reading group facilitators

[joko]

I have been asked to consider being one of these either for kids or the elderly, but i am not entirely sure what this involves.
is it like a book group (all read a book and then discuss it) or do i read aloud to the group? do we take it in turns and i supervise...?

they said training would be provided, but i would just like to know what would be expected of me - can anyone give me a rundown of the role
thanks

[SaxyJag]

What usually happens at a reading group is that members decide beforehand which book they're all going to read, and then they meet and discuss it, and decide on the next book. So yes, it's just another name for a book group.

Your role as facilitator would be varied, according to what sort of group it is. You could be asked to arrange a meeting place, lead the discussion, obtain and distribute the books (our library has a reading groups' facility, where registered groups can borrow sets of books) and a host of other stuff. It's mainly administrative.

There may be specialist groups that help members to improve their reading skills, and I would imagine your training will cover that if it's necessary. It may also give you some help on knowing how to lead discussions and what to pick out of the books as cues for discussion.

[DotH]

I would guess that it would be more rewarding and worthwhile to focus on a group for the elderly, as children do have access to reading lessons and books more at school, plus with the curriculum how it is, it would be difficult to judge the reading level/ ability of some children. people of more senior years may already read alot, but lack the opportunity to enter into more intense discussion about what they have read, and in particular it would be wonderful to have people reading books about 20th century fictional or factual experiences, to offer them perhaps a more personal and reflective engagement with the subject matter.