Hello Darlings! I’ve had a lot of questions about how to start Book Club Groups. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Decide on your Book Club groups by
reading level. I group them by DRA
level. I also use Running Records from The Reading and Writing Project here. Ex. All my 28 M’s might be reading Magic
Tree House and
all my 38 P’s might be reading Tales
of a 4th
Grade Nothing.
reading level. I group them by DRA
level. I also use Running Records from The Reading and Writing Project here. Ex. All my 28 M’s might be reading Magic
Tree House and
all my 38 P’s might be reading Tales
of a 4th
Grade Nothing.
I would not recommend more than 6
groups. You may need to combine some
levels. For example if you have 3 kids
at a level 28 M and 3 at a level 30 N, put them all in the 28 level. It is ok to take kiddos down a level to do
the work, just not up.
groups. You may need to combine some
levels. For example if you have 3 kids
at a level 28 M and 3 at a level 30 N, put them all in the 28 level. It is ok to take kiddos down a level to do
the work, just not up.
If you have not already had your students
in Book Clubs, you need to spend a day or two explaining your expectations and
explaining how to participate in Book
Clubs. Use the following anchor charts
to help you.
in Book Clubs, you need to spend a day or two explaining your expectations and
explaining how to participate in Book
Clubs. Use the following anchor charts
to help you.
Your main goal here is to get students to
realize that each member has a responsibility to the group. Each member will also have new or similar
ideas to share. How will they share
those ideas with their group? Will they
be a hog and
hog the conversation and be the only one who talks? Will they be a log, and just sit there like a bump on a log
and not participate? How will they be
respectful?
realize that each member has a responsibility to the group. Each member will also have new or similar
ideas to share. How will they share
those ideas with their group? Will they
be a hog and
hog the conversation and be the only one who talks? Will they be a log, and just sit there like a bump on a log
and not participate? How will they be
respectful?
I spend usually two-three days just
talking about what I expect in clubs.
This is not SHOW and TELL or a sharing circle. Kiddos need to work on RESPONDING to each others’
comments
or asking a clarifying question. This is
where the Conversation Starter Bookmarks
come
in handy. Practice using these during a Read Aloud so
that you can model your expectations. You can get the Conversation Starter Bookmarks free here.
talking about what I expect in clubs.
This is not SHOW and TELL or a sharing circle. Kiddos need to work on RESPONDING to each others’
comments
or asking a clarifying question. This is
where the Conversation Starter Bookmarks
come
in handy. Practice using these during a Read Aloud so
that you can model your expectations. You can get the Conversation Starter Bookmarks free here.
Show students how to fill out their Book
Log to record the amount of pages read.
Students should be able to read about 15 pages in 20 minutes or 30 pages in 40
minutes. This also depends on how much
you are asking them to Stop and Jot their thinking. Stop and Jots can be done in a journal or
composition notebook or written on sticky notes and placed in the book. If you need something more formal, you can find response log sheets in this pack.
Log to record the amount of pages read.
Students should be able to read about 15 pages in 20 minutes or 30 pages in 40
minutes. This also depends on how much
you are asking them to Stop and Jot their thinking. Stop and Jots can be done in a journal or
composition notebook or written on sticky notes and placed in the book. If you need something more formal, you can find response log sheets in this pack.
Scheduling Clubs
Depending on the makeup of your class, you could have all of your clubs occuring at the same time or you could create a schedule of when students meet. With classes who could handle it, I usually did my lesson and then students met right after for ten minutes. They then had their conversations and I made my way around to listen in to each group. I would choose one group a day to meet with for more formal observations.
For classes who had more difficulty staying on task or self monitoring, I created a schedule to where I would meet with two clubs a day at two different times. Students would have the rest of the reading time to read for their club and the entire next day to read. They would have between 10-20 minutes the day before their meeting to read as well.
This free editable schedule in my free resource library sign up.
Teacher’s Role in Book Clubs
During Book Clubs each day, you will be
actively monitoring your students. This
means you will listen in on their conversations and record your observations in
your Conference Sheet. You will then be
able to keep track of how far along students are in their books. You need to be prepared to have a new set of books on hand for their
group when they are ready.
Your lower groups will obviously get through more books than your higher
groups.
actively monitoring your students. This
means you will listen in on their conversations and record your observations in
your Conference Sheet. You will then be
able to keep track of how far along students are in their books. You need to be prepared to have a new set of books on hand for their
group when they are ready.
Your lower groups will obviously get through more books than your higher
groups.
Through your observations, you will
notice which groups are successful and which groups, or certain students, need
extra support. Groups that need extra
support may need small group teaching and modeling from
you. You will not need to read each book
as in Guided Reading Groups because you will be able to talk to your students
about the general reading strategies.
notice which groups are successful and which groups, or certain students, need
extra support. Groups that need extra
support may need small group teaching and modeling from
you. You will not need to read each book
as in Guided Reading Groups because you will be able to talk to your students
about the general reading strategies.
You
may also need to confer with students individually. The following is a
suggestion for conferring.
may also need to confer with students individually. The following is a
suggestion for conferring.
Research Phase: try
to understand what a child is already doing, trying to do, and cannot quite do
as a reader. Ask yourself “What
is the most important lesson for this child on this day?”
to understand what a child is already doing, trying to do, and cannot quite do
as a reader. Ask yourself “What
is the most important lesson for this child on this day?”
Decision Phase: make
a choice on what you will focus on today.
What skill will the reader be able to use today that will help him in
the future to become a stronger reader?
This is done in your head. You
haven’t said anything to the child yet.
a choice on what you will focus on today.
What skill will the reader be able to use today that will help him in
the future to become a stronger reader?
This is done in your head. You
haven’t said anything to the child yet.
Compliment: Ask
yourself, “What
can I gush over?” Pick
something to compliment the child on.
They are vulnerable to you right now and your words will stick with them
and affect how they approach reading.
Ex. Sally, I love how you have recorded your thinking in your reading
journal. I can look through here and see
tracks of your thinking. I see you had a
question here and you thought this part here was really funny. Good readers track their thinking!”
yourself, “What
can I gush over?” Pick
something to compliment the child on.
They are vulnerable to you right now and your words will stick with them
and affect how they approach reading.
Ex. Sally, I love how you have recorded your thinking in your reading
journal. I can look through here and see
tracks of your thinking. I see you had a
question here and you thought this part here was really funny. Good readers track their thinking!”
Teaching Point:
Explicitly teach what you want the child to do either through guided practice,
demonstration, or giving an example.
Explicitly teach what you want the child to do either through guided practice,
demonstration, or giving an example.
Link/Goal: Link
what was learned in this conference to students’ ongoing work. You want them to understand that everything
they just learned here can be used for the rest of their lives in different
subjects.
what was learned in this conference to students’ ongoing work. You want them to understand that everything
they just learned here can be used for the rest of their lives in different
subjects.
To get the general conferring Sheets I use click here. The ones below are for my Mystery Book Club Unit.
I hope this was helpful!
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