The class activity is happening alongside the chat discussion. But your group can choose even more creative book club ideas. The guide contains discussion questions and activities that can be done with the book. Successful groups select good books, have interesting discussions, and foster community. No matter whether you walk in to a classroom asia, north america or europe you will almost certainly see teachers and students building their understanding of the world through a dedicated daily reading session. Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to your meeting. Identify the primary characters and summarize the plot. The big list of class discussion strategies cult of pedagogy. Feb 12, 2019 this means that i need to actually show up for a book group on time and having read the material. Have them write a question for the group about the book on their card and drop it in a bowl. Since book club is a group activity, its also a helpful way to encourage children in their publicspeaking abilities. If you are starting a book club yourself, you may need some ideas for creating a fun group that people will come back to time after time. Read books that are soon to be on the big screen with this theme.
There is never any one way to experience or interpret a book. I feel like i always have too many ideas in my head at once and want to post them all immediately. This can be as simple as going around the group taking it in turns to introduce yourself and saying what you like to read and what youre looking forward to about the book club if youre new or what you. If you notice big eye rolls or hear lots of groaning when you mention the words book reports, its probably time to shake up your repertoire of book related activities.
The invisible string by patrice karst, fishing line, and hearts. The discussion questions written by the teens are what drive our discussion. Book activities and response activities the teachers guide. I am kelly malloy from an apple for the teacher, and i am so excited to be posting over here on minds in bloom. Wishtree by katherine applegate book units teacher. In fact, differing opinions make the best discussions. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Here are 14 book club ideas to ensure you and your team continue to personally and professionally develop.
Book club ideas kid through adult great group activities. Jun 25, 2014 and for many reluctant readers, turning a book into a craft or activity with their friends is just the thing they need to get them over the hump. If you need to plan a literature unit on gary paulsen novels, take a look at these mobilefriendly instructional resources. However, be careful of letting your common sense tell you any of the book club ideas are too youthful for grownup book clubs, if thats what youre dealing with. Activities are a useful way of having children discuss and think about the stories theyre reading. Of all the unique book group ideas on this list, this is the one id most like to see in my hometown. This can be as simple as going around the group taking it in turns to introduce yourself and saying what you like to read and what youre looking forward to about the book club if youre new or what you like about the club if youre an established. Wemberly worried read aloud lesson ideas and activities.
Plant the flowers your character grew as a group activity. Select a number of questions, write each on an index card, and pass them out. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. We plan on doing this with the wonder movie, reading the book, and then use these wonder movie activities, book activities, and wonder book lesson plans to supplement our learning. Games to break the ice at book discussion groups and other. Second grade reading comprehension activities weareteachers. Find one that sparks your interest and just write whatever you can think of about. Activities based on childrens books buggy and buddy. Some of these activities i could have tried in the traditional class setting, but the groups would have had to be much larger as there were often nearly 30 kids per class. To keep conversation and discussion about the book flowing, have everyone switch their cell phones to silent mode or turn them off completely and put them in a basket in the center of the table. Aug 21, 2017 ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Use our litlovers resources below to help you with specific questions. Their strategies for interactive classroom activities will energize your class and get discussion moving again.
Choosing group discussion questions the facilitator should take time to carefully plan the group discussion questions, avoiding poorlyworded, biased, or awkward questions. Perhaps most importantly, discussion activities can be great fun for students. Reading comprehension questions and response activities. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Each activity should take only one or two minutes and focuses on key questions or ideas, or asks participants to make predictions. Book club ideas for wonder by rj palacio if every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary the world really would be a better place. Students then go around the room to find 10 different people with ideas they didnt have on their own paper. Discussion activities to include in a group discussion. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike. Oct 15, 2015 the class activity is happening alongside the chat discussion. The teacher s guide free worksheets, smartboard templates, and lesson plans for teachers. Starting or joining a book club is initially exciting. Dec 11, 2015 my favorite activity book pairing was when we read cardboard by doug tennapel and then got to make cardboard self portraits. Using generic book club questions say you have picked a book that is a bit more obscure, or one that is brand new, and you cant find a discussion.
