It can be intimidating for a non-teacher to lead one of these summer reading book discussion groups. Many of us don't regularly interact with high school-age students. Not only won't we know any of the students in our group, we won't know anything about them and their interests until we are in the room with them. We will have less than an hour with them, and then the discussion will be over. (In short, we will have no clue until the need for clues is over.) This will be my fourth year as a summer reading book discussion leader. One of my discussions (the first one) bombed, one of them went well, one was a stunning success, and I have high hopes for the 2007 group. (I would list my very first tip as Sign up for the Harry Potter discussion group, but I have already taken that advice myself.)
I am going to list a few tips I've found helpful. I hope other people will add their tips to the list.
1) Consider leading the group with another person. If you are reluctant to volunteer for this activity, ask Mary Saunders if you can sit in on someone else's group to see how things go. Even if you feel comfortable enough to lead a group by yourself, it's helpful to have a another voice and another point of view to ease the moments when you've asked all your prepared questions and wonder what you're going to do next.
2) (This probably goes without saying, but...) Read the book. If you read it years ago, re-read it. I find it helpful to take chapter by chapter notes so I can refer back to something I have a question or comment about. I also like to keep notes on the characters' names and ages and their relationships to each other, especially if it's a book with a lot of characters with names I find difficult to remember.
3) Get reviews and background information from the internet. If the book is one in a series, print out precis of the books that came before. Professional reviews are good, but I also print out reader reviews from sites like Amazon.com. I pay special attention to negative reviews because they can be used to jumpstart a discussion (See #7 )
4) Take a few minutes to set things up at the beginning of the session. If you want the students to sit in a circle (I prefer that they do), ask them to rearrange the chairs.
5) Don't concern yourself with administrative/authority issues. If the students were supposed to write a set of questions about the book and you see that several of them are busily finishing their questions in the back of the room, let it go, let it go, let it go.... However, it is helpful to collect the questions from the students who have done them because they provide a good safety net if you run through all the questions you've prepared.
6) Have a list of open-ended questions. What did you like most about this book? What did you like least? What would you have done if you were the protagonist? Do you think the actions were realistic? Would you recommend this book? To other students? To your parents? Would you recommend keeping it on the reading list? Are you happy you chose this book instead of one of the others on the list? If there was something you didn't like about this book, in what way would you change it? Would you like to read a sequel?
7) Use the reviews you have printed out to say things you might not want to present as your own opinion. Here's an example: In the book I led a discussion on last year, the bodies of two teenagers are occupied by the souls of two adults, and those two adults have sex. I was aware that a group of teenagers wasn't apt to discuss a sexual issue with an adult they don't know. It was helpful to step back personally and say, "One reviewer faulted the book for what he saw as sexual exploitation of teenagers by adults... What do you think of that criticism?"
8) Don't worry if some lines of discussion go nowhere. The question about sexual exploitation elicited only limited response from the group, I think, in part, because they didn't want to discuss sex and, in part, because it was a new idea. Ideas that don't catch fire in a discussion may well germinate later.
9) Trust the students. I have been blown away by some of the things students have seen in the books that I didn't see.
TO BE CONTINUED..... Please contribute tips and comments.
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2 comments:
Sharron-
I found this post helpful, particularly as our school works to implement a Humanities curriculum that is, essentially, teaching history through literature. The class will be taught by a teacher with a history background and I think she would benefit from many of the things you suggest.
Thanks!
The best book discussions happen when the leader is well prepared. While you read (or re-read) the book, look for around six open-ended questions that will serve as discussion starters. For many books, lists of discussion questions are available on the Internet or even printed at the back of the book. Also ask the students to use the questions they have prepared.
The following suggestions were based on material written by Ted Baucom, Villa Park Library, Villa Park, Illinois) http://www.unc.edu/srp/srp2000/pointers.html
“When someone makes an outrageous statement, don't feel you have to agree or disagree. Turn it back to the group by asking, "Does everyone agree with John's comment?"
