Introducing Fiction Book Clubs

Do you use book clubs in your classroom?  My school does not follow a reading series.  Instead, we use Reading Workshop where students read books they enjoy at the appropriate level.  My kids have a true love for reading and indulge in books every night!  This is my library that helps kids find books at their reading level.

You can find my reading level tags by clicking on the picture below! 

I was fortunate that I could divide my students into 4 reading clubs based on their reading level.  When I taught reading the past month and a half, I focused on how to participate in book clubs, how to ask questions while reading, how to read books in a series, and compare books in a series.  It was a powerful and meaningful unit that really helped students become more engaged in their reading and think critically with their peers.  You can see my reading unit by clicking on the picture below. It includes all the activities we did for the unit, as well as an assessment. 

The first reading group read Amelia Bedelia at reading level K.  The second group read Bailey School Kids at reading level M.  The third group read A-Z Mysteries at reading level N.  The final group read Wayside School at reading level P.  The kids loved the books and couldn't wait to read them each day! 

I started the unit by sharing ways students could talk within their reading clubs.  We talked about how we listen to our peers, how we behave, and how we discuss topics in our groups.  I made this anchor chart to help students when they get off track. 

I always have my students help me make the charts.  I feel like they can take ownership for the charts when they're the ones stating what goes on them.  Plus, I can see whether they understand what I've taught them! 

Once students met their book club members, and I modeled what a good and bad book club meeting looked like, we jumped into our unit!  Check out my next post to see what we did the first week by clicking here. :)