I was excited to see that we would be discussing book clubs this week because that is a topic that is important to me. I am using this topic for my inquiry project and it is something I want to hit the ground running with next year. Most of my concerns lie only in figuring out the logistics of how a book club operates on a daily basis. How do I choose my books? How do I group my kids? How do I monitor learning without stalking them? How do I give them to freedom to disagree with the learning objectives that I set such high values on? How do I keep them engaged and on-task?
I'm hoping as we continue to study and my inquiry project continues to progress, some of my questions will be answered.
Your questions about book clubs are very similar to mine! I've never actually done book clubs in the classroom since I work with the itty-bitty learners, but as with most things it's the logistics that can be daunting. I would imagine that with fifth graders, it is a delicate balance that you have to find between your goals and objectives as the teacher (what you HOPE they get out of the experience) and what they actually get out of it...those two things might not actually match up all the time!
ReplyDeleteI really am interested to hear what texts you select (or that you let the kids select?) for book clubs and how you tackle some of the finer points of implementing book clubs.
These were some of the questions I had as well. I have never implemented book clubs, so I know that getting started can be difficult. You have all these wonderful ideas but pieces them together becomes such a demanding task. I think that once you get started, you will have a better idea of what you wish to change and continue. Of course, we want our students to gain the most from their experiences and based on your sharing of your teaching in class, I'm sure this will also become something enjoyable for the students.
ReplyDelete