Nonfiction Book Clubs

Students have been reading a lot of nonfiction books about a topic that they chose. While reading independently, they have been stopping to jot their thoughts.  Sometimes they write on a Post It note and sometimes they write in their Reading Journal. 

Students take notes to prepare for the discussion they will have with their book club. 

Students do a lot of reading, but even more thinking.  They spend time asking themselves, "Does this make sense?"

Once students have identified important information and are ready to share specific parts of their book, they get together to talk. 

In book clubs, students take turns talking and look at the speaker.   

 Nonfiction readers read closely to find the main idea.  They talk about tricky parts, continue to ask questions, and compare what they've learned. 

Charting our learning on a Continuum

To begin our lesson, the teachers drew a long line across the front board. Each student got a sticky note to write on.  We talked about riding a bicycle.  The children thought about their skill level on bike riding and wrote a few words explaining how comfortable they are with bicycle riding.  

Students placed their sticky notes on the continuum.  Notes on the left side stated that the children were not comfortable on a bike or could not ride a bike.  Students that were very comfortable riding a bike placed their note in the middle or toward the right side.  Students on the extreme right side noted some tricks that they could do on a bike.  

Less comfortable on a bike.

Middle of the road (so to speak).

The real learning in this lesson took place during our discussion.  The teachers asked the children if it was possible to move up and down on the continuum.  How would the children on the left side move to the middle?  Who could they talk to?  What could they do?  We applied the continuum to other situations... surfing, reading, writing, etc.  Are you always on the left side? Middle? Right side?  When you find yourself in a situation that you want to improve, how can you go about it?