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Middle School Launches Book Club |
From the Middle School Library -- Fifteen middle school students along with middle school language arts teacher, Mrs. Purcell, recently completed a study of the book Same Kind of Different as Me written by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. The program was led by librarian, Mrs. Uselton.
Participating students took part in a discussion based on the unlikely friendship that forms between two men in a time of great need. Discussions were held once a week during lunch time over an eight-week period. Mrs. Maliha (mother of 8th Grade participant Gaby Maliha) even brought pizza for everyone one week.
The Book Club was strictly voluntary and no grades were given. Outside reading had to be completed before each meeting, and students then spent time discussing issues relating to the text they had recently read. According to Mrs. Purcell, the insight, understanding, and compassion shown by the students was amazing. “The conversation between the students astounded me as a teacher and a reader. It was clear that they really thought about the characters and the meaning of the text, and that they weren’t just turning pages.”
Student reaction to the Book Club was overwhelmingly positive. “Book Club is awesome!” stated one member. So awesome in fact that Mrs. Uselton is working on the possibility of a spring program and is currently reviewing possible books.
Participating students included Tate Smith, Saahil Mehta, Ethan Buescher, Alex Armstrong, Veronica Miles, EmElise Knapp, Emily Bivins, Audrey Milton, Lekha Pathapati, Victoria Miles, Preston Howard, Gaby Maliha, Rahel Tekeste and Madeline Merriman.
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