Fifth Grade Book Clubs
Learning Module
- Creator(s):
Book clubs are a way for students to engage in literature and share their thoughts with their peers. These clubs are student-centered and allow students to prove their comprehension in a creative and collaborative way. This series of lessons is aimed to prepare students for their participation in book clubs. Each lesson has the student's "I Can" statement posted so that students know what their goal is by the end of the lesson.
Book clubs align with the different forms of literacy in the way that students use book clubs to express their thoughts and feelings about a book. While book clubs focus on oral communication about a text, the preparation for them is very much written and reflective. "Book clubs support authentic learning because the format, which will be discussed in Chapter Two, allows for student choice, which according to James (2003), can increase engagement" (Torbenson, 2019).
This unit is not designed to be started at the beginning of the year. Prior to starting book clubs, students must learn the literary elements exposition, conflict, rising action, plot, climax, falling action, and resolution in depth. Before setting students up to conduct their own book clubs, you should have studied a novel in depth with your class.
Book clubs are the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy, orginally created in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom. That heiarchy was revised in 2001 (Armstrong, 2010). Naturally, the lower skills of the heiarchy of learning should be mastered first before your students are ready to participate in book clubs.
The learning objective for this unit on introducing book clubs is:
By the end of the unit, students will be able to confidently engage with their peers in a book club discussion while demonstrating knowledge of key literary elements such as inferring, story elements, story structure, and point of view.
Students will be able to participate in literature peer book discussions. (SL.5.1 & 5.4)
While this is an introductory unit to lead students up to book clubs, once book clubs are implemented, students will be reaching the following learning objectives:
Students will be able to draw inferences from a text while citing text examples. (RL.5.1)
Students will be able to compare and contrast story elements within a text. (RL.5.3)
Students will be able to explain how a story's structure relates to the overall plot. (RL.5.5)
Students will be able to describe a narrator's point of view and how it relates to the plot. (RL.5.6)
After every lesson, formatively assess whether students have grasped the concept and learning objective. If they have not, have students repeat the lesson after conferring with them.
The summative assessment is a mock book chat. As the instructor, you will listen to each book club group and check off a list of standard-based skills for each student. Any students not demonstrating at least 75% of the skills are not ready to move on to book clubs and need to revisit the lessons that they are struggling with.
Check List
|
I can ask questions about a book's story elements, structure, point of view, and inferences so that I know what to discuss in a book club. |
Not at all | Somewhat | Completely |
|
I can compare and contrast a story element within a text. |
Not at all | Somewhat | Completely |
|
I can determine who the narrator of a story is and how their point of view, or perspective, impacts the way the story is told and the information the reader has. |
Not at all | Somewhat | Completely |
|
I can draw inferences from a text and use examples from the book to back up my inferences. |
Not at all | Somewhat | Completely |
|
|
Not at all | Somewhat | Completely |
| I can participate in peer book discussions while talking about literary story elements, plot structure, point of view, and inferences from the book. | Not at all | Somewhat | Completely |
Introduction to Book Clubs:
Book clubs- maybe you've heard of them and maybe you haven't, but by the end of this unit you are going to be prepared to master your own fifth grade book clubs.
In book clubs, the goal is for you to show what you know through discussion instead of worksheets.
Lesson One's "I Can" Statement:
| I can write questions about a book's story elements, structure, point of view, and inferences so that I know what to discuss in a book club. |
| Inferences (What can you guess is going on in the story or with a character based on clues you find in the reading/illustrations?) | |
| Story Elements (Setting, Characters, Plot, Theme, Central Message, Conflict/Resolution) | |
| Story Structure (The order of the chapters) |
|
| Point of View (Who is telling the story?) |
|
Introduction to Book Clubs:
Prior to Lesson: Before this lesson, you need to read the book Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard (or listen to it here). Make up your own questions for the following literary topics:
These questions will serve as a basis for what types of questions you can expect your students to come up with.
Learning Objective:
Students will be able to create questions aligning with the book they have read and literary skills needing to be demonstrated in order to better facilitate conversations in their eventual book clubs.
This lesson is to assess students on what they know about each literary element needed to be discussed and taught in the following lessons. While it does not align with a specific standard, it is necessary to teach this lesson in order to get your students thinking about literature and asking their own questions. This may be the first time your fifth graders have been asked to develop their own questions and analyze a text through a critical lens.
Comparing and Contrasting Story Elements:
The goal for this lesson is to learn how to compare and contrast different story elements within the same text.
