How Educators Can Utilize All These Resources: Create a Book Club!
It’s no secret that schools’ Language Arts and English curriculums are often limited in perspective and not relatable for all students. Confronting the lack of diversity in school assigned readings can be tricky, especially because curriculums differ across counties, districts, and states. Combined with lists of banned books and parental/guardian involvement this can make the creation of a curriculum difficult and changes nearly impossible. It can take years for school districts to vote on changes in their curriculums’ book lists. Meanwhile both educators and students are forced to read and discuss books that fail to reflect modern day views.
There is an alternative. For educators who are unable to change the books they teach in class, there is the option to cover other books through an out of class activity- a book club. Many schools offer after-school programs, and it is within these programs that the implanting of book clubs can begin. Students learn best when they are interested in the material they’re learning, and in the case of students’ literacy skills they improve most when reading books they can relate to and by recreationally reading outside of the classroom.
The following is a proposal for any educator looking to form an after-school book club that uses books which cover topics including but not limited to: LGBTQIA+, Race & Ethnicity, Ableism, Religious Oppression, etc.
- Design a club lesson plan. Plan which books you’ll want students to read, how many copies of the book you can obtain, the days the club will meet, and how many students you’ll anticipate in the club. It is recommended that the club meet daily to keep the reading material fresh in the children’s minds. If there are not enough copies of the book for students to read independently, offer to read in pairs by taking turns, or read the book together as a club.
- If there is anything within the book that can be triggering for any child, such as mentions of bullying or domestic violence, state these trigger warnings prior to assigning the book. In the case that the student does have a trigger within that book, offer another book related to the topic.
- Encourage students to forge a connection with the book. Have students write down questions or comments they develop while reading and encourage group discussions after reading the book.
- Decrease the amount of technology used during this time (i.e. place a cell phone ban and refrain from using computers). Cell phones and computers can be distractions. Limit distractions by having students place their phones on silent or placing phones in a basket to be picked up after club.
- Aside from books, branch out and look for poetry, haikus, and short stories. Print out copies so students can keep and share them with their families.
For a more specific approach to the formation of a book club, follow the guidelines used by the Vermont Afterschool Program’s Book Club: http://www.vermontafterschool.org/resources/bookclubresources/
We encourage you to use any of the books provided on this website, or research your own books to encourage recreational reading within your students and build upon their social justice awareness through diversity and social justice within those books.
Happy reading!