July
18
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How I Addressed Gender Bias in My Book Club by Sedley Abercrombie
After attending a conference early last school year I finally got up the nerve to try a book club. At the time, I was lucky enough to work with a very supportive principal who supported my ideas. But where to start?
I began to research and I find this AWESOME website: http://www.amightygirl.com. As a mother and an educator (and also having had a minor in women’s studies back in the dark ages) I found the idea of an all girls book club intriguing. The book list was great, no damsels in distress here… this will be great! But… hold on… boys are reluctant readers, too. Don’t they need a book club, something high interest, adventure? (See http://www.guysread.com) Should they be denied entry into this fantastic opportunity just because of their gender?
{bang head here}
{insert – light bulb}
The solution: 2 book clubs. This meant two book lists, two meeting dates and double the work. I began to question if I should make an appointment with a psychiatrist!
Problem solved! A book club for boys and one for girls? Perfect, right? But then I got to thinking about some of those students that might go either way – you know who they are. I wanted to do some good with my book clubs, but I didn’t want to be put on the news for the wrong reasons like possibly denying a student a chance to join a club because of the restroom he or she uses. So… what now? Take away the gender bias!
So, the two clubs were born. Mighty Kids was created with a list of books with strong, central female characters. On the other hand, Book Ninjas was formed primarily with adventure titles. I marketed the clubs to all students as gender neutral and book talked the books. I encouraged the students to choose the book club that focused on their interests, not their gender.
But we haven’t even had the first meeting yet! At this point, I was hesitant to even commit to something year long because I wasn’t even sure I would have the interest. I was nervous – would the book clubs be a success? Or would they crash and burn. Well, here goes nothing…
I advertised. I set a date. I chose some titles.
Book Ninjas read Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice.
Mighty Kids read Rules by Cynthia Lord.
What happened next?
We had our first meeting. Book Ninjas had 35 students in attendance: 30 boys and 5 girls. Mighty Kids had 16: 15 girls and 1 boy.
In the beginning, I didn’t make any promises to continue. I wanted to gauge participation, engagement, behavior – all of those things before I made a long term commitment (to not one but two book clubs). But the kids were so excited to be a part of something cool, not to mention the books were pretty awesome, that it was an easy decision to continue.
I have to admit. It took a lot of planning. And a lot of reading. There were lists to create, reviews to read…. Plan, plan, plan.
But it was so worth it. So much so that I’m doing it again. Every month this next year.
If you would like to learn more about the Book Ninjas, Mighty Kids or the books on the lists, please comment below or contact me on Twitter at @sedley1.
Sedley Abercrombie is a 6th year teacher librarian in rural North Carolina. She is a SymbalooPD Pro, CommonSenseMedia Certified Educator, NCSLMA Emerging Leader, creator of #nctlchat and sometime blogger. You can follow her on twitter @sedley1.
Nerdy Book Club 
Just this week I have thinking about creating book clubs at my school.I would love to a see your book lists and learn more about the organization of and meeting times for your book clubs. Thank you for offering to share.
Love it! I do a book club and generally the boys choose to read a book and the girls choose another book. I, too, am reluctant to commit full year. I run ine in 6 week increments.
I would love to hear more about your book clubs. Do you meet monthly? Do you discuss a different book each month or give them longer to read? Do you buy the books or have the kids buy them? It would be great to connect with you too. I have done book clubs with 3rd, 5th and 6th graders and love them and would be happy to share what I have done. I am also thinking about doing a parent/child book club this year–mulling that over and trying to come up with possible books:)
I’d love to get a copy of your book list! I’m always looking for new and exciting books to share with the middle schoolers at my library! Thanks for a great way to focus our book club a little more!
Great idea. Wish I had a teacher like you. Wonder how much the name of Book Ninjas influenced the numbers. 30 boys was impressive. I was surprised they were fewer girls. Great examples of books they read.
Great work! So much fun! I have an entirely practical question here. How did you supply the same title for all those kids? I had book club years ago, and we bought multiple copies, but some haven’t been used again. What was your strategy?
I have run a book club for fifth grade students for several years. I have 10-12 kids, almost always about equal boys and girls. I show them my book journals and give them a journal for their own use. I am always looking for new ideas for titles. I try to find books with a variety of ethnicity and that have a message of some sort. Of course they always love a good mystery too! I’d love to get a copy of book lists other groups are using. I want the kids to be able to keep the books so I am always looking for donations from my adult book clubs, etc.
Fantastic idea. I would love to hear more, see the book lists and learn more about your plan for this year.
Do you meet before or after school?? Do you buy the books for the students?
I would love to know what books you are picking – is there a way for you to share – maybe we can throw book ideas your way as well.
Books clubs are always work but great fun!
I am so flattered by your comments! So far I have more than 2 dozen librarians that may possibly use my lists and connect the book clubs virtually via Skype, GHO or blogging.
If you are interested in more information, you can contact me through twitter @sedley1 or email sedley1@live.com and I will be happy to provide you with a link.
I have wanted to implement book clubs for several years now in my middle school but never know where to start…so it never gets started! Thank you for sharing your ideas.
I would be interested in the plans that you found worked best. Kids love to read, if only the adults would believe them! Reading has been the first thing to be cut twice now during budget cuts. I am determined to give as many reading opportunities as I can!
I teach 5th grade and for the past 2 years have done a boys Book Club and a girls Book Club each year. I used the book Wonder last year with each club which saved money and I luckily had a private donor. The year before I used Heat by Mike Lupica for the boys and Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. Both were very successful. I am looking for new titles for this year and these posts will be helpful, thanks!
It sounds like you’re off to a great start! I’d love to see the books on your list and hear about any other suggestions you have for starting book clubs in my classroom.
I do a book club at my local elementary, and I’ve never thought of running two — congratulations on your energy! We meet monthly and try to read a variety of books and one of the things we talk about is was this a boy book / girl book? Some obviously are, but sometimes it’s an interesting and lively discussion.
My biggest innovation — my son likes to make cookies, so he makes a batch before each meeting and I share them out. We meet during lunch/recess during the school day, and our club name is “We Have Cookies.”
I pick the books with help from the kids, and I involve the school librarian to make sure we have at least a starter set. I also confirm that all the kids know where the county library is for additional copies, and sometimes we pick from the Battle of the Books choices since a lot of the kids do that as well.