Revive Book Clubs through Read Aloud

Hopes for our Readers

When you think about book clubs, does your head dance with visions of your students engaged in an invigorating conversation about the characters, their motivations, and themes?...But then reality hits when you pull up alongside one of your clubs and the conversation is the exact opposite- surface level, dull, laced with long periods of silence, and all eyes on you?

Let me reassure you, you are not alone. Teaching students to read in a way that grows deep thinking is something we all strive for. The great news is that fostering this type of reader is less daunting than you might think. It can be done through an instructional element that is already a part of your day, the read aloud.

Why the Read Aloud?

Thinking about reading is an invisible process that is hidden to everyone but the reader. Strategic work like solving unknown words, asking questions, forming theories, connecting, and countless others, all happen invisibly to the outside world! This can leave your students mystified as to how this work actually happens. So the read aloud creates a perfect environment to show students the kind of thinking proficient readers do while reading a text. The obstacles of decoding are gone and the whole class is having a shared experience through hearing the text. Therefore all work can focus on the thinking. It makes sense to capitalize on such a unique time in your students' day.

Bring on the Intent

Because read aloud creates the perfect environment for demystifying the thinking and work proficient readers do, it is a must that we take advantage of this time! A few ways to do this is to:

• Select a book that is written in the same genre as your current unit of study. This will only solidify the work you are doing in your mini-lessons, small groups, and conferences because all teaching points will be centered around the same predictable structures and elements found in that genre. 
• Pick strategies to model that align with the instructional goals of your students. If you want them to do a certain type of thinking, show them what that looks like in the moment, while reading a text, which will unveil the steps that readers take to accomplish the work you're asking them to do. 
• Make the work you do with your read aloud transferable to any text. If you find that the work you are modeling is not able to be applied to another book, then it's not worth modeling. Use generalizable language and strategies to help ensure transference. 
• Have your students join in the work by encouraging them to stop and jot and periodically discuss the text. Make a routine of having students sit next to a partner and bring materials such as a pencil, sticky-notes, and a journal to the meeting area.

Follow-Up and Feedback

After modeling and engaging students in your read aloud, it is key to follow up with them and the work they are doing in their independent texts and book club books. As we all know, the most powerful way to move your readers forward in their thinking is through feedback. So along with the read aloud, set aside time to sit next your readers and discuss their thinking about their books. Push them to apply what they've seen in read aloud to their own texts for book clubs and share their deep thinking with others in their club. Not only will you be able to plan your next steps for what you'll model in your read aloud, you will form a bond with all students that will lead to a thoughtful and powerful community of readers willing to take risks and grow alongside each other.