Use an icebreaker activity to loosen you up and get your discussion off to an enthusiastic start. Pretend you are a talk show host and interview the main character. The stonekeeper book one by kazu kibuishi as i was reading this book i kept thinking about the theme, things arent always what they seem. Give each student a heart for each person or animal they. Best group games for kids kindergartens guided reading ideas new book club discussion ideas guided reading ideas education reading comprehension. Having been happy members of many study groups and book clubs ourselves, we hope you enjoy talking about this book as much as we enjoyed writing it.
Mar 10, 2015 remove the pressure by trying some of these discussion prompts. Literacy ideas is a place for english teachers, students and parents to learn about writing and. Our ideas can help you lead a discussion, find helpful resources, and be a smart participant. Awesome reading tasks and activities for any book or age group. Its your turn to moderatelead your book clubs discussion. Ive put together a list of 32 blog post ideas for book bloggers. Create a travel brochure for the setting of the story or scrapbook pages about key characters. At your first book club meeting, or whenever new people join your reading group, its good to spend a bit of time getting to know each other. Distribute handouts to everyone in order to refresh memories or use as talking points. Sharing great books encourages students critical thinking through rich discussion, coaxes them to come together as a group of learners, and fosters warmth, wonder, and respect among peers. This simple step before you get started will help everyone get engaged in the book discussion. This is a fun one that can be used as a main activity or as a warmup to a lesson.
The giver is a wonderful middle and high school level novel that invokes tons of indepth discussion and raises thought provoking questions about a life without memories, feelings or pain, a life of sameness and predictability and how that might be better or worse than the life we live the giver book discussion and color less activity. Whether youre a school librarian or a teacher, allowing time for. We looked into some different ways to revive, or start an entirely new club, and have compiled a list of ideas for you. Dec 10, 20 classroom discussions have been a staple of teaching forever, beginning with socrates. Apr 10, 2017 ideas for how to do better book clubs in middle school april 10, 2017 april 10, 2017 pernille ripp in 2015, i wrote a post discussing how i was doing book clubs with my 7th graders and how their ideas had shaped our process to be more powerful. Continue to the next slides for book club theme ideas. Use our ideas to help you organize your book club activities, hold good discussions, and settle tough issues. Get creative and dont let any ideas get lost in the.
And for many reluctant readers, turning a book into a craft or activity with their friends is just the thing they need to get them over the hump. What follows are ideas for managing and planning, as well as guidelines for the groups leader and prompts students can use to move book conversations forward. A few discussion activities for english language students. Read on for how to create an activity based book club or jump to five winning books for a kids book club. See more ideas about book activities, activities and preschool activities. The only rule is the teacher cannot say anything during the period allotted for class discussion of book.
Ideas for how to do better book clubs in middle school. These activities for wemberly worried will be a big hit in your kindergarten or firstgrade classroom. I am a fourth grade teacher in northern nevada who believes that my students learn just as much talking to each other as they do talking to me. Go ahead and take that train ride in disguise with your adult history book club, or pass secret notes at the coffee house without anyone seeing with other grownups of your spy novel club.
Discussion guide for harry potter and the sorcerers stone by j. During this time, you can also support groups who struggle with valuing diverse ideas, referring to their books for evidence, or focusing on the discussion. Most of these i pulled out of my own head or looked through old posts i wrote. Before they get snacks, they have to write at least 1 discussion questions. Have students read the newspapers and magazines to find articles that somehow relate to issues and ideas in the book s you are reading. Use specific passages from the book as evidence for your ideas.
Dec 08, 2016 for some reason, i dont often run out of content ideas. If breakfast or brunch with your girlfriends is a favorite weekend activity, why not include a book discussion. This is a great teachreteach method that helps to identify inthemoment misconceptions and provides students the opportunity to help each other in a very positive way. The purpose of all the activities is to give people a chance to meet each other and to share information about themselves. See more ideas about summarizing activities, teaching reading and reading workshop. Ask your students to list people and pets they believe their invisible string is connected to. From developing chat roomstyle discussion questions and writing. Here is a list of activities weve come up with inspired by popular childrens books alphabetized by title.
