Working in education can be a difficult job. Wouldn’t it be
great to have opportunities to share with other staff members in ways that are
positive and build community? Hosting a staff book club is one way to build
community and strengthen relationships.
This year our teachers started participating in voluntary
book clubs. We were fortunate to have a visit from Donalyn Miller scheduled, and
we wanted to be ready for her visit. We started with Reading in the Wild.
Teachers read chapters during the week, and they eagerly discussed their
thoughts in the teacher’s lounge during lunch. This experience of sharing
thoughts, analyzing our instructional practices, and working together to
improve instruction allowed us to grow as a team.
Book club members enjoyed the club discussions. They wanted
to keep the book clubs going. We couldn’t
find enough copies of other professional books, so we moved our book clubs to
children’s books. By choosing titles from different genres we are able to expose
teachers to new literature. Students
have noticed that different teachers are reading the same book. They see our
example of developing and sharing our reading lives with others.
Starting a staff book club is not difficult. Below you will
find 10 basic steps for establishing a book club.
1. Support staff choice- In order for book
clubs to have a positive impact on staff relationships and school climate,
staff choice must be supported. Allowing staff members to choose their levels
of participation in book clubs is vital. Be supportive of the staff members who
choose to participate in book clubs, and support staff who choose not to
participate. Book clubs aren’t for everyone. It’s OK.
2. Gain support from administration- Talk
with your administrator or supervisor about starting the book club. Having the
support of the administrator gives the book club legitimacy. We made it very
clear to staff members that participation in book clubs is voluntary. It didn’t hurt that my administrator agreed
to allow book club participants a free jeans day on book club meeting days.
3. Choose a book- The book doesn’t have to
appeal to everyone, but pick one that will appeal to many of the club members. Choose a title and go for it.
4. Find copies- Gain access to as many
copies of the book as possible. Make it as easy as possible for book club
members to locate and borrow the title. My local library has book discussion
kits available to check out. I check out
the discussion kit, and staff members borrow the books from me. This allows all
staff members who are interested to participate in the book club. Contact your
local public library to see if they have book club kits available.
5. Make a schedule- Choose the time and
dates for your book club. Think outside
the box, and schedule times that will be available for book club members. Here are a few questions to consider.
·
Will book clubs meet before school, after
school, during lunch, during plan times, or will your club meet online?
·
Will the club talk about the book during one
session or over several meetings?
·
What is a reasonable reading schedule for busy
educators?
6. Advertise the book club- This can be
done through flyers, email, or video.
7. Read- Enjoy reading the book along with
the other club members.
8. Discuss- Participate in the book club
discussions. Facilitate the book club meeting without dominating the
discussion. Here are a few websites for
facilitating book club discussions.
- http://www.ilovelibraries.org/booklovers/bookclub/facilitate-discussion
- http://bestsellers.about.com/od/bookclubresources/ht/how_lead_talk.htm
9. Share- Provide the book club members a
place they can record thoughts or comments about the book. This can be as easy as a place to put sticky notes or
more technical like a shared digital document
such as Google Docs or Padlet.
10. Celebrate- Celebrate the experience of
book clubs. Celebrate the community that is being created. Celebrate the
growth.
You
can read more about our journey by visiting http://lincolnreaders.blogspot.com/2017/01/staff-book-club-3-rain-reign.html
.
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