Exploring Diverse, Modern Voices in Book Clubs

As English teachers, we’re used to teaching texts in isolation. This presentation will demonstrate how the presenters have experimented with book clubs as a way to weave more varied voices into classrooms.  This session will showcase an American Literature Book Club Unit, which provides a framework for students to helps our students see the larger America beyond their own experiences and those captured in canonical literature. Presenters’ sophomore teaching team reads recently published American fiction, searching for well-written literature from varied perspectives to expose students to characters facing complex issues. The novels include relatable teenage narrators whose experiences move students beyond their comfort zones. The unit revolves around student choice, beginning with book selection and extending through student-led book group discussions. In the course of the unit, student groups research related real-world issues like Native American land rights, groundwater contamination in low-income areas, and effects of immigration policies. For a final project, students create movie book trailers using Canva to advertise novels' themes and motifs.

Presenters will also share novel titles, videos of book groups in action, and project examples.