I wanted to do something different with my students this year for our Holocaust Unit. Last year, we read Night as a class. This year, I decided to try classroom book clubs. I was really excited about this new project and I hoped my students would be too. I put them into groups based on reading levels and allowed them to choose from 8 nonfiction Holocaust books. I admit, I wasn't as prepared for this new strategy as I should have been. I was definitely putting things into folders during their class and printing things out in between class periods. There was so much that I didn't consider or think of until class started. Things like: they should have access to a sheet that outlines how much to read each day, and a folder for all of their groups' papers would make things so much easier and more organized.
The first day was awkward. I'm not sure if it was due to miscommunication, a lack of enough explicit instruction or what, but that first day was rough. My students were unsure how to facilitate their groups and needed some help getting started. I talked through each role with the groups again and let them try it. They seemed to gain some confidence.
It's interesting watching them work together today. It's only day two and already I can see the group dynamics changing. After they were done reading and discussing for the day, my students stayed in their groups and talked about other stuff together. This wouldn't be surprising if they were all friends, but they're not. They're in groups with people they may not normally hang out with.
Hopefully, classroom book clubs help my students learn about the Holocaust and how to have genuine discussion. I hope these book clubs help them foster a real love for reading and for discussing what they're reading. But now I'm also hoping that they create a classroom environment that is accepting and warm. I'm seeing my students interact with each other in a way I haven't seen before. Maybe they'll make new friends along the way. Or maybe their class will become more like a family and less like 10 kids they're stuck in class with.