If you ask a question and no one responds, wait a moment, and then call on someone.
If a group member seems to be talking too long and you sense that people are getting restless, consider interjecting with "Let's focus on the point you just made. Did anyone else get that same impression - or perhaps a different one?"
Fill in the gaps by clarifying and summarizing the points that people make during the discussion. To do this well, you must listen carefully to what people are saying and think about how to restate their comments if there is an appropriate opening. Watch the faces in the group--they often provide clues as to when people want to say something or when they agree or disagree.
Suggestion: Don't be surprised if you don't get through your list of discussion questions. If the conversation is flowing and on topic, there's really no need to move on to another question, if you do decide to move the conversation on, look for a way to weave the next discussion point into the current conversation”
The Seattle Public Library http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_readinglists_bookclub_howtos
last year provided suggestions for discussion leaders that aren’t there this year, but I need to give them credit for the question suggestions for fiction books below:
“How does the title relate to the book? How believable are the characters? Which character do you identify with? What makes the protagonist sympathetic, or unsympathetic? Why do certain characters act the way they act? Does she have an ax to grind, a political ideology, religious belief, or psychological disorder? What does the character mean when he says "..."? How does the author use certain words and phrases differently than we would normally use them? Does the author make up new words and, if so, why? Are the plot and subplots believable and interesting? What loose ends, if any, did the author leave? How is the book structured? Flashbacks? Multiple points of view? Why do you think the author chose to write the book this way? How does the arrangement of the book help or detract from the ideas it contains? What types of symbolism do you find in this novel? What do these objects really represent? How do characters react to and with these symbolic objects? What themes - motherhood, self-discovery, wilderness - recur throughout the book? How is the setting of the book important to the theme? What is the great strength - or most noticeable weakness - of the book? What did the author attempt to do in the book? Was he or she successful?”
“What is the author's worldview? ...Does the book address broader social issues? Does the author take a stance on, for example, anarchy versus capitalism? How is a particular culture or subculture portrayed? Where could the story go after the book ends? What is the future of these characters' lives? What would our lives be like if we lived in this story? How does this book compare to other books you've read? Would it make a good movie? Is there a film adaptation of this book? What is brought out or played down in the film version?”
If the book is historical fiction, how accurate is the historical information?
For nonfiction books, some of the questions above may apply. Other questions you develop could focus on the message and the purpose of the book. Are the ideas valid? Did the author write this book simply to inform or does the author intend to cause a change in the reader or society with this book? How can this information or these ideas be used? What additional information would the reader have liked the author to include?
A Web site that links to many useful sites on the subject of book discussion and book discussion questions is http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/Libraries/readerscafe/links.asp?typeid=1
As discussion leader, you may want to bring additional information about the author or the book to the discussion. Book reviews are published in review journals available through the public library’s electronic databases at the library or remotely through the library Web site (i.e. http://www.sawyerfreelibrary.org). Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers on the Web also print reviews. Author information can be found at the library or, sometimes, on the Internet.
One of our Discussion Leaders, Leanne Ellis, who is a public librarian wrote,
“as someone who has led many groups,
the best advice I could give anyone is to remember that a good book
discussion is organic--if you know your material & listen well the group
usually develops its own momentum. That being said-- the HS age group
are always more reticent than adults when placed in a "fabricated"
situation and the first thing I do is make sure everyone is on the same
page by having the group members, with my prompting, summarize the plot,
characters & main issues. As they speak--my questions usually emerge. &
Always ask open-ended questions--What about the character did
appealed/did not appeal to you? Not did you like XYZ? This was probably
repetitive, but is my 2 cents.”
Finally, relax and enjoy these young people and the discussion. It’s only for 45 minutes, after all. I’ll have a questionnaire for you to fill out at the end because I want to know how it went and how we can improve this next year. If you have time, please come to the library after the discussion for refreshments and to talk about how it went.
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