Nstarting a book club for middle school students

We wanted to help our children understand and appreciate great literature. The kids book club book authors also recommend that you choose books that can generate a lot of interest, like a book with a popular movie version, or a series of books that will hook them for months. Many people would love to try running a book club in their classroom. Middle school students throughout the orange county school district will.

Elementary school book clubs are a great way to engage children while developing their critical thinking skills and keeping them interested in reading. Book club for middle school shows you how book club can address and make the best of these traits. Teaching reading in middle and high school can be challenging. How to set up a book club in your school, including ideas for key questions for your discussion. Great books for middle school book clubs pernille ripp. My middle school students struggled with identifying and comprehending the concept of foreshadowing. Book clubs are generally a more social, less academic way to explore comprehension and meaning while learning from the insights of others. While its tempting to stick with your cliche, a book club is a great way to extend your circle and get to know new people.

It can help you prepare for your time in your reading class as well as provide you with plenty of good books to enjoy and remember. Your guide to starting a book club in your school oxford education. Several humanities organizations have established a classic literature reading list that emphasizes the importance of reading timeless books. How to start a book club for middle school kids how to adult. Among the books covered are hatchet, dragonwings, and maniac magee. Geronimo the italian journalist rodent has penned dozens of highly illustrated earlyreader chapter books. One is the long, ninepage suggested booklist grouped by social issues found in the online resources. You will need little convincing that setting up a book club in school is a good. Find more advice on starting your book club in nikkis guide. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middleclass foothills and attended a small private school. Once a year we run our official book clubs here in 7th grade.

For california mom jan robertson, forming a parentchild book club was a way of encouraging her 9yearold daughters academic interests, and, she says, it is a great bonding experience. Linda garner, a teacher librarian and a school library journal slj school librarian of the year finalist, shares some great tips on running a virtual book club for middle schoolers. How to start a book club at school steps really think about if anyone at your school would join. How to start a middle school book club education possible. Middle school students are ideal book club candidates for a variety of reasons they enjoy talking with their peers, theyre ready and eager to grapple with abstract ideas and realworld issues, and theres a wealth of excellent adolescent fiction written. This week lizzy and jess talk to the incredibly funny ray of sunshine lui vega about the little prince. Make a concrete plan for the first day and subsequent sessions, as possible. Usually clubs read the same book, but sometimes clubs may read books by the same author, or read a series of books together that share a common genremystery, historical fiction, fantasyor they may read a collection of disparate books with a. His interpretation may be reinforced by others, or he may discover a new way of viewing the characters and events in the book. Our success with elementary students prompted us to bring book club to other age groups. This summer middle school reading list is filled with some of the best young adult novels written to date.

When i created a book club in high school, im pretty sure that half the people in it. A closed book club is ideal if you want a small club, for example, for your class or for a particular group of students. Books have always been very important to my family. Steve voiceover sometimes i feel like i have walked into the middle of a movie. Weve been a part of a book club since my kids were young. Students are already expected to have a reader response ready and topic of discussion for the book club meeting completed after they read. Many schools have had success using book punch to support reluctant middle school readers. Our book club has been together for almost 5 years and our kids continue to tell us it is one of their favorite school activities. Many readers are adults here at book riot, but when we were kids, i bet we loved book clubs i know i did.

By participating in online discussions, students examine literature through more critical lenses, while engaging in new learning technologies. Add to that the fact that he tends to prefer nonfiction, so i dont want to frustrate him. Aops academy san diego carmel valley campus course catalog. Scholastic book clubs is the best possible partner to help you get excellent childrens books into the hands of every child, to help them become successful lifelong readers and discover the joy and power of. My primary goal for book club is to create a culture of reading among my students. Through the activities we added in, they also got a chance to bring the stories to life. How to run a fullchoice book club in your classroom. Its not worth holding a club meeting if it is disorganized and, as the adult supervisor, its your job to provide structure and direction.

Oct 23, 2014 introduce your children to great literature and let them share their love of books with their homeschool friends by starting a middle school book. Introduce your children to great literature and let them share their love of books with their homeschool friends by starting a middle school book club. So here are some of my students favorite book club books in 7th grade. The books this group reads are chosen by the students and staff in the club. The advantages of a book club in a middle school classroom. This is a group of students who have permission from their parents or guardians to meet after school in the middle school library on odd tuesdays for 7th and 8th graders and even tuesdays for 6th graders of the month from 2. Ive been asked on twitter by a few different people how i runfund my high school book club, so i decided i should write a post about it. An afterschool activity requires parent permission, so follow your schools rules to the letter on this topic. Middle schoolers with reading disabilities in book club. Adolescent learners have unique interests, needs, and strengths. They didnt readily see how certain moments or scenes could impact later events.

I recommend starting a book club at the beginning of the year. Contact a school administrator for permission, preferably the principal. Simply put, a book club is a group of readers, usually three or four, who read books roughly in sync with each other. Starting a middle school book club book selections. Some favorite book club books for middle school pernille. As a 1st grade teacher, i wondered how to create a book club experience that would be fun and challenging for all my students, addressing the capabilities of my belowgradelevel, onlevel, and abovegradelevel readers alike. While i still have students run their conversations, i do give them ideas of what to discuss in their book clubs so that they have a starting point. Both were high school students from oakland, california, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Thompson sees the parentchild book club as an avenue for conversation and communication. He is at 5th grade reading level so i was a little hesitant to get him a book that is for middle school but the book is pretty simple to understand and he was exposed to higher concepts. Setting up a book club in school reading groups and book clubs are a hugely popular way of engaging readers and are a way into opening the box of reading delights.