Lesson Two's I Can Statement:
| I can compare and contrast a story element within a text. |
Comparing and contrasting is a skill that you have done for a LONG time. You even do it naturally, when you're not in school. Comparing means explaining how things are the same. Contrasting means explaining how things are different. Most often we do this in a Venn Diagram (the two circles that overlap). If you need a refresher on comparing and contrasting, check out the following video:
In book clubs, we discuss different parts of the same book over the course of one week. That is what we are also doing in this pre-book club unit. The book we are discussing is the same book you read in lesson one, Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard.
In thinking about the book, Catching the Moon, we need to think about the story elements (plot, characters, setting) so that we can discuss how these elements are similar throughout the book and also how they change or are different. As you listen to the book a second time, ask yourselves what is staying the same throughout the story and what is changing? Answer these questions as an update for your peers to respond to. Respond to 3 peers' answers by stating if you agree or disagree and why. Do this activity first.
After listening to the book, writing your update, and responding to 3 of your peers' updates, you will submit a work that completes the story element table. In the columns compare and contrast, you will take notes on how the character Marcenia Lyle stays the same throughout the book and how she changes, how the setting stays the same and how it changes, and how the conflict stays the same then changes with the resolution at the end. Do this activity second. Do not submit this work until you have added the third activity to it.
| Story Elements | Compare (the same) | Contrast (change/different) |
| Character (Marcenia Lyle) | ||
| Setting | ||
| Conflict/Solution (plot) |
Then, choose one story element and write a paragraph comparing the story element throughout the book and another paragraph contrasting the element throughout the book. For example, you could write a paragraph about how the main character, Marcenia Lyle, stays the same throughout the book and a paragraph about how Marcenia changes throughout the book. Do this activity third.
Compare and Contrast Story Elements Within a Text:
Resources:
Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard
Learning Objective:
Students will be able to compare and contrast a story element within a text (RL.5.3).
Target Audience:
By fifth grade, we are assuming that students have been comparing and contrasting things since early primary grades (kindergarten, first grade, and second grade). However, they may not have a firm grasp on the vocabulary (i.e. knowing that contrast means differences and compare means similarities).
Assessment:
Formative: Students will be completing an update demonstrating their ability to notice elements that are staying the same and elements that are changing throughout a story. This is the foundation for the skill.
Formative: Students will be completing a table illustrating their ability to identify how each story element has stayed the same and also how each element has changed throughout a story. These notations are not in complete sentences and are a way for students to organize their thoughts and for you to see what gaps students may have in literary story elements. Correct any misinformation before moving on (this misinformation may effect their summative, in which case the student should re-do their summative paragraphs as well).
Summative: Students will write a comparing paragraph and a contrasting paragraph about an element of their choice. This is to demonstrate their ability to articulate the similarities and differences of a literary story element within a text.
Story Structure:
Many times before, you as readers have explored the structure of a story. Structure, in this sense, means the way a story is set up.
Lesson Three's I Can Statement:
| I can explain how the story structure impacts the plot. |
Remember cutting out the key events of a story and putting them in order when you were younger? You were practicing story structure! The way a story is told is important. We have read books with flashbacks, foreshadowing, and cliff hangers before. All of these things make a difference in the way we comprehend, or understand, a story.
Let's examine the order of Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard.
First, complete the following table in an update and star your peers' updates that you believe have completed the table correctly. In the table, you are ordering the story structure from 1-5 with 1 being the first part of a story and 5 being the last part.
| Story Structure | Order the structure from 1-5 |
| Rising Action | |
| Climax | |
| Exposition | |
| Resolution | |
| Falling Action |
Next, we need to include details about each of the story structure elements. Create a work that will add 3-5 bullet points about the story structure element assigned to you as it relates to the book Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard. For example, for the exposition you will list 3-5 things we learn in the exposition of the book. You are not going to have to do each story structure element. The element you complete is based upon your birthday month.
Finally, you will (hopefully) have work from one of each of the other story structure elements shared with you. You should review your peers' works and grade them based on the rubric. Correct any misinformation they may have.
Birthday Story Structure Element Assignments:
| Exposition | Jan.-Mar. |
| Rising Action | Apr.-May |
| Climax | Jun.-Aug. |
| Falling Action | Sept.-Oct. |
| Resolution | Nov.-Dec. |
Peer Review Rubric:
| 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Length | Peer did not put any bullet points. | Peer put less than 3 bullet points. | Peer put 3-5 bullet points. |
| Accuracy | None of the bullet points were correct. | Some bullet points were correct. | All bullet points were correct. |
| Details | No bullet points contained details from the text. | Some bullet points contained details from the text. | All bullet points contained details from the text. |
After these assignments are turned in, your teacher will meet with the class synchronously to review your work on story structure elements. After reviewing each story structure element, you will write an update explaining why the structure that you had originally examined (based on your birth month) needs to be in the sequence (order) that it is in. Explain how if your story structure element was in a different sequence (order) how that might change the story.
