Looking for a new way to invigorate your book clubs: try reader’s notes! Allowing students to choose their own novels and have time to discuss them is something my kiddos always love to do. However, you want to bring in some accountability without overwhelming them with classroom book club activities. That’s where reader notes can come in and save the day. By having quick and easy prompts that focus on the main concepts that you want to teach, you will allow flexibility with your students while still finding a way to assess what they have learned. Reader’s notes do not have to be complicated at all. Think of them as reading comprehension prompts or questions that could work for any novel. With just a little prep, you can create reading notes that fit all your book clubs and allow for student choice. I have switched to using reader notes and love them. That’s why I’m sharing five ways you can use reader’s notes for your next book club.
Hey friend, before we share how to use reader’s notes, I wanted to mention that you start using these reading notes tomorrow in your classroom! Check out my Reader’s Notes. In this print or digital resource, students have reader’s notes task cards that they can use daily for their readings. This resource includes twenty reader response questions and prompts that students can use after each section of their reading for their novel. These resources are ready to go and can be used at any part of your novel unit. This resource works for any novel and can be customized to your reading schedule. Now that you have the tools you need, let’s chat about five ways you can implement reader’s notes into your book clubs.
Why Book Clubs Are Important
How My Classroom Book Clubs Became Too Forced
When I first starting implementing classroom book clubs… I was worried. I wanted to give my students a chance to read a novel and discuss it on their own. BUT I had huge reservations. I didn’t trust that my students would stay on topic. I felt I needed to hold them accountable to their reading every day. I wanted proof of learning and not just surface level discussion. So to ease my fear, I did what I love to do… take control. I forced my students to use reading logs, tedious reading comprehension questions, discussion accountability worksheets, and long written responses.
And you know what? Did I feel like my students enjoyed their book clubs? NO! Everything felt so forced because I was doing all the work and they were checking the block. My students might have enjoyed their story (which was on a list of novels provided by me) but I sucked all the excitement of reading just to read and discuss out of it. Discussing their books became a chore that was required not a natural conversation. I realized my students were skipping the steps, fluffing the paperwork, and staring at each other mutely. After seeing the joy to reading getting squashed by work, I realized we needed a change.
Why I Switched to Reader Notes
My AHA moment was inspired by my mom. She is in the coolest book club that I know! She and her three other friends get together once a month or so to discuss a book that one of the group members has chosen. Sounds like a regular book club but when I was invited into the inner sanctum of this group, I realized that they love getting together and sharing life more that just reading a novel. First, they have amazing snacks. Secondly, the conversation ebbs and flows naturally about their lives and how the novel connects. Third, there is no pressure to discuss the novel the entire time!
What I realized is that my book clubs could take a page out of their book (intentional pun included for entertainment). I needed to let go and trust my students. So that’s what I did! This semester, I allowed my students to pick their own groups of 3-6 students. The group researched and found three novel options that everyone in the group liked, never read before, and was on reading level. And as long as the book was school appropriate and everyone in the group got permission from their parents, they could read anything they wanted.
When my kiddos meet with their classroom book clubs, they can bring snacks, discuss anything from the book, or connect it to their own life. I am not monitoring their discussions unless they invite me in. I am not assigning points to each discussion or having them evaluate each other. I am allowing them to read and enjoy what they are reading.
Now, I will share that these book clubs are my last unit of study because I want to build the foundation for how to discuss a novel and analyze it all semester before I set them loose. The biggest thing I noticed is that my students chat more now than they did when I forced assignments on them. These discussion cover plot of course but they also dive deeper into the analysis of the novel. The way I accomplish that is with reader’s notes. My students just need to read their novel and they can complete any of my reader’s notes in five minutes. They are guides and prompts more than assignments and assessments. Want to see some ways you can use reader’s notes in your book clubs? Check out these five strategies, you can use to transform your high school ELA book clubs.
Five Way to Use Reader’s Notes in Your Book Club
#1: Book Club Activities
The first way to use reader’s notes is to use them as activities that each book group can complete together when they meet. Have the different reader notes prompts ready at the beginning of each class. When students get into their book clubs, they can complete the prompts as a group and share how that specific term, idea, or concept connects to their novel. By using deeper level questions, students will analyze their novel without extensive worksheets or assessments. Feel free to use these activities as just comprehension help or can become a graded assignment.
When creating these book club activities, think about the concepts that you think would be the most essential for this unit or for your semester. I choose to do book clubs at the end of the semester so I am focusing on key terms and analysis that could show up on their standardized tests. You could focus on any specific concept or theme that fits into your curriculum.
If you want to still have student choice, give students enough reader notes prompts to have one for each book club meeting. Tell students that they will need to complete all them by the end of the book clubs unit but they can go in any order that works for their novel. By allowing students to work together and collaborate, students feel more confident answering each prompt.
#2: Reader’s Notebook
Want more personal accountability? Create a variety of reader’s notes that can be all combined together to create a reader’s notebook. Have all the prompts together at the beginning of the book club unit ready in a packet or digital slides group. You have the choice to ask students to go in order with the prompts or allow them to pick and choose the prompts they want to use and in what order.
