Get Your Read On!

One of my passions is literacy.  I love incorporating bibliotherapy into my classroom guidance lessons and individual counseling. I also love creating book clubs for my small groups.  Last year I presented on book clubs at the annual conference for the North Carolina School Counselor's Association.....a great organization and conference!!! I am in the process of creating a new page on my blog to share the ideas and book suggestions I have used or plan to use in the future. Please come soon to check it out and let me know of any resources you love so we can add suggestions for all.

One of my favorite books clubs was one I did towards the end of last year with fifth grade boys.  We were working on friendship and social skills and read The Strange Case of Origami Yoga by Tom Angleberger.  These boys really got into the whole Star Wars "quirky" theme of the book, and it was one of the best book club experiences I have ever had.  

I start every book club by creating my book question guide, which helps me remember specific themes or passages I want to highlight as we read the book together.  I note the page numbers where characters encounter situations such as bullying, conflict, social difficulties, etc. so I can remember to spark discussion or do an activity with the group.

Then, I create my student books, which include all my activity sheets, pre and post tests, reflection sheets, job sheets, and any other resources I want to make sure we cover in the group.  The kids love having these books to use each week, and it really helps me stay organized since the entire packet is bound together.  I start the group by letting each student decorate his or her cover, (the student name here is covered by the post-it note) and students get to take them home at the end of the group.  Then, they can remember what we discussed in group and use it as a resource in the future.  It also can be shared with parents so they can be involved in emphasizing skills at home.

As we got through the Origami  Yoda book club, we had a lot of fun incorporating literacy objectives.  We wrote summaries for each chapter of the book as we read.  Then, we created a final book review to post on my school counseling website so parents, classmates, or teachers could learn more about the book. We also made origami Yodas using the tutorial at the end of the book and decorated a bulletin board of book club "tweets" with the kids describing what they liked
  best about the book.  We included a QR code for the book review link so any visitors with Smartphones could check it out!
                                                         

The kids had a blast and so did I!   Happy Counseling! ~ Angela