BOOK CLUBS: BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITY AND IMPROVING LITERACY FOR UNDER-PERFORMING STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24234/miopap.v6i1.322Keywords:
Literacy, Learning Community, Under-Performing Elementary Students, Identity, Academic Performance, Authentic DialogueAbstract
Although literature has extensively documented the stereotypes of developing learning communities in schools through book clubs - especially to improve literacy - little is revealed about varied indicators of improvements, such as student selfidentification, authentic dialogues, and transforming small groups into learning communities. This paper presents research findings that seek to explore the effect of book clubs on improving literacy and building a learning community among seventh-grade, under-performing students in Canada. This paper is contextualized through a thorough review of related literature and discussion of findings from classroom observations, and students’ interviews. This paper indicates a positive, causal relationship between using a book club as a learning tool and building a learning community, to improving literacy.
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