Another thing to keep in mind is that all students should be participating fully during literature circles. If you notice a student shying away from the conversation, discuss it with that student, or join the group for a moment and draw that student into the discussion with a direct question. Learning to participate both by listening and by contributing in a meaningful discussion can be difficult for students, especially when first starting out with literature circles.
Simply finding something to say about what has been read may requires skills that many students have not yet developed. Kids have to be taught, and given plenty of examples of, how to discuss a topic in depth. In a good, meaningful discussion, all participants are accountable. In other words, they do things like:. Use clarifying questions to make sure they fully understand what others have said. The overall concept of Accountable Talk can be broken down into three simple groups of ideas or phrases that students can practice using:.
Help encourage accountable talk with your students by introducing and displaying these 3 Accountable Talk Posters! PLUS: Provide students with the printable reference sheet to keep on hand during small group discussion!
Just include those points that are most important to your class. Some examples of discussion guidelines are:. This is a skill that will only develop gradually, over an extended period of time. Patience with the students, and with yourself, is a must!
Literature circles are a powerful tool to use in your classroom. Done correctly, they will get your students truly excited about reading! Literature circles will also teach them how to:. Use their voices confidently, productively, and respectfully.
When students learn to work together, be accountable, and take responsibility for their own learning, the results are positive and rewarding. Literature Circles are the perfect way to create a positive community of readers. Roles assigned might include: Word Collector - Makes a list of interesting words found in the text Questioner - Creates a list of questions to be used to spur discussion Illustrator - Draws important characters, events or settings from the reading Connector - Makes Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self, and Text-to-World connections from the reading Summarizer - Writes a brief summary of what the group read prior to meeting.
Literature circles will also teach them how to: Work collaboratively Responsibly exercise choice in selecting subject matter Use their voices confidently, productively, and respectfully Have fun while learning!
Read Chapter 2 of the text together. Working in the Discussion Director Role, have students pause during the reading to add details to their copies of the Discussion Director role sheet; or complete the Discussion Director role sheet after the reading is complete. After the chapter has been read, have students re-read the questions on the Discussion Director role sheet and make any revisions. Arrange the class in small groups of students each. These groups are simply for practice, so they can be formed informally if desired.
Explain that each group member will serve as the Discussion Director for about 5 minutes. To make sure the process runs smoothly, have group members arrange turn-taking by deciding who will go first, second, third, and so forth.
Have the first Discussion Director begin discussion. Watch the time so that you can cue students to change roles. Provide support and feedback as appropriate. After 5 minutes have passed, ask the second person take over as Discussion Director.
Repeat this process until everyone in the class has had a chance to practice the Discussion Director role. After discussion is complete, ask students to make any additional observations about how the Discussion Director role works.
Session Four. Explain that during this session, you will act as the Vocabulary Enricher to demonstrate how to do the task. Review the requirements of the Vocabulary Enricher: clarifies word meanings and pronunciations uses research resources Point out the classroom dictionaries and other resources students can use as they serve in this role.
Pass out copies of the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet and preview the information it contains. Read Chapter 3 of the text together.
Demonstrating the Vocabulary Enricher Role, pause during the reading, as appropriate, to add details to the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet; or complete the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet after the reading is complete. Re-read the questions on the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet and make any revisions. Demonstrate how the Vocabulary Enricher would use the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet to participate in the discussion.
Allow time to discuss the chapter freely in order to show how discussion of questions and ideas that are not on the sheet is also appropriate. After discussion is complete, ask students to make observations about how the Vocabulary Enricher role works. Session Five. Review the requirements of the Vocabulary Enricher: clarifies word meanings and pronunciations uses research resources Have students get out copies of the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet and review the information it contains.
Remind students of the classroom dictionaries and other resources they can use as they serve in this role. Explain that during this session, everyone will have a chance to practice being a Vocabulary Enricher. Ask students to recall how you recorded information on the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet during the previous session in order to establish the expectations for this session. Read Chapter 4 of the text together. Working in the Vocabulary Enricher Role, have students pause during the reading to add details to their copies of the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet; or complete the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet after the reading is complete.
After the chapter has been read, have students re-read the questions on the Vocabulary Enricher role sheet and make any revisions. Explain that each group member will serve as the Vocabulary Enricher for about 5 minutes. Have the first Vocabulary Enricher begin discussion. After 5 minutes have passed, ask the second person take over as Vocabulary Enricher.
Repeat this process until everyone in the class has had a chance to practice the Vocabulary Enricher role. After discussion is complete, ask students to make any additional observations about how the Vocabulary Enricher role works. Session Six. Explain that during this session, you will act as the Literary Luminary to demonstrate how to do the task.
Review the requirements of the Literary Luminary: guides oral reading for a purpose examines figurative language, parts of speech, and vivid descriptions Pass out copies of the Literary Luminary role sheet and preview the information it contains. Read Chapter 5 of the text together. Demonstrating the Literary Luminary Role, pause during the reading, as appropriate, to add details to the Literary Luminary role sheet; or complete the Literary Luminary role sheet after the reading is complete.
Re-read the questions on the Literary Luminary role sheet and make any revisions. Demonstrate how the Literary Luminary would use the Literary Luminary role sheet to participate in the discussion.
