| Susan McMahon, co-founder of the Book Club Project, has suggested that
classroom talk about literature should flow like a "river of interpretation,"
moving naturally from one topic to the next based on students' ideas and
interests. This model parallels the conversations that adult readers have
about books and allows for engaging discussions that are relevant to students'
lives. The Book Club program facilitates meaningful conversations about
books in a non-threatening, teacher-supported context.
By learning to have natural conversations about books, children not only become more excited about literature but also learn more from their reading. Current research tells us that a reader's understanding of a text is enhanced by interacting with other readers. As students participate in book clubs, they'll learn from each other and work together to construct meaning. Since the students themselves decide the content of their discussions, their "rivers of interpretation" will flow wherever their interests and concerns take them. To see an example of student-led discussion in the Book Club program, download a QuickTime movie (2.5 Mb) of an actual book club. |
Four to five students comprise each student-led discussion group, or book
club. Ideally, a book club is a heterogeneously mixed group, representing
the diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, economic background, and academic
abilities in the classroom. Students who are just beginning the program
rely heavily on their reading logs to provide discussion topics. As they
become more comfortable and skilled, however, they'll start to take risks.
Their conversations will begin to relate their personal experiences and
feelings to the literature. At the same time, students will learn that
the point of reading good literature is not to find the "right" answers
for completing a worksheet, but to explore their own personal responses
to the literature.