Book club for kids discussion questions, reading guide, and. The finest hours really is a great nonfiction book to read with middle school students. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction and nonfiction alike. Students from the british international school of washington discuss the book with host kitty felde. Five winning books for an activitybased book club geronimo stilton series, by geronimo stilton scholastic, grades. Whether youre considering a classroom book club for the first time, or are already guiding your students through their third book this year, heres a list of benefits and some tips for success you can employ right away. They will practice critical thinking skills while considering the personal impact and perception of literature. Seldomridge, a grades 68 project lead the way teacher at granite falls middle school in north carolina, knew a dystopian book club would not only grab students attention, but it would also connect to a range of subjects they were studying. See more ideas about activities for kids, book title and activities. Some students do not enjoy sharing their ideas in front of the whole class and book clubs provide a safe space for students. Novels discussed here are suitable for students in the grade 4 7 range and beyond.
As part of the research for the slj article teaching with graphic novels, i interviewed a number of educators and librarians, and since most people only got a brief quote, im running the interviews in full at good comics for kids. They inspire conversation and even include a related craft idea. Do you want to do a book club with your childrenstudentslibrary patrons but. Use specific passages from the book as evidence for your ideas. This is a typed paper, less than a page, that they hand in a week after book clubs end. Games to break the ice at book discussion groups and other. Troubleaverse shayla finds herself at a powerful black lives matter protest and decides to wear an armband in support of the movement, a decision that turns controversial at school. I think these themes are the meat and potatoes to young adult literature too. I havent read all of these yet, but i plan to use this list to choose books from book fairs and book club order forms that come home from school. We decided in june of 2017 to start an online book club all about mg lit in all its forms, as a resource for parents, librarians, teachers, writers, and everyone who loves the heart and hope of books for this age group. All of the harry potter books your kid could wish for. Mar 2, 2020 activities, crafts, and book titles for middle grade and preschoolers.
Minilessons that support effective book clubs center. Questionswho, what, where, when, why, and how day 3 character traits, point of view, and compare and contrast day 4 story map day 5 freckle juice recipe refer to a friend writing pompts. Or for more ideas to pump up your own middle grade book club. Book clubs for children are a great way to get children reading new books. Book clubs exist all across the nation and range in size from a handful to several dozens. Edgy books your preteen will love sign up for our newsletter. Very early on in our book club experiences, students had many ideas for how to make them better.
Some of these are the best book club books from my own book clubs over the years and others are ones i wish my book club had read. Heres every captivating book in the wings of fire series. They have characters and plots that are fun to read and easy to discuss. Take notes or mark passages that strike youpassages you find significant, funny, or insightful. Thirdgrade book club reading list caroline starr rose. 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. The individual one is for the students to hand in a literary analysis of their book discussing the theme and the development of one of the main characters.
We are a group of authors who love reading and writing middle grade literature. Find exciting ideas from book clubs all over the country what theyre reading, what theyre eating, and how theyre blending the two as well as recipes from some of your favorite authors and book giveaways. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. This post is the first in a threepart series about how to run a book club in your classroom. Our book club has been together for almost 5 years and our kids continue to tell us it is one of. Last session, i chose 8 random books, but this year, i decided to do a series. Daily comprehension practice focuses on text analysis and responding to literature, and the daily vocabulary builds word knowledge and academic langua. The group project is the 12word book summary, detailed here.
First and foremost, i try to make book clubs and simple as humanly possible. All of these middle grade books will make excellent book club reads. This is the fourth installment in a series of posts with ideas and suggestions for running effective literacy circles or book clubs with students from second grade through high school. Katherine rundells novel rooftoppers is our book this episode. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions. I read a ton of middle grade and young adult novels.
Text to self is a great opportunity for students to become introspective. Middle graders ages 8 to 12 belong to the golden age of reading. We have a lot of ideas about how to use book clubs in the classroom, and some traditional and creative methods of assessing book club work. This tales of a fourth grade nothing novel unit for the popular book by judy blume will save you hours of prep for literature circles and book clubs. I used to be much more involved in the book clubs when i taught fifth grade, but i only had 24 students then, and i had them all day long and well, they were in fifth grade. Once a year we run our official book clubs here in 7th grade. This list of book club books has nonfiction, chicklit, young adult and middle grade titles, history books and parenting books. 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. I put together a list of perfect homeschool book club books. Youll also find printable book club questions at the end of this post to bring to. Stealing this for next years middle school book club idea kids book club. Great middle grade book series for kids some the wiser.