The reader’s notebook will allow students to track their own personal understanding of the novel and the concepts you want to cover. Students will be able to use these notes for their discussions and still have accountability at the end of the unit. Once again, by using short prompts with focused questions, students will not feel overwhelmed by the obligations that they are required to complete for their book club. Plus, if you have students who fall behind, they will have time to catch up on the work because they will have until the end of the novel to hand in their reader’s notebook.
If you want a digital reader’s notebook that has prompts ready to go, check out my Reader’s Notes resource. While the print version includes task cards, the digital version is full page slides that allow for extended responses as needed. Want a more in depth response for your reader’s notebook? I also have a Literary Elements Bundle that includes detailed analysis worksheets both print and digital that could be combined together to create your own reader’s notebook.
#3: Reading Comprehension Prompts
If you worry that your students might not read their novel or want to have some daily accountability, use your reader’s notes as a quick reading comprehension assessment. At the beginning of each book club day, ask students to take a reader’s note task card and complete it before they meet with their group.
Instead of making this a “gotcha” type assessment, allow them to use their novel to help answer the questions. I recommend setting a time limit though so that students don’t spend forever catching up on their reading and trying to find the answers to the prompt. One of the best ways I have found to eliminate that issue is having independent reading time for the first 10 minutes of every class. When we are completing book clubs, this reading time allows for students to either finish their assigned reading or at least get a good grasp on this section of their novel.
These reading comprehension checks will allow for you to have a dail grade for each day of book clubs without much work. Plus, students will have something specific to discuss in their book club. You have the flexibility to either have each students complete the same prompt or give each student a different reading comprehension check so that there is variety in their post check discussion. I personal like mizing up their prompts so that they don’t have the same answers and have more to discuss.
#4: Daily Reading Notes
The way that I used reader’s notes this semester was by having students complete a reader’s notes task card each night of their reading. I print all the reader’s notes task cards out on colored paper ahead of time in different colors. The varying colors is extremely helpful when coordinating the book club notes.
On the first day of book clubs, students decided on their reading schedule and had time to read in class. To start each student off on an easy note, I gave each student the same task card. This reader note focused on their favorite quote of the reading and their favorite character so far. Even if students to not get much past the exposition in this first reading, they can easily answer those towo prompts.
On the second day of book clubs, students now each have a task card that they can bring to their discussion. I encourage them to first just discuss what their initial thoughts are on the book before using the cards. I like to have them feel an authentic discussion without aid first. I hate when discussions become just a read off my notes and move on to the next group without any thought or additional responses included. Once book club discussion time is over, I have each student choose a different prompt from my reader’s notes task cards. By having the task cards all different colors, the students can easily each pick a different one without much work or coordination. We repeat this process for each book club meeting. Students are to never repeat a prompt that they have personally answered before and no two students in a group are allowed to have the same prompt for the same reading day.
One of my favorite part about these reader’s notes task cards is that at the end of book clubs, students staple all their cards together for me to grade. Each student’s task card set only takes a few minutes to grade and now I have a tangible score for their book club discussions. This also relieves the pressure of my students who struggle to share in small groups. Plus, if a student is absent, they just make up their card and have it completed by the end of book clubs.
#5: Book Club Discussion Prep Work
Sometimes having formal graded discussions can be a good idea to help ensure that your students know how to speak and present their ideas. A great way to use reader’s notes is to prepare for those discussions. By creating prompts that cause students to think critically about their reading, they will be prepared to share their thoughts in a graded discussion. You can include prompts that require students to create their own deeper understanding questions and answer them with evidence from the text. If your students aren’t quite ready to create their own questions, you can provide the questions for them.
By having the reader’s notes for each reading, students will be prepared and have discussion points ready to go. Instead of students fumbling through their graded chat, they will feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts on the novel. You will also be able to use the reader’s notes as a grade for students who are absent. Furthermore, if you have any students who are hesitant to speak, you can collect their reader’s notes so you can give them credit for the discussion.
How I Differeniate Using Reader Notes
The best part about reader’s notes is the level of differentiation that you can create without much work. Because you are already having a variety of prompts for the students, create custom prompts to fit your students’ needs does not take much extra work. If you have a student who needs scaffolding questions or sentence starters, you can give your student a specialized prompt. Maybe you want to challenge your gifted students with a deeper level literary lense. Perhaps some of your students need help with one specific literary element or skill. If you vary your prompts for each student regardless of their needs, no student will know which reader note they have so your customization will go unnoticed. Another side benefit of your differentiated responses is that each student will have assessments that meet their reading levels and comprehension skills. Overall, reader’s notes leave so much flexibility for both you and your students.
More Classroom Book Club Activities
I loved the change that I saw in my students’ participation after I started implementing reader notes. I hope you take a chance on reader notes with your students. I would love to hear what new ways you use these ideas with your book clubs. If you have some new ideas or new ways to implement book clubs tag me or sending me a DM @theteacherrewrite on Instagram. You can always see what other great things I am working on in my classroom by checking out my blog. If you do decide that you want to start using these strategies right away check out my Reader’s Notes resource so you can start tomorrow.
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