Building Readers Through Bilingual Book Clubs: Increasing Engagement and Motivation of Fourth Grade English Learners
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Tatyana Romashenko
Sedalia Middle School, Sedalia, Missouri
Introduction
This project focuses on improving engagement and motivation among fourth-grade English Learners by implementing bilingual book clubs. Students are given high-interest, low-level bilingual texts. The main goal is to create a supportive environment in which students build confidence, improve comprehension, and actively participate in literacy activities.
This project helps fourth-grade English Learners enjoy reading more. Students read books in both English and Spanish and talk about them in small groups (book clubs). They can use both languages to share ideas.
This project incorporates bilingual books, group discussions, and simple supports such as sentence frames, vocabulary activities, and drawing. Research shows that using both languages helps students understand better and feel more confident (Espinosa & Ascenzi-Moreno, 2021; Semingson et al., 2015). Working in groups also helps students stay motivated and learn from each other (Kline, 2024; Tang et al., 2021).
Step-by-Step Plan
Step 1: Purchase and organize high-interest, low-level bilingual Books
Give the students surveys to fill out (one before the book clubs and one after two weeks of book clubs)
Order bilingual and culturally relevant books
Organize into leveled book club sets
Step 2: Start Bilingual Book Clubs
Students will be grouped by language proficiency
Students use translanguaging during book club discussions
Sentence frames in English and Spanish will be utilized
·Students will meet with the teacher for structured book club meetings, discussions, progress monitoring, and assessment twice a week - Mondays and Fridays
On Mondays, the teacher introduces the book for the week and provides clear directions for the next three days
On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, participation and engagement are observed
On Fridays, the teacher meets to discuss the reading, perform comprehension checks, and conduct any assessments and/or projects for the reading of the week
Timeline
March
Buy and organize books
Give beginning survey
April
Start book clubs
Observe student participation
Give the ending survey
Review student progress
Materials
Language Lizard
Habitat Series Bilingual Books
Lion Fables (English/Spanish)
Happy After All (English/Spanish)
The Biscuit Moon (English/Spanish)
We Can All Be Friends (English/Spanish)
Errol’s Garden (English/Spanish)
My Bilingual Talking Dictionary (English/Spanish)
VOX Books (Audio Books)
Whatever Comes Tomorrow (English/Spanish)
My Mind is a Mountain / Mi mente es una montaña (English/Spanish)
Do I Belong Here? / ¿Es este mi lugar? (English/Spanish)
Side by Side: Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez (English/Spanish)
Maya and Annie on Saturdays and Sundays (English/Spanish)
Amazon
I Can Do Hard Things / Yo Puedo Hacer Cosas Difíciles (English/Spanish)
The Mexiglish Girl / La Chica Mexiglish (English/Spanish)
Sustainability
This project can continue every year. The books can be reused, and more books can be added over time. Teachers can keep using book clubs in reading class. The same idea can also be used in other grades or with other languages.
Reflections
This project helped students feel more confident. Many students talked more and shared ideas because they could use their home language. Students also understood the stories better. One challenge was that some students had different reading levels. This was solved by putting students in the right groups and giving extra help when needed. Another challenge was not having enough bilingual books. This can be improved by adding more books in the future.
I recommend this project for other teachers with English Learners. Let students use both languages. It helps them feel comfortable, learn more, and enjoy reading.
References
Espinosa, C. M., & Ascenzi-Moreno, L. (2021). Rooted in strength: Using translanguaging to grow multilingual readers and writers. Scholastic Inc.
Kline, D. (2024). Implementation of book clubs and its effects on student motivation. Florida Atlantic University Lab Schools. https://labschools.fau.edu/teacher-research/articles/implementation-of-book-clubs-kline/index.php
Semingson, P., Pole, K., & Tommerdahl, J. (2015). Using bilingual books to enhance literacy around the world. European Scientific Journal, 3(Special Edition), 1–13. https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/5216/5014
Tang, S., Irby, B. J., Tong, F., & Lara-Alecio, R. (2021). The effects of cooperative, collaborative, and peer-tutoring strategies on English learners’ reading and speaking proficiencies. SAGE Open, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211060823
