INTRODUCTION

Passion and power are two key words for children

as they become story-tellers and story-readers
themselves. The ability to read well and use
language for a variety of purposes gives huge
power in modern day life but without the passion in
our hearts, we would not have the love of
language, urge to read, sense to understand the
other and imagination to lose ourselves in the
wonder of stories.
Reading is vital, we all agree. But, if it is viewed as
a task, children would avoid it at all costs. They
might even develop an aversion towards reading.
They might read better as they progress through
grades but choose to do it less and less each year.
Hence, it becomes utmost important not only to
enable our children to read and treat books as
vehicles to collect information but to grow in them
a love for reading that will last a lifetime and
project books as a means of widening the horizon
of knowledge and wisdom. Reading gives dreams
and offers children the possibility of entering the
world of imagination and fascination experiencing
the power and possibility of using stories as places
to locate feelings/perspectives (which are not
experienced before) and explore them. Stories are
a part of our conversation, our recollections of life:
they help us to make sense of the world,

appreciate different ways of life, actions,

perspectives, cultures, etc. and develop the
divergent out-look. Reading therefore helps
develop a sense of reason and judgment that is not
idle, but based on lived/imagined experiences. This
lifetime love of reading is the ultimate gift we can
give to our children.

LITERARY CLUBS
An English club is a place for ESL language learners
to use English beyond the ESL classroom and in
real life situations. The practice of the language

skills in the classroom is crucial, but it is not

enough to master the language. In the English
club, the students have the chance to use different
skills and discuss a variety of topics.
There are many reasons for creating an English
club. Students who lack interaction, motivation in
the classroom, either because they are introvert,
shy or they have a low language level, the English
club might be a good solution to involve them with
their friends in doing various activities and to make
weak student active. The good thing about creating
an English club giving chance to students to study
English with fun and it is also a place for students
to improve their English. For instance, students can
be given stories and books to enhance their writing
skills. They also watch documentaries, films, listen
to songs and engage in discussions with their
teacher; they can play games and sports to change
the atmosphere and practice the language in funny
ways. The English club paves the way to students
to build up their personality, discover, understand
and become themselves and develop their cultural
competences. It makes them aware of the national
and international issues and events; so that they
can be useful for themselves and for their
community as well as to develop their sense of
citizenship and belonging.
In addition, there are other goals for creating an
English club:

Enhancing communication and collaboration.

Fostering creativity and innovation.
Encouraging autonomous learning.
Creating an atmosphere of ease and relaxation.
Cultivating good hobbies and habits.

FUNCTIONS OF LITERARY CLUBS

Gradation of the Books
o Step 1
Identifying the levels of the books to be
read according to the children in a
particular grade.
o Step 2
Identifying various possible genres to
be explored on the basis of the grade
and then dividing them in each level.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE LITERATURE CLUB
o Introduction of a genre
The teacher can either read aloud any
book from the chosen genre/level or
simply brainstorm about it, eliciting

what children already know about it.

The class would be reading stories
belonging to that particular genre and
celebrating (for e.g. Celebrating Poem
Month) it for the entire month.
o Exploring and reading stories
After initiating the process and creating
curiosity
among
children
for
a
particular genre to be read, the
children would be issued with the
books every week (according to their
levels). Each child must read at least 34 books of the same genre. The
Literature Club Periods would be
devoted to read/ explore books of the
same genre, talk about them and their
characteristics which determine the
genre, they belong to.
o Culmination of a genre through a project
This way, the read-aloud sessions and
the discussions in the class would lead
to a common understanding about the
features of that particular genre. Then,
the culmination of the genre would
take place through a project which can
be decided by the classes as per the
interest and the genre.

CONCLUSION
With the intention of experiencing this sheer joy
that reading books, brings in our lives, and
developing a culture where a child picks up a book
to read because she wants to and not because she
has to, the Literature Club came into the picture.
Literature Club is a setting where reading is taking
place for the sheer joy of it. It does not only help us
in developing in children a love and passion for
reading but also provide them with an opportunity
to get exposed to a range of genres like fairy tales,
fables, myths & legends, tall tales, character
series, comics, silly stories, humorous, folk tales
and many more... It opens up the world of
literature for them... This exposure helps them to
understand how literature can be divided on the
basis of genre (keeping format, content, style of
writing, structure and other components in mind),
acknowledge the importance of using the literal
understanding of the text, start understanding
their own likings/disliking, make the appropriate
choices/responses to their reading and eventually
find their own interests and voices in the world of
literature. Reading during Literature Club Periods
also gives time, texts and opportunities to our
children to enrich vocabulary and
practice/consolidate their reading strategies and
skills which they gain during guided reading
lessons in Language Skill Periods.

Together with, reading authentic literature allows

children to gain some ownership over the book
read and make choices in the way they will
respond (text based or reader based) to their
reading. Discussing the style of writing, tone,
vocabulary, plot/conflict and author's point of view
in stories belonging to different genres helps
children to understand author's craft and widen
their linguistics abilities. This way, children would
eventually learn to be better writers taking help
from what they read. They would read like writers
and learn how authors write differently, engaging
with them. The more children read and find it
pleasurable, the more their work reflects wider
horizons, the more they employ book language to
create feelings, thoughts and questions, the more
they experiment with plots, themes, and ideas
while writing and the more they have to draw upon
while making literacy choices for particular
situations and purposes.