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 For Ages 8–11
Start Your Own Book Club
Book clubs have come back as a popular way to allow readers to discuss books in an informal setting. Children can enjoy the same kind of community-building experience by meeting with friends to choose, read, and discuss books together. Their meetings can come to life with discussions, arts and crafts, and activities. Different book clubs will need different amounts of adult supervision, so provide guidance but don’t be afraid to step back and let them run the show!
Time
30 minutes to one hour, as often as they like!
What You Need
- A group of readers—four to six is ideal, but any number can work
- A book of the children’s choice—ask everyone to bring a copy
- Art supplies (e.g., notebook paper, pencils, crayons/markers, scissors, glue, construction paper, etc.)
- Internet access
- Links to Activities Online
Why This Is Helpful
By interacting with their favorite books, children can increase their comprehension and ability to discuss what they know. When children meet with their friends to complete art projects and Web-based activities, they turn reading into a social activity, and that encourages them to keep reading.
Here’s What To Do
- Have the child invite three or four friends to start a book club.
- Take a look at some booklists to find a book that the group is interested in, or choose a book that everyone already wants to read.
- Help children set some guidelines for making the club run smoothly:
- How often should they meet?
- How much should they have read before each meeting?
- Should everyone bring art supplies? If so, what kind?
- Each time they meet, they should have a discussion of the section of the book their book club has read. Encourage them to talk about what their favorite parts are, what is confusing, and what they think will happen next. Make sure all club members get a chance to talk and share their opinions.
- Once they finish their first book, have a group member choose the next book or vote on which book would be most fun to read next, and let them continue their book adventures.
- Encourage the group to keep track of what they’ve read using a Reading Record.
More Ideas to Try
- After discussion, offer participants a number of activities related to their book that everyone can participate in. Here are some examples:
- Make it online: Choose an online activity and have children take turns completing the tasks before printing out the final product.
- Act it out: Have everyone choose a character from the story, and act out a scene from the chapter they are reading.
- Write it out: Have everyone choose a character from the story, and write a letter to one of the other characters about what’s happening in the story right now. When they’re finished, exchange letters. Use the Letter Generator (see also the Letter Generator Tool Tip Sheet) or Postcard Creator (see also the Postcard Creator Tool Tip Sheet).
- Illustrate it: Have everyone choose a scene that they would like to draw using the art supplies.
- Review it: Use the Favorite Book Review Form to keep track of the books you like the best.
- Use examples: Go to the Global Book Club Web site for more activity ideas.
- Create you own: Ask book club members to invent new ways to bring the book to life.
Glossary
Discuss
Discussion is a natural way for children and teens to express or explain what they already know or what they are learning. When possible, let children and teens lead the direction of a discussion. Ask questions that lead to an extended response (“What do you think about…?” or “Why do you think…?”) rather than questions that might result in a yes or no or a simple answer.
Character
A person, animal, or object represented in a story or play.
This activity was modified from the ReadWriteThink lesson plan “Book Clubs: Reading for Fun” available online at http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=67.
Clipart copyright 2008 JUPITERIMAGES, and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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