Literature Circles

Goals:

To complete the reading of an age appropriate piece of literature.

To think critically about their reading and discuss it with a group of peers.

To make connections among their reading, their own lives, and the discussions relating to exploring.

Content Areas:

Language Arts - reading, sharing orally about their reading, writing and drawing about what they have read

Social Studies - making connections from reading to the explorers we are studying in class

Materials:

Multiple copies of literature selections for the students. Any selections that can be related to adventure or exploration may be appropriate. Listed below are some examples:

Fritz, Jean. (1994). Around the World in a Hundred Years - From Henry the Navigator to Magellan.New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

O'Dell, Scott. (1988). Black Star, Bright Dawn. New York: Fawcett Juniper.

Ventura, Piero. (1990). 1492 The Year of the New World. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Post-It Notes and Bookmarks

Reading Response Log

Role Sheets

Pencils/Pens

Procedure: (5 hours and 15 minutes throughout the course of the week)

Monday


1) Introduce students to the concept of literature circles. Discuss the various roles that will be used in your classroom, including things like Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Illustrator, Connector, Summarizer, Vocabulary Enricher, Travel Tracer, and Investigator. Depending on your class size, you may choose as many of these roles as you like.

2) Set guidelines for the reading during the week. Inform the students when the book must be completed. Discuss how each group will make reading assignments for themselves. Each student in the group will be responsible for filling out a role sheet the teacher may devise based on his/her students' needs and abilities.

3) Instruct students that after meeting with their literature circle, they will be asked to write responses both to their reading and to their group in their reading log.

4) Give students post-it notes to use in their books to mark important passages so they are not forgotten.

5) Introduce the books that are available for this literature circle session and allow students to choose which book they would like to work with.

6) Once this is completed, ask students to become acquainted with their group, choose roles, and read the first one or two chapters aloud. Groups should begin to set an assignment timeline.

7) After each group has read from their book, ask them to write a prediction about the story in their reading log. Students will also be required to fill out their role sheets so they can begin to see what types of things are expected from the teacher.

8) Make sure each group has assigned a segment of the book to be read for the following day.


Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
 

Students will meet independently in groups. They will discuss their readings from the previous evening and will discuss the information found on their role sheets. This part of the class should be completely "student-centered." The teacher should only act as a facilitator.

Friday


The students may meet for a short time with their literature circle team if necessary. Then the students will be asked to write a thoughtful response to their experience in the literature circle, including information about what they have learned, whether they liked working in their groups, if they would choose to do this activity again, and how their book was connected to the study of explorers.

Assessment:

The teacher may have a checklist for each student which focuses on his/her group participation, whether he/she is prepared for his/her group meeting, and the connections he/she is making in the group discussion. Criteria for success: Students must be "checked" off in each of these categories in a positive way 90% of the time. Students who are not performing up to this expectation will conference with the teacher individually on their book so they are not missing out on gaining information.

Students will be assessed based on how they complete their role sheets which will be turned into the teacher daily. Criteria for success: The role sheets must have thoughtful connections written each day and must be completed at the time the group has scheduled.

Students will be assessed through the journal entry written at the end of the week. Criteria for success: Journal entries must include what the student has learned through their literature circle experience, whether they liked the experience, how their group worked together, how their book connects to exploration, and if they would choose to do the literature circle again if given the opportunity.

Extensions:

Each group could find a creative medium to present their book to the class. (Example, video, newscast, book talk, skit, illustrations, etc.)

Students could be critics of their books once they completed the reading. They may rate the book on a scale of 1-10 and explain their decision.

 This page was submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program