I really want their book clubs to focus more on the discussion, so while they have a short written theme analysis due to me at the end, we do not do a. The teachokay is a great strategy and can apply to all kinds of classrooms. Each member or team of 2 draws a title and casts the movie. There are even fiction book club books for knitters that give knitting project instructions in the back. I figured i would share some really general blog post ideas for book bloggers. As the book argues, learning is inherently social, for both kids and grownups. Meet at someones house or a restaurant for a monthly brunch and book discussion. First youll need to rearrange the classroom a bit, if youre able to in your teaching environment. Use an i cebreaker activity to loosen you up and get your discussion off to an enthusiastic start.
See more ideas about book activities, chapter books, activities. Explore options for setting up and running a book club. Select a number of questions, write each on an index card, and distribute. Others have been so stimulating that i was sad to see them end. I like the ideas of snow ball discussions, students can be in groups, add their ideas and move to the next area. Apr 15, 2019 okay, youve got your list of members on lock. Apr 1, 2020 fun and fabulous ideas for learning with literature. And, the wonder movie discussion questions and the book provides a range of topics plenty to keep you busy. Instead, talk about your experience, how you felt as you read the book. Book club ideas that will totally impress your friends. Want to learn more teaching techniques and classroom activity ideas. From a book you have just read, select either an important object or creature and create a user manual.
Using the current book only, have everyone write hisher casting choice. Text to self is a great opportunity for students to become introspective about the content they read and make comparisons to their own experiences in life. From book themed activities to printable discussion questions to interviews with the authors, youll find plenty of inspiration for a. Not everyone can finish every book, but nonreaders may still have valuable insights.
To us, the most important kind of activity in such a group is trying out ideas ourselves, both in the study group and in our own. Book club for kids discussion questions, reading guide. Book reports are a thing of the past, and its time to be innovative and try some book activities that your students will enjoy. We meet on the last thursday of each month for 1 hour from 45pm. Remind students that their string is strong and long enough to reach anywhere. Emphasize that whatever activity you choose its meant to be a fun game, not a test, and that nobody will be keeping score. Some have been boring, stifling or tedious enough to put me to sleep. Welcome to brightlys book club for kids, where we encourage young readers to discover great books, share new stories, explore important topics, and have some bookish fun. Now you need some book club ideas about how to choose your read. These second grade reading comprehension activities will help your students build the skills they need to become better readers and have fun in the process. Spend your first day getting to know everyone and come up with a club name. Every club handles this differently, but two common approaches are allowing the entire club to vote monthly or bimonthly, however frequently you meet on a list of titles, or rotating whose turn it is to pick.
Choose one question at a time and toss it out to the group. You can also try to connect with authors on social media they may give you some great discussion ideas or even offer to skype with your book club. Pass around a bowl with folded slips of paper containing titles of recent book selections. Classroom discussions are a great way to develop speaking and listening skills. Some group discussion activities take very little time and can be used as a part of the group discussion session, combined with other activities. The activities below will reinforce and enhance what your students are currently reading. My favorite activity book pairing was when we read cardboard by doug tennapel and then got to make cardboard self portraits. Book clubs are a great way to engage students with reading and help build a reading culture at your school.
I have taught using discussions, been a student in discussions, and observed other teachers discussions thousands of times at least. Why are interactive classroom activities important. So for our first activity i printed off a bunch of funny pictures the ones i chose were all tween appropriate, and had the kids discuss what was really happening. Quick start guide book discussion groups libguides at. Those terms arent very helpful for moving discussions forward, and they can make others feel defensive. See more ideas about creative curriculum, preschool activities and construction theme. We are always inspired to do fun crafts and learning activities whenever we read some of our favorite childrens books. Ask your group if they think people should judge the book by its cover.
Second grade is the time when most young readers are beginning to move beyond the basics of decoding and into reading fluency and comprehension. This activity is appealing to teenagers more so than juniors. Here are seven unique book group ideas id actually show up for. Pass the hat this game is best in groups of about 10 people or less. Find ideas for discussions and activities your book club will enjoy. Where the crawdads sing by delia owens, all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr, educated by tara westover, eleano. For our motherdaughter book club this month, we chose. Use a prop or object related to the story, such as maps, photos, paintings, food, or audio. You may want to keep the craft fairly repetitive and easy to do while focusing on a discussion. One benefit of using shorter activities is the ability to keep participants interest high. For some reason, i dont often run out of content ideas. Discussion activities encourage critical thinking, and are therefore excellent preparation for speaking tests, such as ielts or toefl, which partly examine the ability to express and justify opinions in english.