I analyzed the discussions of two different book clubs this week: the lowest level reading group, currently reading The Beast in Ms. Rooney's Room, and a mid/high level group, currently reading a historical fiction novel called Journey to Jo'burg.
Many students in the lower level group came to their discussion feeling like they hadn't understood the chapter well, and wanting to talk about it. They spent most of the initial discussion talking about who the main characters were, and then zeroed in on a sentence that many of them had found confusing. I pushed them to take a step back and ask bigger questions like, "What are we learning about this character? What are we learning about the setting and the situation?" I'm interested in what these readers do when they're struggling in a book, and in particular how they use their book club conversation to help mediate that struggle. So many of my students--especially the strugglers--have a tendency to zoom in on individual sentences with such a narrow lens that they lose broader meaning and context. I'm not quite sure how this fits into my inquiry, but it's definitely a dilemma that's getting in the way of students having higher level discussions about text.
The second group's discussion was really interesting. They spent the first ten minutes highly engaged in a discussion in which they summarized what had happened in the part they had read. They had all kind of great discussion habits: they added on to each other's ideas, chose confusing parts to focus on and clarify, and asked questions about why characters had acted in certain ways. But they didn't move past summary into interpretation. After about ten minutes, I stopped them and talked about the difference between summary and interpretation, and how both are important. They began talking again, this time with the goal of moving more toward interpretation. The idea of discrimination came up, which they batted around for a while, until I asked them to think about the differences and similarities between South Africa during this time period and present-day Oakland. This led into a really rich discussion of whether discrimination and racism still exist.
Both groups seem to have a tendency to keep their discussions factual; they have a hard time moving toward themes, symbolism, and deeper meaning on their own. Are they just not developmentally ready for that? Do they need some kind of scaffold (e.g. question cards)? What are the limiting factors?
This is a great articulation of what you are looking at: "I'm interested in what these readers do when they're struggling in a book, and in particular how they use their book club conversation to help mediate that struggle."
ReplyDeleteYou are seeing patterns in what they do, and now you want to see if book clubs can help them move to the next level. But what specifically is their next level? Do you have a rubric for book club discussions that you are using?
Do you have data from your highest groups? Could looking at the type of discussions they are capable of having give you a better sense of what skills are within reach for your lower groups?
What I Am Thinking Now:
ReplyDeleteWhat is important to talk about is fluid for different readers.
Changing my indicators:
- deciding what to talk about
- having a conversation that deepens understanding
- independence (?)