Students Help Alumna Teacher Create Virtual Book Club

by Erikah Haavie

Students in Dr. Katie Kelly’s EDU 331 class have teamed up with fourth-graders at Roebuck Elementary School in Spartanburg District 6 for virtual book clubs this spring! The Furman students created book trailers to share some of their favorite reads with their new book buddies in Furman alumna Alyssa Cameron’s class. Her students viewed the trailers, signed up for the books they want to read, and created reading calendars for the month to break up the chapters. The Roebuck and Furman students then discuss the books through Edmodo. It’s been a great way for Furman students to learn how to assess the fourth-graders’ reading comprehension while sharing their own love of reading. Check out this book trailer by Grace Mather ‘22!

Check out the video on our social page!

UPDATE: March 5th

Students in Dr. Katie Kelly’s EDU 331 class were able to meet their fourth-grade book buddies for the first time this week. The Roebuck Elementary students have been chatting asynchronously with Furman education majors about books and reading, but this week gave them a chance to actually “meet” each other on Zoom. “When I stopped to look around my room, every single child was talking, smiling, and fully participating,” said fourth-grade teacher Alyssa Cameron ’14 (M.A. ’16). “These book clubs proved so clearly that kids are ready to talk, ready to grow, and able to have BIG conversations. Reading DOES make a difference…”