This week has been all about high stakes testing! YUCK! We only test for a couple of hours in the morning and to relieve the stress from the remainder of the day, my fifth grade teaching partner and I do Book Clubs! 🙂 We try to keep them very simple, yet meaningful for the students.
Last Friday, we watched book trailers with our students and allowed them to select their top three choices for Book Clubs!
Then, I assembled a Reading Log Booklet for each student to use while working their way through the book. I have loved these booklets for SO many reasons.
1. I love that it gives them a meaning and purpose for reading. They have a specific job in which they must complete to be an active participant in their group.
2. I rotate through various jobs within each book. This allows all students to get a chance to lead discussion, summarize, illustrate, and look up definitions to unfamiliar words. PLUS, the kids seem to really enjoy doing their jobs.
3. It makes grading and accountability EASY!
On our first day of Book Clubs, the students are required to create a schedule for their group. My teaching partner and I allow them to decide the number of chapters that they will read in class and for homework each day. We usually write the dates in which students will have “Book Club time” on the board so that students can plan accordingly. Both times that we have used Book Clubs after testing, we have given them eight days to complete their book. You can check out my reading schedules at the end of this post for FREE!
The first of the four jobs that I have my students complete is the Discussion Director! I typically make this the job of my highest reader for the first few chapters of the book. Thus far, I have loved having my higher or more articulate students start Book Clubs with this job. They typically ask questions that spark predictions and inferences about what is to come in the book. Meanwhile, they are modeling the types of questions and leadership that is expected from other students in upcoming chapters.
After being the Discussion Director, students will get a chance to be the Summarizer! The Summarizer provides a brief summery of the chapter or chapters that they were required to read.
The Illustrator gets to non-linguistically represent the chapter with one picture!
And last but not least, is the Word Wonderer! The Word Wonderer is required to look up four words that they are unfamiliar with. I also encourage my students to look up words that they have seen in the past but hearing or sharing the meaning of the word would benefit the group.