My kids are in the 8 to 12 range, and while individual preferences and reading levels still apply, we think these are a good fit for tween readers. It can be hard to choose books that are appropriate for the tween years though. Nycs district 75 published their middle school units of study, developing autonomy when engaging with literature, online. Top 20 female characters who show how strong girls are. The unlikely homeschool is an online, faithbased site full of ideas. When done right, it can be such a fun learning experience for both the. Book clubs may have a specific theme or include miniature games during their meetups. These groups typically consist of female genders and meet up regularly to discuss each other thoughts from the books. As stated in previous sections of this series, mini lessons are not a necessary part of literacy circlesbook clubs. The most exciting middle grade books of 2019 brightly. This is a literary analysis technique called close reading. Nonfiction books are not my favorite the exception is teacher professional development books but each grade i teach i really try hard to find at least one good nonfiction novel for us to read together.
To make book club as interesting as possible, it is good, though not required, to jot down things as you read. More than a middle grade book club from the mixedup files. Ideas for how to do better book clubs in middle school. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Keep reading to explore some independent reading accountability ideas and assessments. These days, your book club for kids arent limited to face to face meetings. Use the questions on this printable sheet to discuss any book your students might be studying.
The second post details how to establish expectations and create a schedule, and the third post discusses accountability and assessment procedures recent literacy research has revealed that choice is the key ingredient in a successful reading program, especially for reluctant readers. Collaborating with my kids, weve put together another list with more great kids middle grade book series. While the rest of these ideas are mostly for inperson play datebook club. Geronimo the italian journalist rodent has penned dozens of highly illustrated earlyreader chapter books. The questions presented here are applicable to any type of book or genre, including fiction, literature. Link your experience to no more than four situations that occurred within the text. In this fifth installment of the hilo series, hilo and his earth friends return to his home planet to find out more about his mysterious origins. How to run a fullchoice book club in your classroom. Ive included a few of my favorite classic middle grade books, but also some new, highly acclaimed, and popular books for middle schoolers, kids, and tweens.
Using nonfiction in book clubs for tweens school library. My favorite books to read with middle schoolers in 7th and. Today, jessica lee, teacher librarian at willard middle school in berkeley, california, talks about the graphic novel book club she runs in her school library. Great books for middle school book clubs pernille ripp. Homeschool book club books for tweens the organized. Depending on the book and depending on the child here are some favourites. Timeless chapter books every child should read at least once.
Based upon a book you have just read, share a story about yourself that is related to an event or character that was in the book. Full of warmth, lovable characters, and laughoutloud moments, holly goldberg sloans short is a delightful novel for middle grade readers that centers around a. In recent years, theres been a resurgence of interest in book clubs for grade school and middle school students. Book clubs in first grade it may seem like a stretch, but the spring is such a great time to get your students ready and used to reading, thinking about, and discussing books with their peers instead of me, the teacher. Book club for kids is a podcast where middle school readers discuss the books they love with host kitty felde. If your kid met a great new friend at summer camp, encourage them to read books and skype about them, or send letters through the mail or social media about what they thought of the books. Very early on in our book club experiences, students had many ideas for how to. Book clubs in the middle school ela classroom the hungry. See more ideas about teaching reading, reading workshop and teaching. Receive book suggestions, reading tips, educational activities, and great deals. With maturity developing and a wide range of reading abilities among preteens and tweens, middle grade novels books for ages 9 and up begin to soar with welldeveloped fantastical worlds, a gentle increase in the complexities of social and emotional plot developments, smaller fonts, and more pages. Winicks graphic novel series about hilo, a robot boy who fell to earth, has been embraced by middle grade readers all over the world. This post is the third in a threepart series about engaging middle and high school students in choice reading by running a book club in the classroom.
For writers, middle grade readers represent a large market eager for our work. It is probably best done in the form of a written recount. Free freckle juice 20 page unit aligned to the common core. Human scavenger hunt great gettoknowyou activity for the first week of class. This story of a young girls social justice awakening demonstrates how small acts can make a big difference. Welcome to a meeting place for publishers, authors, and book clubs to connect. Sometimes finding books for kids in the middle grades 49 can be tricky. Litcourse 3 has a good discussion of close reading. Book club group anchor charts 15 ideas for 2019 up book, book club books.