For example, if you examined climax, you will explain why the climax needs to come before the resolution and falling action. If the climax was first in the structure, you can explain how that would change the whole story.
Resources:
Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard
Learning Objective:
Students will be able to explain how a story's structure relates to the overall plot. (RL.5.5)
Target Audience:
This lesson is assuming that you have previously taught each story element in depth earlier in the year and students are familiar with the literary terms exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Assessments:
Formative- Ordering Story Structure Table Answers: 2, 3, 1, 5, 4
Formative- Students will submit a second work examining a specific story structure element by listing 3-5 bullet points about that element from the book. Then, students look at their peers' works and correct any misinformation
Synchronous: Following this assessment, the teacher must meet with the students synchronously to discuss the results of the assessment and correct any misinformation. This is necessary prior to the next assessment.
Summative Assessment- Students will create an update explaining how a specific story structure element effects the overall story structure.
Point of View
Lesson Four's I Can Statement:
| I can determine who the narrator of a story is and how their point of view, or perspective, impacts the way the story is told and the information the reader has. |
Watch this video on point of view as a refresher.
Point of view is not new in fifth grade. We've been talking about who's telling the story for as long as you've been in school. What we add to the discussion is fifth grade is how the person telling the story impacts the story for the reader. We have to ask ourselves several questions as we read and think about point of view:
I like to explain this by asking you to think about a horror movie. How frustrating is it when WE (the audience) knows the killer is hiding in the bathroom and the victim in the movie goes in there anyway!?
This is so frustrating because WE know more information than the characters because of who the narrator is (or the point of view the camera has). The same can happen in a book.
We can also be put in suspense in a book because our narrator doesn't know everything that's going on.
Sometimes our narrator even misinterprets information and we have the wrong idea in the story until another character corrects our narrator's thinking.
All of these scenarios, and more, impact point of view and what it means to a story.
For your assignment, consider the narrator in Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard. Answer the following questions in an update (using complete sentences and paragraph form). Also, respond to two of your peers' updates.
Point of View Questions:
Point of View
Learning Objective:
Students will be able to describe a narrator's point of view and how it relates to the plot. (RL.5.6)
Target Audience:
Your students should already have a grasp of point of view. New to fifth grade would be the analyzing of how the narrator impacts the story. Before this lesson, we are assuming that your students have spent time learning how to analyze a point of view with you during whole group teaching.
Assessment:
Students will submit an update answering the following questions:
Then students will respond to two of their peers' updates. This is a formative assessment. If students are not understanding the impact a narrator has on the story, re-teach and correct misinformation, then assign the assessment again.
Inferences with Text Examples
Lesson Five's I Can Statement
| I can draw inferences from a text and use examples from the book to back up my inferences. |
We make inferences in life all the time. When someone walks in a room holding a tissue in their hand and we notice their eyes are red and puffy and they are sniffling, we can infer they have been crying.
Inferences are ideas or conclusions we come up with based upon clues and what we already know. In reading, we get those clues from the text.
In fifth grade, we have to make sure we can back our inferences up with clues from the text. This is called citing.
To practice this, we are going to do two activities. In the first activity, you have the text evidence given to you and you must come up with the inference. In the second activity, you have the inference given to you and you must come up with the text evidence. For these two activities, we are changing the text so that your final assessment is on the book Catching the Moon. Our text for these two activities is Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit. You can read the text by clicking on the PDF link below, or you can listen to the story be read by watching the video underneath the PDF link.
Table to complete for Peter Rabbit Activity 1
| Inference | Text Evidence |
|
What can you infer about Peter from this sentence?
|
"But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden and squeezed under the gate." |
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What can you infer about Mr. McGregor from this sentence?
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"...but [Mr. McGregor] jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, 'Stop thief!'" |
|
What can you infer about Peter from this sentence?
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"...[Peter] was out of breath and trembling..." |
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What can you infer about Peter from this sentence?
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"Peter began to cry." |
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What can you infer about Mrs. Rabbit from this sentence?
