Using Book Clubs to Improve Literacy Among Under-Performing Students

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 self-identification, authentic dialogues, and transforming small groups into learning communities. In this respect, formal efforts on adopting book clubs to improve literacy in Saudi Arabia are simply absent. This book presents research findings that seek to explore the effect of book clubs on improving literacy and building a learning community among seventh-grade, underperforming students in Canada. This book is contextualized through a thorough review of related literature and discussion of findings from classroom observations, and students' interviews. The completion of this work indicates positive, causal relationships between using a book club as a learning tool and building a learning community, thus improving literacy. The research concludes with implications for using book clubs in Saudi Arabia.