During our Book Club time, students met daily for 20-30 minutes to discuss the novel they were reading. They set their own reading calendars and generally directed their own group discussions, although we provided some guiding questions to help them move forward when needed.
As we read our book club novels, students kept track of information about the main character(s) of their story as they learned about them. They started with character traits, which were generally easier to notice early in these stories without making generalized assumptions, and then moved on to identity markers as the novel progressed.
Students also be examined the character traits and identity markers of supporting characters who influenced the main character. This started our conversations about how the identities, beliefs, and priorities of others can impact our own identity.
Using the information they compiled about their main characters, students completed one of two activities (left) based on their preference. Students who prefer to express their learning visually chose the top option, and those who felt more comfortable writing chose the bottom option. In either option, students were expected to support their analysis of the main character with specific evidence from the novel.
After reading about a third of their novels, students created an Identity Illustration (very similar to the one they created about themselves early in the unit). In these Identity Illustrations, students were asked to include character traits, identity markers, and any people, places, or things that were important to their main character at that point in the novel.