The book discusses the theory and practice of the “book club” approach to teaching reading in elementary schools, an approach Goatley said seeks to “strike a balance between students’ active participation in learning and teachers’ instructional roles,” as opposed to either a strictly top-down or a completely student-directed approach.

The book club model was developed at Michigan State between 1991 and 1995. Goatley was a graduate research assistant at the time and was involved in the project from the beginning. She edited the second section of the book, wrote a chapter based on field observations of a special education class, and co-wrote a chapter on “Classrooms as Communities.”

The book club model, which defines reading as a socio-cultural process, weaves together daily intensive reading sessions; reading logs; whole-class, teacher-led discussions; and small-group, student-led discussions. The curriculum tends to avoid conventional reading-instruction texts in favor of literary texts and texts based on student interest.

In what Goatley describes as the “next step,” she is currently directing a project at the University’s Center for English Learning and Achievement. With Department of Reading faculty member Anne McGill Franzen and Susan McMahon of the University of Wisconsin, she is pursuing a project integrating literature-based study with social studies. The team has been tracking students across the grade levels using field observations along with audio and video recordings, and applying their findings to curricular development.

John LeMay