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Literature CirclesHarvey Daniels • Literature groups are groups of children organized into a grand conversation group. Student participate in group discussions and individual activities. Each member of the group has a specific function as part of the discussion or the group interactions
Groups meet on a regular, predictable schedule for large blocks of time to read, complete their role sheets and discuss their work. • Group meetings aim to be open, natural conversations about books, so personal connections, digressions, and open-ended questions are encouraged. • Students play an assortment of rotating roles or tasks to help facilitate the class discussion
Discussions • Help promote students acceptance of others’ opinions • Enable more students to take risks to actively participate • Provide opportunities for students to make meaning before reading, during reading and after reading • Develops critical literacy skills • The teacher acts as a facilitator initiating mini-lessons where necessary.
Roles • Discussion Director • Summarizer • Literary Luminary • Connector • Word Wizard • Illustrator • Travel Tracer • Investigator • Artful Artist
A. Discussion Director • The job of the discussion Director is to come up with some good questions your group would like to discuss. Your job is to help[ people talk about the big ideas in the reading and share your reactions. Make sure your question will promote discussions and cannot be answered with just a yes or no answer. The best discussions come from your own thoughts, feelings and concerns as you read. Use words like why, how, if, etc to begin your questions. Make sure all the answers are justified • You must create 5 questions for your chapter
B. Summarizer • Your job is to provide a brief summary of the reading for today. Give a brief statement that contains the key points or highlights of the chapter. Be creative in your presentation. Try a list, plot diagram, story board, emotional graph, or any other form that you would like to create. Often a visual will help your classmates remember the events more clearly.
C. Literary Luminary • Your job is to pick out a few special sections of the book that you think the rest of your classmates would like to hear read out loud. Choose passages that are interesting, powerful, funning, puzzling or important in the story. You must pick the passage, tell why you picked it and then tell how you will read it to the class. How will you set the mood or how will you help the rest of your classmates remember your passages? • Pick three passages
D. Connector • Your job is to find connections between your reading and the world outside. It can be a connection to self, to other texts or to the world. “ It reminds me of…”.There are no correct answer whatever the reading connects you is worth sharing. • Make a connected journal to show your connections. Be creative. Explain your connection.
E. Word Wizard • Your assignment is to pick our important words or phrases in your reading. When you are reading, you find a word you find puzzling or unfamiliar, put a yellow sticky underneath it. Your job is to teach your classmates the meaning of the words you have chosen. You should use a visual such as a Frayer model, a concept definition map, wordle, or a word profile model. • Choose three words from your reading.
F. Illustrator • You job is to create a visual for the chapter you read. You can sketch, graph, cartoon, diagram, flow chart, mind map… It can be something that is discussed specifically, or conveys an idea or feeling you got from the reading. Any drawing or graphic is okay as long as you label things with words. • Stretch to sketch: You may uses symbols, colors and designs to symbolize the feelings, responses or ideas you got as you read the story. • Write a brief explanation of your sketch or creation. • You must complete one project
G. Travel Tracer • Your job is to track carefully where the action takes place and how the setting may have changed as the character moves from one place to another. Describe the setting in detail either in words and or an action map or diagram. Make sure you label where the action begins, the key events that have happened and where the action ends. • Options • Plot profile describing interest • Emotional profile • You must do one project
H. Investigator • Your job is to dig up some background information on any topic related to your book. It might include: • Geography • Weather • Culture • History • Setting • About the author • time period • Pictures, object or materials that illustrate elements of the books • Music • Find something that really interest you or you find puzzling or curious when you read. • You are to investigate one topic from the book
I. Artful Artist • Your job is to create project that will artistically represent your reading. You may draw, paint, collage, build, etc. It could be about the character, setting, problem, exciting part, surprise, prediction or anything else. • You are to create one project
Book choice: • Whole class has the same book • Each group has a different book
Kind of book • All on same book • Different reading levels • Same theme • Different theme
Grouping: • Teacher decides the groups based on level of books • Students decide whom they want to work with • Students choose group based on the interest in the book
Daily plan • Students share work from previous day • Teacher reads a chapter and students go to groups to work • Students read a chapter in their groups either orally or silently • Teacher reads in an individual group • Students complete activities for the day
Activities • Must be taught first • Predetermined by teacher • Added to as the teacher changes the focus or teaches a new lesson • Every member of a group must do a different activity • Each group does the same activity on a given day
Monitoring • Individual students have a daily plan • Teacher determines the plan for each child • Work handed in on an individual basis • Teacher must keep records of activities completed
Assets • Children take charge of their own learning • Meets the needs of individual students • Variety of learning styles • Children work in small groups and become part of the group. Sometimes in larger groups they do not want to get involved
Problems: • Accountability • Making sure groups are on task • Individual students not carrying their weight as a group member • Group looses if student does not complete the required work • Teacher gives away control
