Discusses how book clubs can function as a professional development tool for teachers, and offers advice on how a book club can become a reality. (SR)

The purpose of this instructional resource is to provide guidelines for conducting literature discussion groups using a book club approach. The procedures and guidelines that are presented in the resource are the result of 4 years of research related to book clubs. The guidelines and procedures in the resource include information about the roles…

Describes an elementary school book club with 12 elementary teachers, their principal, and 2 university teachers reading the same piece of contemporary multicultural fiction and keeping response journals. Describes how their discussions were studied and how the literature discussions changed their classroom practices. (SR)

Over a 2-year period, several teacher book clubs were studied. Teachers' and preservice teachers' responses to a series of texts that focused on multiculturalism in American society were examined. Twelve elementary school teachers, representing four ethnic groups (European American, Asian American, African American, and Hispanic), volunteered to…