On-line Book Club
Stephanie Greene/July 2004/YA Lit
Rationale: Beginning in middle school and continuing throughout adulthood, we have seen a huge decrease in the amount of time and desire to read for pleasure. Adolescence is already a difficult time period, hormones raging, self-doubt increasing, academic work piling up, extra-curricular activities to fit in. Why read? Why find time?
We can not always explain to middle school students that reading for pleasure will increase academic performance. We can not tell them that they should read and what they should read. This is a time for self-exploration and of course, rebellion. The student will most likely run from you if you try to shove any old book at them and, in all probability, they will forget tomorrow that you even cared today.
By providing a positive and flexible reading experience in a non-threatening manner, we may be able to draw the students back to reading, may even introduce and stimulate reluctant readers. And maybe even create life long reading habits.
Audience: An on-line book club can be developed for students from Grades 5 to adult. This project focuses on the middle school arena, but can be adapted easily for high school or adult format.
Objectives: The on-line book club will:
v Provide a safe, non-threatening discussion area.
v Provide a variety of reading selections for discussion, including non-fiction, fiction genres, graphic novels, magazines, appropriate websites.
v Allow students to build relationships with fellow readers.
v Introduce students to new ideas and reading materials.
v Be accessible from any computer, at home or at school, day or night.
v Promote a positive relationship with the public library.
Description:
Advertising the club:
v Put up a display in the media center that has a collection of the books to be discussed. Make sure this is colorful and eye-catching. The first book club display should have one copy of each of the items discussed this month: one non-fiction, one fiction, one magazine. Broaden the selections to incorporate more materials for the second month based on discussion.
v Provide a newsletter advertising the book club to the reading teachers to distribute to the students.
v Make an announcement on the morning announcements.
v Place a notice in the PTSA newsletter that goes home to parents.
Procedures:
v When the students sign up, provide them with a copy of the on-line procedures, a copy of the book or where to find another copy. (If collaborating with the public library, they can provide additional copies, as well.)
v Assign the student a nickname so that they will remain anonymous.
v On the first Friday of each month of the club, distribute a reminder bookmark to each member.
The book club is maintained on the World Crossing website. You are the forum host and you can make specialized privileges for each member. You may want to provide a statement for students to show their parents that this is a safe site and privacy will not be violated.
At the end of each month, the participants should receive some sort of incentive such as a free ice cream ticket or a small gift certificate to the bookstore.
Make sure to request suggestions for reading materials. Allow the choices to be fun, not just what you think is discussable!
Questions for Discussion:
For each item there may be specific questions about the content. I would also ask things like: would you like to be the main character? If you could change the ending, how would you do it? Would you recommend this to your mom? Dad? Best friend? If you did not like it, why not? Can you suggest another book like this?
Monitoring the Discussion:
Remember, you have the power! You can monitor this discussion at any time. You can interject new questions to make it more interesting. You can request that the students are non-judgmental about what others have to say. Model this. Be a part of the discussion. Be positive!
Run the club for as many months as you wish. At the end, throw an ice cream social to meet and talk about the books.
Cooperative Efforts with Outside Sources: The LMS and the YA librarian at the Howard County Library can work together to provide the students with the reading materials. The school itself can provide ice cream incentives. Classroom teachers could provide extra credit to participants.
Technology/Multimedia Devices:
World Crossing/Web Crossing – a free forum that allows for discrete and private discussions.
http://worldcrossing.com/WebX?WorldWelcome@218.JlGgc6lxlRO.1@.bebc200
Assessment/Evaluation: The success of the club will be evident due to the increased participation of the members. A survey or suggestion sheet could also be posted on the discussion board that would allow the students to evaluate the club on a monthly basis.
World Crossing/Web Crossing – a free forum that allows for discrete and private discussions.
http://worldcrossing.com/WebX?WorldWelcome@218.JlGgc6lxlRO.1@.bebc200
Natural Extensions:
v I plan on adapting this idea to accommodate the Black-Eyed Susan Contest that we facilitate during the school year.
v Could easily turn into a student led Reading Advisory.