. This works well for me and is my preferred way to form book clubs. I keep in mind student personalities and discussion abilities to have balanced book clubs. An additional benefit to this method is that students hear new perspectives and learn interpersonal skills when working with others they may not typically interact with.
One thing you may have noticed is that while students are selecting a book they would like to read, I provide a curated text set for them to select from. This is because I want to ensure students are reading texts that connect to our learning goals and that I have the texts available to read. When I’m selecting the text set I look for it in our book room, school ERC, community library, and online for audio versions.
#3 Do Set Clear Expectations
Structure and clarity are an amazing thing for book club success. Clarity on reading pacing is one way to ensure your students will meet your goals. I provide a bookmark to students and indicate the dates of their book club meetings. Students then determine how many pages they will read between each meeting date so that everyone can stay on track. This works well because students have to put in the work to determine their reading pace and they hold one another accountable for that.
Other expectations include:
- Norms for book club meetings
- How to prepare for student-led discussion
- What to prepare for a meeting
- Student accountability
#4 Do Provide Structure
Book club systems lead to an enriching book clubs experience. Student talk systems provide a clear structure for what students do during a book club meeting. Here are a few ways this can work:
- Develop a meeting guide for students to complete
- Use timers to move students through the meeting
- Set roles for students to run the meeting
The roles I use for book club meetings include a facilitator, recorder, timekeeper, and coach. I include sentence stems prepared for the coach, and I teach students how to coach one another before book clubs begin. I do this by partnering students during mini-lessons and asking them to support one another in various ways. Read more about how I use partnerships by checking out this previous blog post.
#5 Do Include Learning Activities
The ultimate goal for book clubs is that the meetings are student-led. I have found that I need to scaffold the book clubs throughout the school year to achieve this.
I have found that book club meetings are successful when I’ve provided activities for students to complete independently while they read the text. These activities connect to the mini-lessons and help prepare students for book club discussions.
I also provide an activity or discussion questions during the meeting to engage students. As the year progresses students don’t need the activities during the meeting because they know the expectations for a book club discussion and come prepared with their own book club ideas.
If you are interested in the activities that work for my students, I have a great bundle of resources for dystopian book clubs in my TPT store.
Takeaways
Book clubs are fun and engaging for ELA classrooms. You do not need to be an expert at book clubs to get started, especially with this list of book club ‘dos’ to help you.
