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Re: Talking Books: Book Discussion Groups with Kids and Teens
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From: Kathleen T. Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:41:12 -0500
That's been my experience, too, with homeschoolers, Betsy. I think it's because they don't fall into the traditional school roles of student/teacher in a group setting, and they actually talk to other kids, rather than just waiting to respond to the adult in charge. I have always striven to include homeschoolers in public library discussion groups, not just because their parents are looking for different types of enrichment and social activities for them, but also because they serve as excellent role models for the school kids. I'm always amused by the startled look on some kids' faces when another child addresses them directly.
KT
Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933
horning_at_education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Elizabeth Bird wrote: I run a bookgroup out of the main branch of New York Public Library here in Manhattan. The group was originally begun as a response to the local homeschooling parents who wanted more library-related activities for their kids. I've been running it for about four years now and different kids have cycled through. Right now we've a solid core group of twelve kids between the ages of nine and fourteen.
We've opened the group up to kids who aren't homeschooled, but in my experience homeschoolers make for ideal participants. Their parents make sure they attend, so it becomes another extracurricular activity. They're wonderful readers to begin with. As it stands, even though we advertise for other kids, we've only ever gotten interest from one.
If left to their own devices the kids would probably want to read fantasy each week, so choosing the books varies. I'll usually begin by booktalking three books. Sometimes they're realistic fiction. Sometimes they're historical fiction. Verse fiction and non-fiction too. Then the kids vote on the one they want to read. Over the next few weeks I put in requests with the other library branches and I'm sent duplicate copies. Once I have enough I distribute them and we take one to two weeks, depending on how quickly they finish them. Then we talk about the books. When the discussion ends I may have some advanced readers galleys that I've finished reading and we'll decide who gets to read them.
Right now they're reading/ Z for Zachariah/. After that, it's Delia Sherman's /Changeling/. Recent books that have generated great conversations have included /Waiting for Normal/ by Leslie Connor (they loved it), /It's Not the End of the World/ by Judy Blume, /The Looking Glass Wars/ by Frank Beddor, and /Greetings From Nowhere /by Barbara O'Connor.
Elizabeth Bird New York Public Library The Children's Center at 42nd Street 475 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10018
On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 1:32 PM, Kathleen T. Horning wrote:
Now that we've moved into the last two weeks of October, we're ready to begin our discussion on book discussion groups for children and teens.
Do you run book discussion groups for children and/or teens? Tell us a little bit about your group and how it works. What titles have you found especially powerful for generating rich conversation? What do you look for as you consider books to use?
Even if you don't host a group yourself, we welcome your ideas on great books for discussion groups for elementary through high school-age.
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933
horning_at_education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:41:12 -0500
That's been my experience, too, with homeschoolers, Betsy. I think it's because they don't fall into the traditional school roles of student/teacher in a group setting, and they actually talk to other kids, rather than just waiting to respond to the adult in charge. I have always striven to include homeschoolers in public library discussion groups, not just because their parents are looking for different types of enrichment and social activities for them, but also because they serve as excellent role models for the school kids. I'm always amused by the startled look on some kids' faces when another child addresses them directly.
KT
Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933
horning_at_education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Elizabeth Bird wrote: I run a bookgroup out of the main branch of New York Public Library here in Manhattan. The group was originally begun as a response to the local homeschooling parents who wanted more library-related activities for their kids. I've been running it for about four years now and different kids have cycled through. Right now we've a solid core group of twelve kids between the ages of nine and fourteen.
We've opened the group up to kids who aren't homeschooled, but in my experience homeschoolers make for ideal participants. Their parents make sure they attend, so it becomes another extracurricular activity. They're wonderful readers to begin with. As it stands, even though we advertise for other kids, we've only ever gotten interest from one.
If left to their own devices the kids would probably want to read fantasy each week, so choosing the books varies. I'll usually begin by booktalking three books. Sometimes they're realistic fiction. Sometimes they're historical fiction. Verse fiction and non-fiction too. Then the kids vote on the one they want to read. Over the next few weeks I put in requests with the other library branches and I'm sent duplicate copies. Once I have enough I distribute them and we take one to two weeks, depending on how quickly they finish them. Then we talk about the books. When the discussion ends I may have some advanced readers galleys that I've finished reading and we'll decide who gets to read them.
Right now they're reading/ Z for Zachariah/. After that, it's Delia Sherman's /Changeling/. Recent books that have generated great conversations have included /Waiting for Normal/ by Leslie Connor (they loved it), /It's Not the End of the World/ by Judy Blume, /The Looking Glass Wars/ by Frank Beddor, and /Greetings From Nowhere /by Barbara O'Connor.
Elizabeth Bird New York Public Library The Children's Center at 42nd Street 475 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10018
On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 1:32 PM, Kathleen T. Horning wrote:
Now that we've moved into the last two weeks of October, we're ready to begin our discussion on book discussion groups for children and teens.
Do you run book discussion groups for children and/or teens? Tell us a little bit about your group and how it works. What titles have you found especially powerful for generating rich conversation? What do you look for as you consider books to use?
Even if you don't host a group yourself, we welcome your ideas on great books for discussion groups for elementary through high school-age.
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933
horning_at_education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
---Received on Mon 19 Oct 2009 05:41:12 PM CDT
