Reading and Talking Together with Community Book Clubs Jennifer L. Wilson ELMLE Conference January 2011

Purpose Encourage reading and talking about books Create choice Support classroom practices Promote a literacy community

We believe that… Literacy is a dynamic transaction between a reader and a text (Rosenblatt, 1977) Literacy programs that successfully teach adolescents should intentionally emphasize this connection between students’ in- school and out-of-school lives, especially with the texts they read (Langer, 2001, 2002; Gutierrez, 2009) Educators should present adolescents with diverse texts that offer multiple perspectives on real life experiences and question social, political, and historical perspectives (NCTE, 2002, 2007) No text is neutral and always represents someone’s point of view (Luke & Freebody, 1997) Students need opportunities to generate ideas and knowledge for their own uses through dialogue with other readers, dialogue that questions the author’s point-of-view, leads to diverse interpretations, and has the potential to deepen readers’ understandings of the text. Community book clubs bring together these aspects of students’ lives.

Traditional Book Club vs. Supported Literacy Club Population targeted Type of text Format of the event Non-negotiables

Supported Literacy Club Shared reading of a short story Respond together via graffiti board Share out Exit Slip

Implications for Teaching Multiple experiences offer choice and meet the unique needs and interests within the community Extends and enhances the classroom literacy engagements Builds a literacy community that includes parents

Questions? Jennifer L. Wilson University of South Carolina