After discussion is complete, ask students to make observations about how the Literary Luminary role works. Session Seven.
Review the requirements of the Literary Luminary: guides oral reading for a purpose examines figurative language, parts of speech, and vivid descriptions Have students get out copies of the Literary Luminary role sheet and review the information it contains.
Explain that during this session, everyone will have a chance to practice being a Literary Luminary. Ask students to recall how you recorded information on the Literary Luminary role sheet during the previous session in order to establish the expectations for this session. Read Chapter 6 of the text together. Working in the Literary Luminary Role, have students pause during the reading to add details to their copies of the Literary Luminary role sheet; or complete the Literary Luminary role sheet after the reading is complete.
After the chapter has been read, have students re-read the questions on the Literary Luminary role sheet and make any revisions. Explain that each group member will serve as the Literary Luminary for about 5 minutes. Have the first Literary Luminary begin discussion. After 5 minutes have passed, ask the second person take over as Literary Luminary.
Repeat this process until everyone in the class has had a chance to practice the Literary Luminary role. After discussion is complete, ask students to make any additional observations about how the Literary Luminary role works.
Session Eight. Explain that during this session, you will act as the Checker to demonstrate how to do the task. Review the requirements of the Checker: checks for completion of assignments evaluates participation helps monitor discussion for equal participation Pass out copies of the Checker role sheet and preview the information it contains. Every student should have one sheet, but they will not all have the same sheet.
Explain that for you to have information to record on the Checker role sheet, you need students in the class to take on the other roles. Read Chapter 7 of the text together. Pause during the reading, as appropriate, to allow students to add details to the different role sheets that they have; or have students complete the different role sheets after the reading is complete.
When the chapter is finished, have students re-read the questions on their role sheets and make any revisions. Ask student volunteers to lead the class in discussion, serving in the role that they have prepared for. As students complete their role, demonstrate how the Checker would use the Checker role sheet to participate in the discussion.
To include students more in the assessment, you might ask class members to talk about the work that each student volunteer does.
Take advantage of the opportunity to talk about positive, constructive feedback and to warn against mean or bullying comments. After discussion is complete, ask students to make observations about how the Checker role works. Session Nine. Choose 6 or more students to participate as example literature circle groups.
Select students who understand each of the roles that they are to complete well, and who will be able to understand the Checker role without as much practice as the rest of the class will have. You can ask for volunteers to serve these roles, but be sure that you choose volunteers who are confident about their ability to serve in the roles. Arrange the student volunteers in two small groups of model literature circles.
Groups will switch after 5 minutes so that everyone in the classroom can practice the Checker role. Give the student volunteers copies of the the relevant role sheets: Discussion Director , Vocabulary Enricher , and Literary Luminary.
Review the requirements of the Checker: checks for completion of assignments evaluates participation helps monitor discussion for equal participation Have students get out copies of the Checker role sheet and review the information it contains. Explain that during this session, everyone will have a chance to practice being a Checker. Ask students to recall how you recorded information on the Checker role sheet during the previous session in order to establish the expectations for this session.
Read Chapter 8 of the text together. Pause during the reading, as appropriate, to allow student volunteers to add details to the different role sheets that they have; or have students complete the different role sheets after the reading is complete. When the chapter is finished, have student volunteers re-read the questions on their role sheets and make any revisions. Ask student volunteers to complete a literature circle discussion of the chapter for other students to observe, serving in the role that they have prepared for.
If desired, you might allow students to be creative and perform at levels other than their best work. For instance, one student volunteer might participate as an uncooperative group member or as a member who has not read the text. As students complete their role, have class members use the Checker role sheet to record details on the discussion. The reason? True engagement with literature within a community of learners can't possibly be prescribed -- it can only be described. And that's the goal of this web site.
The following links explain how we define literature circles on this web site, describe the role that literature circles play in a comprehensive and balanced literacy program, and illustrate some of the changes that you might expect to see as you work with literature circles in your classroom. What Are Literature Circles? In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth.
The discussion is guided by students' response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author's craft, or personal experiences related to the story.
Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response. Perhaps the easiest way to understand what literature circles are is to examine what they are not.
Literature Circles are. Literature Circles are not. Reader response centered Teacher and text centered Part of a balanced literacy program The entire reading curriculum Groups formed by book choice Teacher-assigned groups formed solely by ability Structured for student independence, responsibility, and ownership Unstructured, uncontrolled "talk time" without accountability Guided primarily by student insights and questions Guided primarily by teacher- or curriculum-based questions Intended as a context in which to apply reading and writing skills Intended as a place to do skills work Flexible and fluid; never look the same twice Tied to a prescriptive "recipe" From Getting Started with Literature Circles by Katherine L.
Return to top Literature Circles in a Comprehensive Literacy Program Literature circles fit into a comprehensive literacy program as one way for students to apply what they are learning about reading and writing: From Chapter 1, Getting Started with Literature Circles by Katherine L.
The following chart may give you a feel for how literature circles evolve over time as teachers and students themselves change -- gaining experience, confidence, and insights to do things differently. The chart isn't based on one teacher's experience, but a composite of some of the possible steps teachers take as they work with literature circles.
Think of this as a continuum of development -- flexible and highly subjective.
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