Book Clubs: Literacy Through Discussion
Book Clubs: Literacy Through Discussion
"Responding to literature through discussion, preferably in small groups, is a time-honored way to promote literacy growth through reading, reflecting, and reevaluating one's response in light of the responses of others." (Sloann, 2002, p. 28)
Critical literacy seeks to interrogate issues of equity present in texts and society, for individuals to make applications to their own lives, and for individuals to take action towards social justice. When our students reach adulthood, they will be in relationships with people who aren’t like them. They need to know how to talk with others in away that doesn’t cause a fight. Book clubs provides a platform for students to express their thoughts about BIG ideas and practice their responses to people who might oppose them. In the article by Robin Jocius and Samantha Shealy, they mention " we believe that student-led book can empower readers and writers to critique the world around them and advocate for social change." (Jocius & Shealy et al., 2017, p. 691) I believe this is extremely important when we teach our students. We want our students to think for themselves, fight against social injustices, and be active members of their communities.
We have learned current views of reading instruction emphasizes learning as a social construction. "Reading and writing develop through interactions with both adults and peers; students should not sit in isolation, working on individual worksheets to practice skills outside the social and cultural contexts of normal use. Instead, students should interact using oral and written language to construct meaning about what they have read." (Raphael & McMahon, 2019, p. 102) This passage from the article describes an attitude and way of thinking when implementing book clubs. We want our students to engage with a critical thinking mindset. Our book clubs are to seek political, social, and cultural issues, and discussions must be planned to support critical meaning-making practices.
When I imagine book clubs, my brain automatically thinks of boring books and boring people. That was my attitude in school. How do we avoid this and how do we get our students to participate in these book clubs? Book clubs have they ability to allow students and classrooms to initiate year long projects, collaborative research assignments, healthy debates with opposing viewpoints, whole class discussions, and activities that lead into community outreach. Teachers who wish to enact a book club curriculum need to work alongside their students to provide space to explore, question, challenge, and reframe sociocultural assumptions. Engagement in book club activities has the potential to increase students’ sense of agency over their own lives and opportunities for independent transfer and transformation across all areas of life.
What strategies will you use to extend student's literature discussions?
Time is a constant barrier for book clubs, what can you do to help fit in book clubs in an already packed curriculum?
What topics and theme would you use in your book clubs?
What can you do to help students lead the discussions?
References
Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018). Critical book clubs: Reimagining literature reading and response. The Reading Teacher, 71(6), 691-702.
Sloan, G. (2002) Reader Response in perspective. Journal of Children's Literature, 28(1), 22-30
Raphael, T. E., & McMahon, S. I. (1994). Book club: An alternative framework for reading instruction. The reading teacher, 48(2), 102-116.
Doug, I like how you relate to book clubs as “boring books and boring people”. Well, this can’t happen to another generations of readers so, I’ll need to try some new techniques.
ReplyDeleteI want to develop students that enjoy reading books instead of becoming reluctant book readers. I would first give them a choice between set books and a book of their choice for the book club reading. During this process of selecting a book I would also ask them about different injustices that are happening in their lives. Then help them narrow the list down to a manageable list of ones to learn about through critical text. So, I will not be focusing on “instruction emphasized decoding the print” but instead focus on “Providing opportunity for personal response, to encourage students to construct meaning with their peers and to question whether meaning is inherent in text” (Raphael & McMahon, 2019, p. 103). Besides small group readings I would allow the students to leave the classroom to read and discuss in quiet in the hallways. This would give the students more freedom to enjoy the story and its content. I would also allow them to use multimodel forms (drawing, journals, media and discussion) to communicate their understanding in the reading. Also, early in the year I would practice guidelines for guided discussions. Through examples I would teach them how to engage students that are having a hard time relating and discussion the book. This would help the students to develop appropriate engagement techniques for the book clubs. With practice and guidance I think this process could help develop book readers. It’s going to be a lot of work and it will start early in the year.
Thanks Jay, I really like your idea of giving a set list and then having them pick their own book. I initially thought of just giving them a set list to choose from. I think your idea is better and gives them the freedom in which I was trying talk about. Looks like you got a plan down. I like it!
DeleteDoug - I agree with your thought on book clubs, thinking of "boring books and boring people". My education didn't incorporate book clubs until college and although the clubs tried to be engaging, the experience fell flat. I think we can combat this by incorporating student choice or more importantly, interest and relatability. By this I mean choosing critical texts that include characters/situations that are relatable...characters that our students can see themselves in, even if the characters/situations are vastly different from their own. I think this will entice young readers. More than this, I think creating a space for digital and multi-modal responses will also liven up traditional book clubs. Our students will know and use more technology than I think we can even understand. It's how they play, communicate, and will make sense of the world. Why not incorporate this into our book clubs? The student responses to using this format (coupled with critical response activities) were overwhelmingly positive in "Critical Book Clubs: Reimagining Literature Reading and Response": One student said it was "...my favorite thing I've ever done this year".
