A Book Club Model for Social Interaction and...

A Book Club Model for Social Interaction and Community

Inclusion Tom Fish, Ph.D.,

Elizabeth Beu

OCALICON 2014

November 2014

[email protected]

A Book Club What A Novel Idea

The Next Chapter Book Club integrates lifelong learning and social activity in a

community setting

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Why start a book club for people with developmental disabilities?

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Barriers to Lifelong Learning Prevailing social attitudes are that people with intellectual

and developmental disabilities are not: • Interested in, or capable of, learning after high school • Interested in reading or books

Barriers to Community Inclusion While people with IDD are increasingly living in the

community, their participation is often marked by: • Limited opportunities for social interaction • Segregated social activities • Reliance on others for transportation and permission • A system that does not promote spontaneity

Next Chapter Book Club Model

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Social Connectedness

Literacy Learning

Community Inclusion

Next Chapter Book Club

Next Chapter Book Club Goal

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The goal of the program is for members to interact more frequently, and in new ways, with

• Books and a variety of written/oral communication

• each other, and • the community around them.

Next Chapter Book Club Locations

The NCBC has grown from 2 book clubs in Columbus, Ohio to over 250 throughout the U.S., Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany

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Next Chapter Book Club In the Beginning (2002)

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Assumptions • Members would want or need to listen to books on

tape • Clubs would meet once or twice a month • Professionals would facilitate clubs

Our first book clubs taught us • Members want to carry, read, and look at books • Weekly meetings encourage attendance and retention • Volunteers enrich the program

Next Chapter Book Club Who Can Be a Member?

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• Every effort is made to accommodate anyone who would like to join

• Again, reading level is not a factor

• Only disruptive or aggressive behavior may disqualify someone from membership

• Prospective members are encouraged to visit existing clubs if possible

Next Chapter Book Club Club Composition

• 5 to 8 members in each club

• Each club has its own personality

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Next Chapter Book Club Decision-Making Opportunities

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Members decide

• Which book they want to read

• How they read the book (How do we decide who reads next?)

• How they want to organize meetings (How much time do we want to spend socializing?)

• How much they want to read, talk, and share

Next Chapter Book Club Sample of Reading Material

Adapted Classics • Black Beauty • Moby Dick • The Secret Garden • The Call of the Wild • Little Women • The Wind in the Willows • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Popular Fiction • Because of Winn-Dixie • Where the Red Fern Grows • Charlotte’s Web • Harry Potter series • Books by Beverly Cleary

Other • Newspaper/sports page • Non-fiction (Count Us In,

Chicken Soup series)

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Next Chapter Book Club Short stories for NCBC members

Why write short stories for NCBC members?

• Difficulty identifying Hi-Lo (high interest, low reading level) reading material for book clubs

• Majority of books written in “simple language” are written for children

• Classic stories, though adapted, can seem irrelevant to members’ lives

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Next Chapter Book Club Facilitator Recruitment

• Listserv postings (i.e. English and Social Work departments in universities)

• Disability Organizations

• Newsletters, newspaper, and magazine articles

• Current facilitators and word of mouth

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Next Chapter Book Club Facilitator Support

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• Typically 2 (volunteer) facilitators per club

• Be sure facilitators know who to contact for help

• Customize training based on Experience leading a group Experience with people with disabilities

• Make roles and responsibilities clear

Next Chapter Book Club Facilitator Comment

“Our time together is a strong reminder of the incredible diversity and talent within people, just waiting for an opportunity to be heard. We have all become real friends and to a great extent, have positively changed each other's lives.”

– NCBC facilitators Suzzanne, Mike, and Mikey

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Next Chapter Book Club Facilitating a Book Club

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The primary role of the facilitator is to support members and encourage

• Literacy learning

• Social connectedness

• Community inclusion

…for the length of at least one book

Next Chapter Book Club Model: Literacy Learning

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Literacy Learning


Next Chapter Book Club Literacy & Communication Strategies

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• Respond to all communication

• Give members a word for their experiences

• Keep everyone involved in the discussion

• Treat events in the book as bridges to personal stories

• Talk in a turn-taking style to model conversation skills (discourage monologues)


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• Say one thing, then wait for member to respond

• Be animated in your conversations

• Avoid making discussions about the book feel like a quiz for members

• The goal is for members to interact more frequently, and in new ways


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Although members do improve literacy skills, we focus on reading to learn, as opposed to learning to read

Next Chapter Book Club Member Comment

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“This is what I’ve wanted to do all my life. Since I’ve been in the book club I’ve been learning.” – Gary age 60

Next Chapter Book Club Literacy & Communication Activities

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• One More Time – After a member has read a page or particularly important part of the story, stop to ask a question about what just happened, why it happened, or for ex., “Do you think this character is happy or afraid?”

• Words of the Week – Ask members to choose a word from the book and write it in their notebooks. The following week, review last week’s words and discuss their meanings.

• Word List – Develop a running glossary of words from the book that are unfamiliar to your members.


for Emergent Readers

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• Echo reading – When helping a member who does not read, position yourself next to that member, if possible. Point to the word or words you are reading and encourage the member to follow along.

After a brief pause, say the word(s) and wait for him or her to “echo” the word(s) back.

