Download - Literature circles
Educators’ NetworkLiterature Circles
By Sarah Pickles
March 31st 2012Lincoln Community School,
Accra, Ghana
Tuning In:What are Literature
Circles?Turn and talk to the person next to you and explain what your understanding of Literature Circles is.
What are Literature Circles?
Groups of 3 -5 students read, discuss and respond to books
Facilitate focused discussions on books
Way to become critical thinkers
Engage students in meaningful response to literature
Motivate students to read
Teacher is observer/facilitator
Why have Literature Circles?
Student centred
Foster a love of reading
Promote student independence and responsibility
Promote authentic discussions about books
Encourage students to learn from one another
Foster critical thinking
Why do Literature Circles?
Finding Out
What kind of things do you think students can discuss about books?
Turn to the person next to you and discuss your ideas
What are Literature Circles?
What do they look like?Share what makes sense
Share what doesn’t make sense
Use others’ ideas to help think about books
Ask questions
Share our stories, connections, that help us understand the characters
Discuss insights
Discuss language
Discuss writer’s craft
Making Connections
Text to text
Text to self
Text to world
Promote a deeper understanding of books
Discuss language
Learn new vocabulary in an authentic way
Identify figurative language e.g. metaphor and simile
Identify and share examples of descriptive language
Ask important questions
Teaches students to ask discussion questions rather than comprehension questions
Different perspectives on the books
Discuss characters
Discuss character traits and back up your ideas with evidence from the book
Discuss how characters change and why
Discuss what motivates characters
How does it fit in with your teaching?
Literacy program
Your students
Your style of teaching
Your classroom routines
Your teaching day
Structure and scaffolding
Through read alouds, model the questions and connections you want the students to make
Through strategy lessons teach students strategies, e.g. making personal connections to the texts, and then get students to practise doing that with shared texts or with their reading books
How do you start?
Essential Agreements
What agreements do you think you have to have to ensure smooth discussions?
Structure of Literature Circles:
Before the discussion
Students choose a book and form a group/groups are formed and books distributed
Read at home – students agree how many pages they will read before the next session
Have a job to do on the pages read/or take notes
Bring journal and book to Literature Circles
Structure of Literature Circles:
During the discussion
Discussion Director facilitates discussion
Students share and discuss their notes and their ideas
Structure of Literature Circles:
After the discussion
Students agree on pages to read for next session
Students rotate jobs
Students record pages to read and jobs in journals
Feedback and reflection session
Scaffolding
Read along and listen to me read a short text
Scaffolding
Now I will put you in groups
Reread the text and make any notes, recording any of your thoughts
Discuss in your group
Reflection
What went well?
What didn’t go so well?
Have a go
Read the short text in front of you
Each of you will be given a job
Reread the text through the lens of your job
Make notes according to the job description
Have a go!
Now you have read the text and written some notes according to your job, get into your groups and the ‘Discussion Director’ will facilitate the discussion.
Assessing Literature Circles
Time for reflection: Students
Student self reflection:
What went well?
What could be improved?
What are your group’s goals?
What are your individual goals?
Assessing Discussions: How and Why?
Anecdotal records
Rubrics
Checklists
Set goals for individuals and groups
Assessing Journals: Teacher
Share exemplary work
Post exemplary work in your classroom
Set goals
Going FurtherVisit www.disting.blogspot.com for the presentation and resources shown today
Read: Noe, Katherine L. Schlick, and Nancy J. Johnson. Getting Started with Literature Circles. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon, 1999.
Read: Day, Jeni Pollack. Moving Forward with Literature Circles: How to Plan, Manage, and Evaluate Literature Circles That Deepen Understanding and Foster a Love of Reading. New York: Scholastic Professional, 2002
Visit http://www.litcircles.org/
Try out Literature Circles with your students!
Thank you for coming
to this workshop!