ReplyDeleteIn response to, "What can you do to help students lead the discussions", I think scaffolding the book club experience is a great way to ease students into leading the clubs themselves. In the article I mentioned above, they implemented book clubs by phases. In an article we read at some point the past year, book clubs began whole class, with the teacher as the facilitator, allowing him/her to model the "how-to's". The next step was to break them into groups and have some guidance. I believe the final step was allowing the groups to have full control. I think easing into the process, through guiding and modeling, will help students feel confident in their abilities to lead their own groups.
Priscilla, I definitely agree that scaffolding the book clubs is the best way to show students what is expected from a book club and to lead them toward independence. I think the goal should always be independent group leadership and discussion (or else the teacher would go crazy trying to facilitate multiple groups at once!).
DeleteTwo of the articles mentioned that at the beginning students mostly read from their reading logs and asked superficial questions. I know there is some growth curve, where students must learn how to have fruitful discussions that go past the facts. But this is where I see teacher models being especially helpful. Some strategies that I've thought of to help students include: watching video clips of a book club discussion, having different roles that students can adopt in their book club (like we did with science or are doing in social studies), and giving students examples of conversation starters, insightful questions, reading logs, etc.
Rachael and Priscilla, I like your input and ideas especially scaffolding the book club experience. Technology is also a great way to help our students with literacy. Your right Priscilla, why not use it. I can't help but think, if I had these options when I was in school, how would my attitude be towards literacy. Unfortunately, the most positive experience I've had with literacy is this program with IUPUI. Thanks for your input you two!
DeleteBut if students read about things that interest them they are less likely to be bored! I realize that there will always be students that don’t enjoy reading for whatever reason-even things they may find interesting might not be compelling enough to overcome the boredom they associate with reading. I recently listened to a podcast that featured stories from middle school students that were very well done. I was impressed by the quality of their work and thought it would be a great idea to use for book clubs. Our reading this week discussed four phases of book clubs. Student created podcasts could be a useful tool for both the practice and refinement phases of book clubs (Jocius et al, 2017). Students could discuss their thoughts of the book, what they learned, how it affected the way they view themselves and the world, et cetera. It would provide a great way to preview the books for other students. As each successive group completed the book, they could create their own podcasts. They could then compare their experience with the book to others that had read it before them. It would also be a good way for teachers to get student feedback and track how their students thinking has changed over time. Also, the novelty and fun of creating a podcast could be engaging enough for reluctant readers to want to participate.
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ReplyDeleteStudent input tends to generate buy in so I would try to incorporate that as much as possible. Finding ways to build on student interests in ways that align with standards and fits within time constraints requires creativity and resourcefulness. As stated in Social Studies for Social Justice by Rahima C. Wade, “Social justice teaching involves taking critical, creative, and sometimes subversive approaches to reinventing the social studies curriculum” (Wade, 2007, p.51). I think that mindset applies to all CRT we try to enact in the classroom. Book clubs need to be spaces where students comfortable to share their thoughts even if they are met with disagreement or are mistaken in their thinking. When they can share their authentic thoughts and hear multiple viewpoints, the transaction between text and reader become personally meaningful. From that relationship, book clubs strategy for making meaning from texts. To be critical readers, students need to be able to wonder about connect to, critique and interrogate texts. Learning is a social process so book clubs should be a place for discourse that challenges viewpoints but also allows students to see commonalities between each other and texts.
DeleteAmber, I think you make some great points about the purpose of book clubs. Oftentimes, we view book clubs in the classroom as a means of demonstrating understanding. However, it's equally important that students use these opportunities to expand upon their existing perspectives and start a productive dialogue with classmates. The Jocius, Shealy reading discusses the value of these conversations as a means of teaching students how to have thoughtful, productive exchanges with each other that don't result in or diffuse conflict (p. 697). The Raphael, McMahon reading suggests that book club discussions are a great way for students to learn to listen and take interest in each other's ideas (p. 114). If the teacher simply conducts a lecture on the reading, students are missing out on the opportunity to hear multiple viewpoints on what they've read. The goal of reading, in my opinion, should be to produce dialogue. After I've read a good (or bad) book, I'm always eager to talk about it. I'm hoping that my students will share in this excitement and look forward to sharing their opinions.
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DeleteThanks Amber and Addy, it sounds so simple that we need to produce dialogue when reading books. I feel like a lot of times we read, we write, and then it's over. With more and more emphasis on social justice, it will be interesting to see if students have more of a voice and have more meaningful discussions in school than when I was there.
