Project LIT, a book club at Independence, encourages students to read while engaging with one another. Project LIT is a community of readers who are brought together through books. These readers are groups of students in schools all throughout the nation who are interested in reading and coming together to talk about one of the two books from that month.
Every school involved in Project LIT is given a list of books to choose from at the beginning of every school year. The chapter leader then picks two books every month from that list for the group to read. The members then choose one of the two books to read and talk about it at the meeting later in the month.
Independence High School has their very own Project LIT book club run by Mrs. Lisa Preston and Mrs. Lisa Hughes. Both are English teachers at Independence and started the club earlier in the school year. “I really liked the idea of building a community of readers. I also like the idea of diverse readers,” said Preston when talking about becoming a chapter leader. “We’ve discussed how important it is to move on from the normal candidate of books and it is opening my mind.”
The list of books and discussion questions provided is chosen by Project LIT and includes many diverse texts, such as The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater. “It is a really interesting way to learn about people and their cultures,” says Anna Johnson, one of the Project LIT club participants. “A lot of the books are not stereotypical, and it’s a good way to branch out.”
Along with providing an outlet to talk about books and socialize with other readers, Project LIT has many benefits. “When we read, we build our empathy,” explained Preston. “You find people that enjoy talking and reading books, but you also grow your mindset by learning more about different communities.”
Every month, the club holds a meeting to give the readers an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas about the book they chose. Independence’s Project LIT club held their most recent meeting on February 26 earlier this year. The two books from this past month were Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson and A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi.
Due to the current LCPS closure, Project LIT has been cancelled for the rest of the school year, but will start up again for the 2020-2021 school year. Although the club is no longer going on, the list of the books chosen for this year can be found on Jarred Amato’s, the founder of Project LIT, website.
Students who would like more information about Project LIT can contact Mrs. Preston or Mrs. Hughes.