Decide where you want the group to meet. Host a group at your home or take turns at members' homes, if you are a parent. For teachers and volunteers, hosting your group at an elementary school or public library is ideal. Invite children of a similar age, such as pupils from your class or friends of your children, to be part of the group. For groups with younger children, you may wish to read material together and practice reading skills and drills. With older children, assign them a book to read on their own and discuss it at the meetings.
Schedule a consistent day and time to meet each month, whether it is once a week or once a month. Try a Saturday morning or weekday evening when inviting your child's friends, or designate one day after school to extend your students' school day. Encourage the children's parents to be active participants in the group, as well. Although any public library or school hosted reading program will require parent permission, it is not a requirement for home groups.
Contact your children's school librarian, teacher or public librarian for suggestions on books and reading materials suitable for your literature group. Search online at Children's Literature Network for resources on book titles and authors.
Enlist other parents to help you research literature sources and provide topic suggestions for your home group. Prepare a reading list for the year and make a plan about where to obtain books. Coordinate with the public library and check out the number of books needed or ask them if they can order them from other libraries. Visit online sites such as amazon.com or BookFinder.com and purchase used books. Obtain discounts and ask parents to buy books from bookstores and vendors.
Make up discussion questions and print them out before you meet. Tap into online sources, such as Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site for younger children or Glencoe Literature Library for older students. Ask participants to write down answers. Examine responses as a group. Discuss reasons why one child liked the book while another one did not. Analyze characters and discuss how they may relate to the children's lives. Delve into each child's imagination and have her create a scenario that could occur if the book continued after the ending.
Provide enhancements to the group such as scheduling related field trips. Role-play scenes in the book. Attend movies made from books and discuss the differences. Invite guest speakers to provide more insight on topical books. Record each child's voice and listen to his reading technique and tone.