Help Us Continue a Tradition of Great Conversations
The Great Books Foundation began in July 1947 with a mission to promote lifelong education and civil discourse through the reading and discussion of outstanding literature. Today, we’ve extended that mission to people of all ages, and we facilitate the discussion of ideas expressed not only through literature, but in artwork and media of any form. We continue to innovate, amplifying ideas from diverse sources, as we create reading and discussion programs for students, teachers, and adult learners.
See what we are doing to celebrate our 75th anniversary!
Who We Are
We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit best known for having originated the Shared Inquiry method of teaching and learning. Our flagship K–8 program, Junior Great Books®, has been a favorite of teachers and students for more than 7 decades. We believe that literacy and critical thinking help form reflective, knowledgeable citizens equipped to participate constructively in a democratic society.
Our Mission
The mission of the Great Books Foundation is to advance the critical, reflective thinking and social and civic engagement of people of all ages through Shared Inquiry™ discussion of works and ideas of enduring value.
JUNIOR GREAT BOOKS
Join the Conversation
View this video, featuring Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta, Georgia, to see how Junior Great Books programs help students at all levels express their ideas, listen carefully to others, and create more collaborative, caring communities.
New!
Earn Shared Inquiry Badges with Great Books Training
We want to recognize your expertise in Shared Inquiry™ and make it simpler to share your achievements with others. Beginning this June the Great Books Foundation will issue a Shared Inquiry Leader digital badge to participants who complete the Shared Inquiry Essentials course.
In addition to the Shared Inquiry Leader badge, Great Books will be awarding badges that recognize higher levels of professional learning.
What People Are Saying
Junior Great Books provides multiple entry points for kids to show what they know through discourse. It is an equity piece in our curriculum, because the kids really feel as though . . . they have something to offer in a very safe environment. I see Great Books as a huge equalizer to have students of all abilities understand that their ideas are valued.
Junior Great Books teaches me how to talk to someone. It helps me think about how other people are dealing with stuff and how I could be a better person to help them get through that stuff.
[Students’] critical and analytical thinking skills have greatly improved over the course of the year as we are working through these stories. The fact that my students are able to come up with mul-tiple answers to the same question and defend them is one of the other areas where I have seen the habits of Shared Inquiry carry over into other things that we do. Students are able to cite text evidence to support their responses on a much greater and deeper level than they had been before, and I attribute that to what we are doing with them with the Junior Great Books conversations.
Lower-ability readers worked collaboratively with high-level readers. The high-level readers gained oral skills and became more comfortable speaking in class. The lower-level readers gained confidence and deeper thinking skills. Each group grew in their thinking, writing, and reading skills. Best, they learned social and interactive skills.
The Shared Inquiry strategies and the way we interact with a text can be used with any genre. We use it with poetry, we use it with nonfiction, we use it in preparation for our state testing.
For students that are age 5 or 13 right now, we don’t know what the world is going to look like when they’re 25. I think Shared Inquiry then is a really powerful way to help kids learn how to think, how to analyze, ask and answer questions, the kind of skill set that in 20 years [will] be very helpful in every aspect of your life.
We see a huge increase in student engagement when we use Great Books materials and the Shared Inquiry method. Just the level of excitement that kids get about being able to be invited into a text and have their own ideas be safe and acceptable in a large group is really meaningful and gives them ownership, and therefore, student engagement increases.
The students have gained confidence in sharing their ideas with explanations. They also communicate respectfully and have come to understand that different ideas and opinions are acceptable!
In today’s world, what most companies or jobs are looking for is the ability to collaborate well, and I think the best collaborators are those that know how to listen to others, to take different points of view, and then take on a leadership role . . . That is a skill that is just going to be beyond helpful to students, and the fact that they are getting to practice it now, in a safe place through fun stories, is the greatest.
My experiences with using the JGB curriculum have been nothing less than amazing! I have observed the growth of my students in every grade level where I’ve used the curriculum.
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In part 1 of this series, we explored how the professional development designed by the Great Books Foundation incorporates adult learning principles and practices with a focus on Jean Piaget. Specifically, we looked at Schema Theory, assimilation and accommodation, and equilibrium and disequilibrium. In this installment, we will look atContinue reading
Black History Month is an opportunity to share the voices of Black writers, illustrators, and thinkers within your community—whether your group is a school, a library, or even your own family. We have many options, found on our website, for texts that classrooms from K–12 can use that speak toContinue reading