Perfect for your middle school book club or literature circles. For middle school students, the best bet might be to assign on the banks of plum creek, which is the fourth book in the series and the one that deals with lauras first school experience, being teased on the playground, giving a picture of what life was like on a farm in the late 1800s. You can get monthly book recommendations and free teaching notes as part of our oxford education book club. Every year that ive been teaching middle school, i have students who begin the school year by announcing unabashedly that they hate reading. Very early on in our book club experiences, students had many ideas for how to make them better. Children can enjoy a communitybuilding experience by meeting with friends to choose, read, and discuss books together. First book club for middle school is your indispensible guide to implementing book club in the middlelevel classroom grades 6 through 8. A prime motivator, especially for secondary students, is social interaction. The book club will read and discuss various studentpicked books throughout the school year. Listen along as they discuss how deceivingly complicated this short story is, the correct age for a. Its all fine and dandy to say you want to run a book club.

Bought this for my 2nd grader who couldnt wait to read it. How to start a middle school book club middle school. Even though he filled a lot of pages in the journal, he enjoyed the greater interaction and discussion with this years book club. During a book club discussion, a student can try out his thinking by expressing his interpretation of a word or a passage. One of the students in the group compared the book club to last years experience of reading a book and keeping a handwritten journal. They still ask for my advice, but i try to make sure each students gets to read a book theyre interested in. Overall they do an incredible job imparting a deep knowledge of both math and language arts to all of their students, and aops academy sets them on a path towards their career goals. Jun 5, 2014 the library adventure uses affiliate links, see our policies for more information. How to plan for book clubs in middle school heinemann blog. Your guide to starting a book club in your school oxford. Sheri berkeley abstract the writer describes a book project that successfully motivated middle school students with learning disabilities to independently practice comprehension strategies while read ing material at their independent levels.

Students explore middle and early high school contests such as mathcounts and the american mathematics competitions 8 and 10 amc 8 and 10. Book club gives middleschoolers, university students. Having socialmedia like conversations about our books gives students that space. Many middle school students enjoy the connection with a young adult novel, but classic literature never goes out of style. At the beginning of each school year we select books based on. Be sure not to forget the reading level of the group, and take the time to find out what theyll be reading in school, so that you can be aware. Whether they were through school, the local library, or a bookstore, it was great when someone organized a group of children together who all had the special. Ideas for how to do better book clubs in middle school pernille. Wowow episode 5 of middle school book club is up and boy is it a good one. Middle school reading list weird unsocialized homeschoolers. School librarian laura gardner offers best practices to stay connected with students and keep the fun factor high. Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. Novels found on summer middle school reading lists often prove to be an interesting challenge.

Stealing this for next years middle school book club with images. How to run a virtual book club with middle schoolers school. In order for your classroom book club to be successful. The club members will also have the option to participate in an ocps districtwide competition called, battle of the books. Aops academy also encourages students to take part in various competitions. Classic literature reading list for middle school students. First, thank you lucy, audra and emily for writing this amazing unit social issues book clubs. Five winning books for an activitybased book club geronimo stilton series, by geronimo stilton scholastic, grades. The next book club meeting will be tuesday, march 10, at the beginning of lunch in room 405. Students have guidelines for book club to encourage listening and making sure that everyone has a chance to speak.

Decide if the club will meet yearround or only in the summer. During chess club, students play against each other online, and play multiple games at a time. If you want to create a lap book, this book is perfect. A book club for kids is one of the best ways to combine learning and fun.

Social issues book club unit middle school reading and. Recentering the middle school classroom as a vibrant learning community. Lakehills middle school book club offers some suggestions for great summer reading. Because josh is already in 8th grade, so he doesnt really have time to read them all. Throughout the book, the author, eliezer wiesel is moved through several treacherous concentration camps, including auschwitz, buchenwald and buna. If you belong to a book group yourself, you will know that the pleasure of reading is multiplied when we share our ideas, explore differences of opinion and find common interests. Book club conversation allows new ideas to be presented, building up a students understanding. Check out their other recommendations during lakehills scholastic book fair, april 1417. Lots of kids wish that their school had a book club, but very few actually have the drive to make it happen. One of the most important parts of a book club is the books you choose to read. Decide how many kids you will include in the group. Set the basic structure and ground rules for the book club.

In my own motherdaughter group she says, i have found that when the mothers take the time to read, listen and respond to their daughters as readers, they send a powerful message that the girls thoughts and experiences are important. By allowing students to recreate the story as a choose your own adventure tale, they have the opportunity to map out not only the original story but also a new. It wasnt that they didnt want to do book clubs, it was that they wanted to have meaningful conversations. Several years ago i started a middle school book club as a way to encourage my kids to read great some classic literature and enable them to discuss the books with their friends. T oday begins national young readers week, and i decided to kick it off at my house by creating a list of books that id like megan to tackle during her middle school years why just megan, you may ask. Middle school students can also use conversation to increase comprehension. Early morning in cell block d, manhattan detention center. Free teaching guides are fullworking sample activities can be found at. Memoir night starts out in sighet, czechoslovakia, 1941, the beginning of world war ii.

Middle schoolers w ith reading disabilities in book club. If it werent for the 57 bus, sasha and richard never would have met. Students are introduced to important topics in number theory and geometry, and work individually or collaboratively to solve challenging problems related to these topics. Book punch provides interactive writing lessons for books commonly read in schools. Choosing awardwinning books helped to show the kids what good books are. Kids are often busy during the school year with other activities, so you may find it easier to only do a summer book club 1.