Each week we'll follow the same format. While the beginning of the class starts with the instructor leading the group, the last half of the class is all about students discussing books with each other and chatting in a more social way. 

RECENT BOOKS & BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
Each week we'll kick off book club by talking about any fantasy book we are reading or have recently read.

WEEKLY THEME: 
Then we'll discuss one aspect/theme from our favorite fantasy books. 
We'll start by discussing a writing craft issue or literary theme in a fantasy books every week, but your learner can also bring up examples from other books or narratives with which they're familiar as well. 

CLASS IS EDUCATIONAL & INVOKES EXAMPLES AND OUTSIDE CONNECTIONS: 
For example: if our theme is anti-heroes, and we're talking about Snape in Harry Potter, your learner is welcome to also bring up other anti-heroes, like Loki from the Marvel Comics Universe.

CLASS TEACHES WRITING CRAFT AND LITERATURE IN WAYS THAT ARE EASY TO FOLLOW: 
The instructor will use slides to discuss the fantasy theme of the week. 
Learners will be asked to come up with examples for the theme. 
Sample question: Can you think of a book that has a really great villain? What makes the villain so satisfying? Does an excellent villain have certain qualities that a less engaging villain lacks? 

From there we'll grow the conversation to ask broader questions that incite the imagination. For example:
--If you were writing a book, what kind of villain would you create?
--Would your villain have a history or backstory that explained their bad behavior?

WEEKLY CLASS THEMES: 
Here are our first four weeks of lessons, including the craft theme for the week: 
Week of June 30th: Excellent Villains
Week of July 7th: World Building 
Week of July 14th: Plot Turning Points
Week of July 21st: The Secret Sauce in Fantasy Books -- aka Universal Fantasies

Recommended books: This is a book club where learners can discuss specific aspects of their favorite fantasy books--so where do we start? Below is a group of popular books/fantasy series my students often mention.  Our club may decide to read a book together, or your learner can begin reading a few of the books below if they haven't already: 
Shadow & Bone (Leigh Bardugo)
Keeper of the Lost Cities (Shannon Messenger)
City of Bone (Cassandra Clare) 
Red Queen (Victoria Aveyard) 
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Uglies (Scott Westerfeld)
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L'Engle)
Over Sea, Under Stone (Susan Cooper) 
Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula LeGuin)
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
Wings of Fire (Tui T. Sutherland)
(ask instructor for a full list including children's fantasy novels) 

CLASS IS DISCUSSION ORIENTED, BUT FANTASY BASED:
Learners are encouraged to discuss books that they are currently reading--especially if they recommend it--even if they are not fantasy books. However, the main focus of the club is fantasy.

CLASS IS FUN!
At the end of every class we'll hand out our Fantasy Oscars. We'll give imaginary Oscars (for example) to heroes and villains that most in the class lurv, or a favorite Oscar will go to best magical device in a fantasy book, or best fantasy magic systems.

THIS CLASS REQUIRES HARD COPY BOOKS:
--Learners will get practice in finding specific moments of their book to discuss. To do so, learners will want to have a physical copies of their favorite books on hand. 
--Readers can borrow books from libraries for this ongoing class, but it's important to have a hard copy on hand for the day of the meeting. We'll be turning to certain pages of the book and discussing certain parts. Used books are often an economical alternative to buying new books. Library books are excellent--but sometimes not available or must be returned before class. 
--It's much harder to find specific moments in ebooks, and pretty impossible to do with audio books.