Today we will feature a series of reviews provided by Year Four students from St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Kalgoorlie, WA. The students regularly write reviews for the books they read as part of their group and we are very excited to have them sharing their recommendations here on Kids' Book Review. We are also grateful to St Mary's Extension and Enrichment Support Teacher Julie Gardner for introducing the Book Club to us.
The Year Four students at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, have been engaged in their very own Book Club over the past two terms.
Book Club meetings are held fortnightly with the members coming together to discuss the book they have been reading and to fulfill the Book Club roles they have been assigned. Some of these roles include:
The Host: The host is responsible for thinking of new and interesting ways to conduct the Book Club meetings. Group hosts need to provide food (complete with recipes), beverages, costumes and anything else that will provide some atmosphere to the meeting in a way that is relevant to the book that is being read.
The Reporter: The Reporter is responsible for RESEARCHING AND REPORTING to the group about new and/or unread books. The Reporter uses the internet to locate interesting books for the club to consider reading. An overview of the book needs to be given including details on:
- The title, author and illustrator.
- The publisher, publication date and release date (if applicable).
The Reporter puts forward their opinion and preference for the next Book Club book to be read.
Book Club participants can also be assigned the role of Reviewer, Director, Ambassador and Critic. All of these roles make up the most important elements of the Book Club meetings.
During the duration of the Book Club, the participants have read novels from many different genres including adventure, drama, biography and fantasy. Among our favourites were The Breadwinner, Parvana’s Journey and The One and Only Ivan.
Book Club has been a fun, rewarding and challenging initiative for everyone to take part in. We have now inspired other teachers and students to create and take part in their own Book Clubs!
- This post by Julie Gardner, Extension and Enrichment Support Teacher at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
KBR would like to thank the amazing Book Club students for their wonderful review contributions and for inspiring others to read and form their own book clubs.
Thank you to:
Senuri Abeysekera (Who am I? The Diary of Mary Talence)
Sophie Dale (Prince Caspian)
Sam Dyne (Who am I? The Diary of Mary Talence)
Mitchell Dowling (The One and Only Ivan, Parvana's Journey)
Jack Gouge (The Youngest One)
Charlotte Hanekom (The One and Only Ivan)
Genevieve Inglis
Jared McFadgen (Parvana's Journey)
Megan Mahlangove ("Who Could That Be At This Hour?", The Youngest One)
Ashley Morgan (Parvana's Journey)
Molly Quartermaine (The Youngest One)
Oliver Softley (Parvana's Journey)
Claire Tinkler (The Breadwinner)