DeleteAmber and Addy I really enjoy your points! Addy like you after I finish reading a book I'm always eager to discuss what happened in the book with others and find out how they interacted with the book and what they thought about certain aspects. I love the idea of book clubs allowing our students to see multiple and sometimes opposing viewpoints with a particular book. Also, each individuals experience gives them a unique way to relate to and engage with the text and by discussing our experiences with the text with each other we're given a new or different way too look at the text that we would not have necessarily seen if we didn't have these conversations within book club. As the Jocius and Shealy article suggests the whole group discussion of the book club model, "offered opportunities to model explicitly how to sustain and manage group dynamics...students began to recognize and resolve conversational dilemmas on their own rather than rely on the teacher" (p. 697). As you mentioned Amber, learning these skills is not only necessary for literature but for many subjects such as social studies. Our students will often have to engage in conversations where there is disagreement, differing opinions and takeaways, etc. and learning how to effectively and respectively engage in this sort of discourse through book clubs is an incredibly important skill to have. Also, when there is interest and the student's have buy in with what they're reading they are much more likely to relate to the text in a way that creates the desire to discuss, debate, and relate to the text with their classmates.
DeleteThe reading on Critical Book Clubs, proposed using sentence starters to help students in their book club discussions. Though the reading did mention the limitations of only beginning discussions with set phrases, I think this could be a great way to get students who are new to book clubs to share. Younger students who are new to chapter books, for instance, may struggle with where to start in their discussion. These conversation starters seem like a beneficial way of reducing anxiety surrounding sharing one’s thoughts on the book.
ReplyDeleteIt’s funny that you mention your association of boring people with book clubs. I also had this connotation despite my love of reading. I always visualized book clubs centering around a group of women reading fluff pieces. Perhaps because that is what my grandmother’s book club resembles. While that type of book club doesn’t appeal to me, it clearly appeals to her and her group of friends. A book club that interests some may not interest others. In my classroom, I think that I will most likely adjust topics and themes to my individual students' interests. Forcing them to read a book they have no interest in, will only result in them resenting reading. If I get to know my students and their interests better, I can design my book clubs around them. If we are required to use certain texts, I can work to find parallels between things that interest them and sections of the text. This way, hopefully they'll see that books can have value to them both academically and individually.
Addy, I like how you mention the idea of using sentence starters to help students with their book club discussions. I think when I first said that I feared that it would guide the direction of the book club discussion too much and not necessarily facilitate authentic conversation since they were asked to discuss specific ideas. However, when reading Raphael and McMahon's article on book clubs and how they described the difficulties the students had engaging with book clubs because they're used to "turn taking and the emphasis on individual work...turn taking emphasizes each student's obligation to contribute to the discussion" (p. 105). As the authors mention this isn't conducive to authentic discussion where instead of taking turns you would most likely respond and relate to others or wait until you had something to add before engaging in the discussion. These conversation starters help them practice what engaging in book clubs can look like when they don't have experience with this way of doing things.
DeleteGreat post Doug! Your first meme made me chuckle. I definitely relate to your experience in school about book clubs, that the books we had book clubs for were boring and not interesting. I really like your idea of year long projects for book clubs. You laid out the goals of critical book clubs, which we can all agree on. My idea of a successful critical book club would be to let students decide early in the year what social justice they want to contribute to, and create book clubs in that way. Telling students that it will be a year long project where they will be active and accountable for their project I believe will bring more success. After each club determines what social action they want to perform, provide books and resources for them or let them do that part themselves depending on the grade. If you create book clubs that are short with no interest or meaning to the students, they won't be engaged and just do an assignment for a grade. A year long project where they are interested and accountable will create a successful book club where students are empowered to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI also really like how you said "We want our students to engage with a critical thinking mindset. Our book clubs are to seek political, social, and cultural issues, and discussions must be planned to support critical meaning-making practices." I think the "community share" component of book clubs is important when it comes to having students critically think. "During community share teachers modeled different ways of responding to texts and of participating in discussions about the text" (Raphael/McMahon, 111). I think it is very important that students not only participate in critical book clubs and fight for social justice, but to also engage in discussion. Also, students need to be taught how to successfully participate in critical discussion. It is one thing to participate in a critical book club and have a critical mindset as a student, but if ideas aren't shared among your students as an entire class, you miss a key aspect of a critical book club.
Alright, Alright, Alright....Thanks for the post Will! I liked hearing about having student input in help shaping the activity. I believe Amber hinted on this as well. I too like the idea of the year long projects. I think it's a good way to have them be accountable for something every day. Once they see it's not too bad, I do believe it will generate more thoughtful discussions.
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ReplyDeleteGreat post! I wanted to try to speak on your question: Time is a constant barrier for book clubs, what can you do to help fit in book clubs in an already packed curriculum? A class that I substituted in a couple weeks ago had book clubs. The students were divided into three groups and during the allotted reading time after recess, on certain days of the week they would do book clubs instead of individual readings. Two instructional assistants came and and facilitated a group with me reading along another. The students all knew the schedule of what days were book clubs and what were individual readings, so they were excited to be with their groups. I think this way of bringing book clubs into the classroom does not require to take time out of other subjects. I think that having specific days for book clubs and specific days for individual reading allows the students to be independent but also learn to be critical readers as a group. I know there are so many options to incorporate book clubs into the school day, but I thought this was a nice compromise for the students.
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