Encourage the members to try some smaller words on their own. You may be surprised by what they know! However, spending too much time on sounding out words can cause other members to lose interest.


for All Readers

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• Picture It – Ask members to picture a particular scene in the story and describe what it looks like to the group. For example, if you are reading about a walk through an enchanted forest, ask members to talk about what they “see” in the forest.

• Point to It – Illustrations are an excellent way to engage non-readers. Call the groups’ attention to the picture and ask questions such as, “What is happening in this picture?”

Next Chapter Book Club Model: Social Connectedness

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Social Connectedness


Next Chapter Book Club Social Connectedness Strategies

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Encourage participation

• Use gentle encouragers “Jane, would you please help Tim find page 40?”

• Make comments to open up the conversation; ask open-ended or either/or questions

• Respond to participation with positive reinforcement “Great job! Thanks for reading.”


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Encourage appropriate social behavior

• Model skills Introduce yourself to new people Extend conversations with follow-up questions and

comments

• Ask members to help each other Members can help each other sound out words and find

the correct page in the book

Next Chapter Book Club Member Comment

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“My favorite part of book club is reading and getting to know new people and hanging out with friends.”

– Bryan age 23


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Encourage friendships • Exchange phone

numbers

• Initiate conversations by pointing out mutual interests

• Make sure members know each other’s names

Next Chapter Book Club Model: Community Inclusion

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Community Inclusion


Next Chapter Book Club Community Inclusion

Natural and inviting community settings are unique and central to the NCBC model

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NCBC host sites include bookstores, cafés, and coffee shops

• For ex. Barnes & Noble, Panera Bread, Starbucks

• Or wherever the public gathers in your community

We do not meet in isolated settings • Workshops and agencies

• Library meeting rooms

• Individual homes, schools, churches, etc.


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Benefits to members • Meaningful engagement in the community

• Ordering and purchasing refreshments independently or with support

• Authentic opportunities to practice social skills

Benefits to communities • Increased exposure to and awareness of people with

disabilities (opportunities for attitude change)

• Enhanced diversity within community

Next Chapter Book Club Sustainability

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• Like most programs, NCBCs thrive when there is someone to champion the cause

• Though clubs can be low-maintenance, success depends on intentionality of program staff

• Regular meetings with collaborative partners help to ensure each party is holding up its end of the bargain

• Consider taking breaks (e.g. during the summer) then “ramp back up” to pique interest

Lessons We Have Learned

• People love to learn and be asked about their ideas, feelings, and opinions.

• Group support is a key ingredient for life-long learning activities.

• Being in the community helps everyone. • Individuals with IDD thrive when they are

given the opportunities to.

Exciting News!

Next Chapter Book Club will be sponsoring a national conference on adult literacy and life-long learning in Chicago, April 17-18, 2015. The purpose of this event will be to bring people together who have had experiences with the Next Chapter Book Club and Jot It Down to share their experiences, learn from one another, and develop other exciting opportunities in the area of adult learning.

Elizabeth’s Experience as a Co-Facilitator

• Who is in my club and what do we read and discuss?

• What have I learned? • What do I like about my club? • How has my club helped me? • The value of the club for people with Autism. • The challenges that my club has faced.

JOT IT DOWN…

What is Jot It Down?

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Members of Jot It Down work individually and collaboratively to write

• Stories • Poems • Letters and postcards • MadLibs • Blog posts …among other projects

Jot It Down Objectives

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• To encourage creative thinking among individuals with developmental disabilities

• To actively engage with technologies (iPad, e.g.) the members are likely to see other people using

• To empower members to express themselves

Jot It Down What We Learned

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Our first Jot It Down groups taught us • Members of the group enjoy working collaboratively.

• Stories naturally follow a narrative arc: beginning, middle, and end.

• The amount of “teaching” is less than originally thought.

• Members love engaging with technology such as iPad, and also “writing out loud.”

Jot It Down Activities

Story Cubes: Starting with “Once upon a time...” members roll cubes and use the images to create a narrative.

MadLibs: Members insert basic parts of speech in blind form then read back the finished story.

Parts of Speech: using basic parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb—used with other activities such as MadLibs.


Letters: Members write a letter (or postcard) to an individual of their choosing. The facilitator collects and mails the finished letters.

Play Scribe: While the rest of the group works verbally on creating a story, one member types.

Interest Profile: Members develop a list of things they like that can be used to help create stories.


Diary: Spend the first few minutes having members write in a notebook. They write whatever they wish before moving on to another activity.

Last Week…: Last Week can be used in conjunction with the diary activity. Ask members what they did last week and have them write about it.

Prepare for Your Meeting: In a supportive, group context, Jot It Down members can identify and write down (via pen/paper, a scribe, iPad, etc.) their wants and needs to bring with them to their next Individualized Service Plan meeting.

Chapters Ahead Project Staff

Tom Fish, Ph.D., LISW-S (614) 685-8723 [email protected]

Jillian Ober, M.A., CRC

(614) 685-6718 [email protected] [email protected]

Rachel Blackburn, B.S. (614) 293-6945 [email protected]

Paula Rabidoux, Ph.D./CCC-

SLP (614) 688-8472 [email protected]

45 www.nextchapterbookclub.org

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