Follow up
A book club can certainly be a one-time event, but the momentum from one book club will help carry you right into the next one. Ideally, you would begin the process of starting a new book club within a few weeks of ending the first one.
What To Read Next
Now that you have a community of students and staff invested in book clubs, you can draw on that resource to help decide what to read next. Many of our most successful book clubs have come from student suggestions.
The process of soliciting ideas for the next book club book can be extremely simple. Often, I have students approach me in the hall with book suggestions. I am careful to preview these books within a week or two and to get back to the student with the reasons I think it may or not be a good fit for our community.
Suggestions for the next book club book can also be solicited via a simple form handed out to students at the end of a book club. If students can't think of a book suggestion on the spot, they are encouraged to take this form with them and to return it at a later time.
Student Leaders
After students have participated in a book club, some of them will be ready to take on a leadership role. A simple application, like the one below is a good way for students to express interest in leading a book club.
Once student leaders are selected, I meet with them to review the agenda for the book club and the role of a facilitator. Together, we brainstorm a list of things that make for a good discussion (which I later type and include in their book club kits). After that meeting, with the support of an adult facilitator, they are good to go!
What Makes a Good Discussion, Student Leader Brainstorm
At other sites, teachers have led student leaders through a more involved process, brainstorming ideas for the next book club book and soliciting votes from the other students in the community. Below are some of the documents Retha Kraay (rkraay@district287.org) used to guide her student leaders through this process. Contact her for more information!
Book Club Display
A display of all the books that a community has read so far is a great visual reminder that book clubs and literacy are part of the culture of the school.
