ABSTRACT
It is lunchtime at a north-central rural Pennsylvania public school. Kids have carried their packed lunches and trays to my classroom to discuss Divergent, a book by Veronica Roth.
The discussion begins: “I loved the book!” “Me, too!” “Best. Book. Eva!” In many ways, the extracurricular book club I had started with my students
was a teacher’s dream. The students were avid readers who were so motivated by the books I dangled in front of them that they signed up voluntarily and were willing to devote a lunch period to talking about what they were reading. However, I found quickly that the depth of discussion was a serious problem. When we fi rst began, conversation went nowhere. The kids were ravenous readers, but when it came to discussing the books, they waited for me to ask the questions. There were times when I felt like I was a dentist trying to extract the molar of a reluctant child. Trying to pry open their thoughts proved diffi - cult. Their answers generally were basic, and only occasionally would a deep insight develop.
