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 After
six years of teaching I began a family of my own. During this time
two significant things happened to greatly influence the development
of The Book Club Game. One was I became an avid reader of children’s
literature through reading with my own children. Even when they
began to read I continued to read the books they were reading and
always
had a book that I was reading to them that I tried to keep above
their reading levels. I loved every second of this reading and
became quite an enthusiast about literature that I had never had
the time
to read as a student or teacher. I am so grateful for this time
as both my boys became avid readers and I became a much more knowledgeable
reading specialist able to direct my reluctant student and parent
readers to enticing page turners. All during my early parenting
I
also tutored so that I could be home with my children. The students
who came to me were often turned off to traditional teaching methods
( ie pencil pushing, workbooks, writing answers). Many were not
connecting
what they were reading to their own lives. Further, many of them
and their parents didn’t know what books to read. Parents
and their children, in most cases, did not read together, let alone
read
on their own. It was up to me to help them create a “reading
habit”. The Book Club Game was born out of my attempt to
get parents and kids reading together, building comprehension skills
in a fun and painless way. The unexpected byproduct of the game
was
that child and parent were sharing parts of their lives with each
other and bonding like never before. I have had many a teary- eyed
parent tell me how much he has learned about his child through
the game! Others told me how their shy children were becoming confident
speakers by playing the game. Still others couldn’t believe
how reading was replacing TV and video games in their homes.
 With my students and my own children I began to form book club
groups using the game as their culminating activity as they “played
the book”. The groups spread out to our public library and
local bookstores where many were gathering biweekly after reading
the same books.
Upon my return to the classroom, as my children got older, I was
able to revise The Book Club Game making it classroom friendly
and meta-cognitive while acknowledging the many standards it reinforces.
I was also
able to write The Book Club Game Extension Activity Booklet with
classroom activities (reproducibles) based on the game and extending
vocabulary development, predicting, writing, and other communication
and comprehension skills. I’ve also field tested the additional
book lists and cards, oversized game board and laminated question
book markers...all motivating gadgets strongly supporting reading
and building comprehension that kids and teachers really do love
to use.
Recently as I sat in a familiar lecture hall at UCLA, now as a
parent of my incoming freshman, I was particularly moved by the
professor’s
words. He told us that success at this level would be determined
by the students’ ability to now take what is learned and
apply it to new situations as opposed to regurgitating facts learned.
Many
of the incoming freshmen might find this an adjustment from high
school learning. He assured us that many of our students would
face the new challenge of having to read much more than they ever
did
in high school. As I sat and listened I thought of The Book Club
Game and how it directly addresses both of these areas beginning
at a  very
early age. The questions involved constantly ask students to apply
what is read to new situations, their lives and the lives
of others they know or other literary characters and their worlds.
These thought processes might begin with the game even before the
student is reading. Secondly, the game develops a genuine love
for reading where the student always has “a book in progress”.
The book lists provide an excellent starting point and resource
for this. The importance of reading beyond what is expected in
school
for students of all grades cannot be emphasized enough. Recreational
reading should and can be a joy throughout one’s life. It
is a simple, but well-known fact, that the more one reads, the
better
reader he becomes!
It gives me great pleasure to make this game available to you for
these very reasons. It will develop and reinforce the thinking
skills not only important for the future, but so important for
the very
appreciation of the magic of reading. The game can also create
a “reading
habit” for students, teachers, and families that will lock
in that reading ability.
I am a passionate reading specialist who loves to share the joy, wonder, and
enlightenment of reading with others. I am always excited about starting classroom,
neighborhood, and community book clubs. Please contact
me if I can be of assistance
whether it will be for family, friends, professional groups, or the classroom.
Sincerely,
Teri Azar
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