Inskpiration is an ongoing book club made for RIS middle school students who want to improve their English or already like reading, simultaneously helping them prepare for the heavy English reading and analysis that they will need in high school. Meeting once a week, our club has chosen And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie to read aloud and analyze.

Inkspiration is an ongoing book club made for RIS middle school students who want to improve their English or already like reading, simultaneously helping them prepare for the heavy English reading and analysis that they will need in high school. Meeting once a week, our club has chosen And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie to read aloud and analyze.

Planning for this project proved to be more challenging and time-consuming than we’d anticipated; not only did we face difficulty in determining the project’s primary aim, but we also had schedule conflicts and a lack of interest from the MS students. After numerous discussions with the principal and English teachers, we decided to film a promotional video which was sent out to all students. The frustration we felt while struggling to engage the MS students in turn forced us to find solutions to problems that unexpectedly arose, noting the value of seeking assistance from others.

Although only a few students showed up to our first meeting, we saw this as an opportunity to better interact and form personal connections with them. Past the initial awkward introductions, we discussed our favorite genres, eventually finding common ground on thriller novels. The difficult language in Christie’s novel enabled us to work together to understand the plot, ask questions on unfamiliar words, and analyze the novel’s poem in relation to the suspects.

As each meeting went by, we got more comfortable with each other and got to know each of our personalities. As leaders, listening to their opinions on the book made us more intrigued and excited for what’s to come, both in our club and the book itself. However, since we couldn’t always meet every week but wanted to discuss the plot while maintaining a constant pace, we agreed on a chapter to read up to for each consecutive meeting. Together, we created mind maps and notes, which helped clear up confusions on the story and identities of the characters. For future meetings, we want to improve engagement by spending more time reading together aloud and having interactive activities.

The impact we made on MS students was smaller than we’d hoped. Nevertheless, for us, to be able to carry this project forward against all obstacles is a testament to our commitment, perseverance, and thoughtfulness to make a meaningful impact on a subject that we genuinely care about: reading!