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"It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight!" |
Table to complete for Peter Rabbit Activity 2
| Inference | Text evidence |
| Peter is afraid of cats. | What sentence from the book supports this inference? |
| Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail follow directions all the time. | What sentence from the book supports this inference? |
| Peter was in trouble for disobeying his mother. | What sentence from the book supports this inference? |
| Mrs. Rabbit trusts her children. | What sentence from the book supports this inference? |
| Mr. McGregor wants to catch Peter. | What sentence from the book supports this inference? |
Our third activity is to prove what you know. You will explain an inference you have made from the book Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard and provide the text example. To see the text on the audio read aloud, click the CC (closed caption) button at the bottom of the video. Explain your inference and include the text evidence in a paragraph following the RACE method. After your teacher has reviewed your activities one and two, they will send you a work request for your third activity.
Inferences with Text Examples
Resources:
Catching the Moon by Crystal Hubbard
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Target Audience:
Like the other lessons in this unit, you will have had to teach your students about inferring prior to this unit on book clubs. They may not be masters at this yet, but they should be familiar with the process and the terms regarding drawing inferences.
Learning Objective:
Students will be able to draw inferences from a text while citing text examples. (RL.5.1)
Assessments:
The first two learning activities using the book The Tale of Peter Rabbit are for formative assessments. Correct any misconceptions and send individualized feedback on these assignments. Once a student has correctly completed these assignments, send them the work request for Activity 3, which is the summative assessment.
Mock (Practice) Student Book Club
Lesson Six's I Can Statement
| I can participate in peer book discussions while talking about literary story elements, plot structure, point of view, and inferences from the book. |
You and your peers are going to participate in a book club. This will be held synchronously via Zoom. Your teacher will monitor your breakout room discussions and be checking off the list of skills you have learned this week. After your practice book club, you will receive feedback from your teacher and also discuss how you felt the discussion went. Finally, you will reflect on your own particpation and rate yourself based on your reflection.
Before participating in your own book club, watch a few (or all) of the videos with examples of book clubs. Remember, you have a checklist for certain things you need to talk about. These videos may not discuss the same things, but it is in the same style that your book club will be in.
While discussing the book Catching the Moon, pull up the updates and work you have done during this unit. You may use those to guide your discussion. You should also have the following checklist readily available to ensure that you are discussing all the literary skills with your group.
Checklist:
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I can ask questions about a book's story elements, structure, point of view, and inferences so that I know what to discuss in a book club. |
|
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I can compare and contrast a story element within a text. |
|
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I can determine who the narrator of a story is and how their point of view, or perspective, impacts the way the story is told and the information the reader has. |
|
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I can draw inferences from a text and use examples from the book to back up my inferences. |
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| I can explain how the story structure impacts the plot. | |
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I can participate in peer book discussions while talking about literary story elements, plot structure, point of view, and inferences from the book. |
Mock Student Book Club
Learning Objectives:
Students will be able to participate in literature peer book discussions. (SL.5.1 & 5.4)
Students will be able to draw inferences from a text while citing text examples. (RL.5.1)
Students will be able to compare and contrast story elements within a text. (RL.5.3)
Students will be able to explain how a story's structure relates to the overall plot. (RL.5.5)
Students will be able to describe a narrator's point of view and how it relates to the plot. (RL.5.6)
Target Audience:
By this lesson, we are assuming 80% or more of your class has mastered the skills in this unit. If they have not, you should not continue on with this lesson. Instead, go back and reteach the lessons they are struggling with.
Assessment:
You will observe each book club discussion, using the checklist (see assessment tab under fifth grade book clubs)to track student progress with the standards. After the observation, you will give students feedback on what you observed and ask them to rate themselves on their participation. During book clubs, students also have the checklist to they can monitor their own imput and ensure they are discussing the appropriate things.
After reviewing the results of the checklist and considering the feedback you received from your students, analyze what lessons need to be retaught. Consider pairing students together for future book clubs based on opposite strengths and weaknesses on the skills checklist. Ensure that 80% of your students have completely passed the skills check list before moving onto independent book clubs.
Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching.
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.
Beatrix Potter. (n.d). The tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter [video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuTlQCGxE5Y
Hubbard, C. (2005). Catching the moon. Lee & Low Books.
James, J. (2003). Changing students' attitudes about reading through book clubs. Library Media
Connection, 21 (7), 30-32.
Lincoln Learning Solutions. (2018, June 28). Point of view fun [video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb33WQTGXPk
McGraw Hill PreK-12. (2014, March 3). How to teach students to compare and contrast [video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtGzwoVCO4E
Potter, B. (1902). The tale of Peter Rabbit. Frederick Warne & Co.
Storyline Online. (2015, April 20). Catching the moon read by Kevin Costner and Jillian
Estell [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kTVtML08CE
Torbenson, C. (2019). Student led book clubs support reading engagement in primary
grades. School of Education Student Capstone
Projects. https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_cp/314