Middle School Café - Empowering Secondary ELA Teachers
Are you an ELA teacher striving to help your middle and high school students become confident, capable readers and writers? Middle School Cafe is your go-to podcast for practical strategies, proven methods, and inspiration to close the reading gap and unlock every student's potential.
In each episode, I will share real-world insights and actionable tips drawn from years of classroom experience to help you meet students where they are and guide them toward growth. From implementing the workshop model to fostering student ownership of learning, you'll discover ideas and strategies that make a real impact.
Join the community of educators working to create classrooms where every student thrives. Visit www.middleschoolcafe.com to learn more and start building the readers and writers we know your students can be.
Middle School Café - Empowering Secondary ELA Teachers
The Value of Book Clubs in Secondary ELA
Are you the kind of teacher that loves hearing students engage in authentic conversations about books and life? Then this week’s podcast episode is for you!
In this week's episode, I'm taking a deep dive into the power of using book clubs to teach reading. Through authentic conversations, book clubs offer real world experiences and allow students the opportunity to take ownership of their learning.
By intentionally grouping students based on their interest in the book, rather than reading level alone, book clubs encourage meaningful conversations about literature. Reading becomes a social activity as 3-4 peers come together to explore the plot, characters, and life lessons learned through reading the story.
In this episode on book clubs, I share:
- Book Clubs are different than Literature Circles
- Groups can be formed based on student interest and not reading ability
- The teacher is the facilitator of the unit (teaches and plans lessons)
- Students are accountable to their peers for reading
Related Resources:
- FREE Book Club Planning Guide - https://middleschoolcafe.com/bookclub/
- Book Clubs for Secondary ELA - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Book-Clubs-for-Secondary-ELA-4493910?utm_source=MSCPodcast&utm_campaign=bookclub23
Related blog posts:
- Engage Students in Reading with Book Clubs! https://middleschoolcafe.com/engage-students-in-reading-with-book-clubs/
- Do Book Clubs Work with Whole Class Novels? https://middleschoolcafe.com/do-book-clubs-work-with-whole-class-novels/
- Assessing Student Led Book Clubs https://middleschoolcafe.com/assessing-student-led-book-clubs/
Be sure to join the Secondary ELA Facebook group where we will be continuing the conversation on Book Clubs. This week I will also share a few books I use as Book Club options!
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