Synthesis Blog #5

Math Book Clubs 

I am sure that by mentioning a book club in a math class it would throw a few students off guard because some of them won't even touch a chapter book if it isn't required for a language arts class. Incorporating book clubs into math curriculum could give students an alternate idea of math and could expose them to real-life situations on how math is used in a real-world context. Providing students with books that have heavy math content, may even give students the answer to the big question: When will we use this in the real world? Book clubs are also a great way to show that, crossing content can just as easily be done in a math class as it can in an ELA class. When trying to create lesson plans, I think it is important to try and differentiate activities to try and meet the needs of every individual. This may be difficult to do in a class full of thirty students, but using a book club allows for many roles and opportunities to collaborate with peers, which is different from their everyday routine of lecture and quiz. The tricky part about starting a book club in a math course is that students may not know how they are supposed to work or operate in such a setting, so it is the teacher's role to adequately demonstrate what it is that is expected. A great way to do this as mentioned in Chapter 9 of Subject Matters, is to "practice peer-led discussion using a short piece of text, quite small groups, and shorts amounts of time...Next, hold a class debriefing..."(245). It is also important to assign roles; roles are a great way to meet the learning needs of students. Roles allow each person to thrive at something they are good at. 

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