• Book clubs help young teens discover themselves as readers with unique reading preferences and needs. Middle schoolers “refine their reading preferences, become sophisticated readers of informational text, and lay the groundwork for a lifelong reading habit. They begin to use reading to help answer profound questions about themselves and the world. With good instruction, ample time, and opportunity to read a variety of texts, young adolescents can become successful readers both in and out of school.” (IRA, 2013). • Book clubs offer adolescents, known for their divergent learning styles, extended learning opportunities to shape and share their learning in unique and creative ways. Tweens can draw from the language arts (oral and written presentations), technology, and the visual and dramatic arts (Wilhelm, 2012). Closing Thoughts The great joy of a book club is the opportunity it affords to share fast-paced, stimulating conversation about a title that others have read and enjoyed (or not!). Inviting your students to participate in lively, dynamic book clubs is a surefire way to hook them as lifelong readers who know how to crack open texts to relish the riches: exquisite literary language, intriguing ideas, fascinating, content-rich information—all the myriad pleasures that make books such remarkable companions (Short, 1986; Eeds and Peterson, 2007; Harvey and Daniels, 2009; Hill, Noe, Johnson, 2001). Language educator Frank Serafini reminds us of the outstanding intellectual benefits of interactive classroom discussions: Students, not teachers, assume these essential responsibilities: • Articulating their own ideas and interpretations about their reading. • Listening actively to other students’ ideas. • Opening lines of communication and negotiating meanings by responding directly to other students’ understandings and interpretations.
• Trying to understand what other students are saying. • Asking questions when ideas or concepts are unclear. • Remaining open to new ideas and opinions
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CHAPTER 5: TEACH
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