Getting Started with Book Clubs in the Upper Elementary Classroom

By: Jacqueline Ortiz, Updated February, 2024, Originally Written 2017

Are you interested in starting book clubs in your upper elementary classroom? It’s a great way to engage all your students, from the avid reader to the reluctant one. As a teacher, nothing makes me happier than seeing my students excited about reading and discussing their books. Refrain from assuming that book clubs are only for your top students. I began using book clubs in my classroom in the spring of 2000, and I want to share some helpful tips on how to get started and ensure success with all of your learners.

Book Club Book Ideas:

When starting literature circles and book clubs for your class or as an extracurricular activity, it’s a good idea to let your students choose the books they want to read. If you have a limited budget or lack copies, you can find books with multiple copies in your school library or check out discounted used books on websites like Amazon or other sites.

If leaving the book choice completely open is too overwhelming for your students, you can provide them with a list of books based on their reading levels and interests. You can also differentiate instruction by allowing students to form literature circles or mini-book clubs to read different texts within your class.

In my experience, buying book sets from Scholastic and Amazon during their dollar book sales is a great way to save money. Half Priced Books and Barnes and Noble offer significant discounts for teachers. Some book sets I’ve purchased for my class and loved include:

• Because of Winn Dixie
• A Fish in a Tree
• Wonder
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• The One and Only Ivan
• The Tiger Rising

Remember, some of your most incredible supporters are parents. Many of my parents have donated used and new books to our class library, which helps me tremendously. I often add a quick note to the bottom of my weekly emails asking for book donations (I also link my book lists from Amazon); parents love this! 

Integrating activities for Book Clubs in Upper Elementary

Literature Circles and Book clubs are so much more than just reading and discussing. Have your members take on roles, play games, and participate in creative activities like the plethora of resources shared in my book club activities bundle. Using these resources can also make integrating a book club into your reading curriculum easier. Activities align closely with many standards and objectives. You will find that the teaching standards include writing a summary, book reviews, making connections, recognizing cause and effect, and making literature predictions.

I created my Book Club Bundle with all the must-haves for book clubs, from direction charts, reading stems during book talk discussions, accountability activities, games to use, flip booklets, and other resources. I love how when students talk about their favorite memories from my class, they always bring up book clubs.

SHOP THE BUNDLE HERE

Tips on how to introduce book clubs in your classroom

These are tips and ideas that I use year to year.

• Books: The most important thing is having books available for your students to read. As mentioned above, I purchase many of my books, but you should check with the school and ask local area libraries to extend checkouts to use in your classroom. I love using popular books with students because they will show more interest in reading if they know other students rate the book well!
• Introduce Book Clubs: This is a fun time in our classroom, similar to book tasting! The students get significantly revved up for new book club choices.
  • We typically start book club a month into the school year due to BOY Testing and other classroom management goals we focus on.
  • I showcase all the books to the students and give them a book taste/ snippet of what the book entails. They love this because I get excited and make a big production about it! This is also an excellent time to showcase the end-of-book project they will complete for their final group project!
  • Students are then allowed to select their top 3 choices, and I group students accordingly. The beginning of year testing is helpful because I can determine whether a child’s book is the “right fit” for students based on their reading level. I also consider the group I place students with; I want to make sure students can work independently and with group members for the goal of the book club project.
  • Before we start our book clubs, we all sign our contract on our BOOK CLUB GOALS and EXPECTATION anchor chart- this is important! Students also have their charts and anchor charts in their folders. You can find all this in our book club bundle.

Tips on how to organize and schedule book clubs

• Organize:
  • I organize Book Club Folders for each student, or you can bind them together and staple packets so that students keep them in their reading folders.
  • We keep an area near my reading center of book club materials [books, folders, sticky notes, laminated games, and more].
  • Students also receive their weekly accountability sheets to record that they are reading books and have other accountability activities in their book club folders.
  • You can read how I schedule book clubs for my students below.
• Schedule: I create a schedule for each book club book and laminate it. This is so students know what they are responsible for reading—for example, each book club session typically takes six weeks. So, I break up each book by chapters and weeks. See the freebie below!
  • Here is an example using Because of Winn Dixie– Week 1: students read Chapters 1-3, complete assigned pages in the packet, and meet with the group. Week 2: students read Chapters 4-6, complete assigned pages in the packet, and meet with the group. During week 3, students read Chapters 7-9, complete assigned pages in the packet, and meet with the group. The following week, week 4: Students read Chapters 10-11, complete assigned pages in the packet, and meet with the group. For week 5, the students will read the final Chapters, complete the book, complete the assigned pages in the packet, and meet with the group. Lastly, Week 6: Work on the final book club group project.

Book Clubs Ideas and Activities

After we finish our book clubs, I always like to have the members complete a project that they can showcase to everyone. This is a great way to encourage the readers to work hard, and they enjoy doing these final projects. Some of the projects are more detailed, while others are simpler. You can take a look at some ideas here!

• Student Accountability/ Activities: The bundle has a packet of pages that students complete to show they have been reading their book. It provides differentiated activities for groups and individuals.
• Projects and Wrapping up Book Club Activities: These are some of the best things kids love about book clubs! I love seeing the final projects, some of which include clicking on any to see them in action.
  • Dioramas
  • Cereal box projects
  • Book review Teach-Go Pennants 
  • Book Review Lapbooks (popular on TPT)
  • Teach-Go Brochures

I give them extended time to work on this, and students are graded on a rubric. You will love seeing students’ outcomes and reviews for their books!

Utilize book orders

Encourage your students to use Scholastic book orders. When students order novels, teachers earn classroom points, perfect for buying multiple copies of novels for students to use in book clubs. It would help if you also had a conversation with your librarian about any agreements they may have with Scholastic or other organizations that provide materials or book fairs for the library. They may receive additional materials to share with classroom teachers.

See the movie

Look no further than the Harry Potter series or Wonder, some of the most popular books that have also been turned into movies. Students are often captivated by these kinds of books. You can take advantage of this interest by organizing a movie day celebration after finishing the book. As a bonus, you can ask your students to complete a compare and contrast chart or a Venn diagram, highlighting the similarities and differences between the book and the movie. They can also share their thoughts about the casting and who they would have chosen to play specific roles.

You can take a peek at the book club packet here.

FREE BOOK CLUB WORKSHOP

I love literature circles and book clubs so much that I have put together this workshop on how to get started using them in your classroom, from finding books, to using resources! This is a great way to get started, I would love to hear what you think!

Watch it here!

GRAB THE EXCLUSIVE FREEBIE HERE!

Starting book clubs and literature circles in your classroom doesn’t have to be an additional task. Integrating book clubs into your reading curriculum can be a unique and practical approach. You can foster a classroom environment that promotes active readership by allowing students to choose and engage in fun activities.