book club ideas and battle of the books

Presented by Julie Plunkett, LibrarianInternational Studies Magnet SchoolAug. 8, 2014

BOOK CLUB IDEAS & BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

ORGANIZING BOOK CLUBS

1. Decide what student age group you want to target (we do 4th, 5th, & 6th grades)

2. Decide the best time for students to meet for book clubs to promote the most involvement (breakfast, lunch, after school, etc.)

3. Generate interest by talking it up, having those “avid readers” get their friends involved

4. Have a sign up list for students; give them a few days to sign up, and allow them to sign up with their friends (unless it poses as a behavior problem) because you want them to have FUN while they are getting into reading!

5. Have areas on campus that the book club leaders can choose to meet (library, board room, conference room, empty classrooms, outside, etc.) and make sure they know to have the students clean up after themselves

While you are reading juvenile and young adult fiction on your own, think about whether or not the book would warrant good discussion for kids; those are the kinds of books you want in your book club library…..ie. “The Limit”, the “Unwind” series, the “Shadow Children” series; books by Andrew Clements, Gordon Korman, Ruth White, etc.

Side note:

Building a book club library

1. Use your parent group to contribute $$ 2. Use book fair items you earned as book fair

profit3. If your campus qualifies for federal programs, you probably could get a grant

4. Junior Library Guild has backlisted items, if you are a member, for $5 and $7 monthly

5. Shop thrift stores, ebay, half.com

6. Local book stores may offer discounts

7. Catalog these into your library with a special call number (we use BC) so it is easier for reports and searches

Leaders for book clubs

1. Start with staff members (anyone that’s interested, including cafeteria/cleaning crew, etc.)

2. Next, ask parents/grandparents/other relatives of students/ community leaders/Junior Auxiliary; LIBRARIANS

have to NETWORK!

3. After you get a list of leaders, have a brief meeting with them BEFORE book clubs start. Have a packet of resources for them, such as the ones that are at the end of these pages.

4. Choose and follow through with the way you will stay in contact with your leaders (email, texting, website, facebook, etc.) and make sure they know how to access it

BOOK CLUB LEADER TIPSLeader Meeting

•A copy of each document is at the end of your packet.

I also show them how to get the Library Catalog app on their phone so they can search our book club library at their convenience.

More leader tips1. Depending on your school policy, let your leaders know if bringing food is allowed. Some schools are very strict and some are not.

2. Encourage them to do something as a

group finishes a book, even if it’s a “mini”

celebration

3. BUT…....Don’t go overboard, or that becomes the motivation for

students to attend book club; they need to attend BECAUSE THEY LOVE TO READ!!

4. You may choose to have a school-wide book club celebration at the end of each semester, the end of the year, or not at all. Sometimes we’ve had cookie and movie parties, and sometimes we’ve just left it up to the individual leaders.

Meet with students of book clubs

1. Explain about the commitment to the group

2. Have the parent and the student sign a contract as a commitment that they will do their assigned reading and respond to the assigned reading passages

3. Discuss and show ways they are expected to be involved: making notes of connections, vocabulary, questions, and/or a reading response journal

4. Communicate the importance of treating their leader well because they are giving their time to meet with the students each week

Reading accountability• Book clubs need to be fun, but there also needs to be some type of accountability for the students. That is why a rubric OR a reading response journal is needed

• If a child is not reading, pull them aside and have a pep talk. Make sure they know that it is noticed when they DON’T read, just like it is when they DO read

• Insist that they bring their books to each session

Group activities

• Browse the book club library

• If computers are accessible, students can look at the book club titles online through the library catalog

• Have reservation slips available for a group to reserve a title for a certain time; we physically tape this to the set of books so all will know they are reserved

• Have rating slips for groups to rate a title after they’ve read it and why; this generates discussion and interest for other groups (template for this is on the back of your packet, as well as a reading response page idea and book club rubric)

Battle of the books

America’s Battle of the Books

www.battleofthebooks.org

America's Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program for students in 3rd thru 12th grades. Students read books and come together usually in groups to demonstrate their abilities and to test their knowledge of the books they have read. The student competitions are usually similar to the TV series Family Feud or Whiz Kids styles of competitions. However, the structure, format, and rules of the competitions may vary depending on the educational goals, student needs, local resources, and personal preferences at various school sites, school districts, county libraries, or offices of education

Battle of the Books

www.battleofthebooks.comHow did it begin?

In the 1930′s Battle of the Books was a Chicago radio program. Today it is a reading incentive program in elementary, middle and high schools across the country. All of the questions in the competition begin with the words “In which book” and the correct answer is always the title and author of the book. This program works at the individual school level as well as at the interscholastic and district wide levels. Classroom teachers, reading specialists and library media specialists spend many hours choosing books and writing questions for each year’s battles. We are a team of library media specialists with many years experience in running district wide battles. We have chosen the books and written the questions for you.

There are two separate national organizations:

Getting started•Remember to START SMALL1. Create a sign up sheet, choose what grade levels to involve, and have a “screener” book to see if students are competent to participate. This book needs to be around the same level as your book list. I conferenced with the students and asked them questions about the book after they read it, and scored them.

2. Have another adult help you create a reading list of about 5 to 8 titles that students can read in a 3 month time span

3. Order book titles & distribute books

It is my experience that Scholastic has the best prices for new paperbacks. Our funding came from our parent group.

4. Have other trustworthy adults help you create questions, either multiple choice or short answer (you don’t want any leaks)

Planning your event1. Acquire a buzzer system

-these can be ordered from most school supply catalogs

-you can also borrow from a quiz bowl team

2. Schedule the date/time of the contest and select what groups that will be your audience. Always be in good communication with your principal and staff.

3. Decide if your questions will be short answer or multiple choice; have some practice rounds a week or two before the contest (I use bookadventure.com to ask questions from stories the students already know)

4. Based upon your list of students, decide how many you want on a team and divide them into teams of 3 to 5 students. If you have a lot of teams, you may need to do a tournament format.

LOGISTICS

Each game was in four rounds, and each round was five minutes each. This allows time for them to relax a moment between rounds.

Adults needed

*Emcee/questioner*Stat keeper (scores)*Referee

Promotional ideasOffer prizesProvide certificatesHave photographs takenHave t-shirts made

Questions or comments?

Contact information:Julie PlunkettInternational Studies Magnet School1218 CobbJonesboro AR 72401870.933.5825 phone 870-933-5833 faxjulie.plunkett@jonesboroschools.net870.919.1619 cell