1 Literature Circles Natalie Dupuis March 2008

2 Topics of Discussion  Literature Circles Defined  Organization – how do you get started?  Modeling – daily reading  Book Selection  Groupings  Timeline  Role Sheets  Assessment  Questions

3 Literature Circles Defined  student centered reading activity for a group of 4-6 students  Members are assigned roles for guidance and discussion  The group members determine what topics and questions will be discussed, and how they will share what they have learned.  LC provide an opportunity for students to control their own learning; to share thoughts, concerns and their understanding of the events of the novel.

4 What they ARE vs. ARE NOT  Literature Circles are:  Reader response centered  Group formation  Structured for student independence, responsibility, and ownership  Guided primarily by student insights and questions  Flexible and fluid: never look the same twice  Intended as a context in which to apply reading and writing skills

5 What they ARE vs. ARE NOT  Literature Circles are not:  The entire reading curriculum  Teacher and text centered  Teacher assigned groups formed solely by ability  Unstructured, uncontrolled “talk time” without accountability  Guided primarily by teacher or curriculum based quesitons  Intended as a place to do grammar skills work  Tied to a prescriptive “recipe”

6 Preparing for Literature Circles 1. Model good discussion behaviour 2. Have students brainstorm in small groups what they imagine good discussion to look and sound like 3. Introduce the books 4. Allow students to touch and spend time with selections before having them make ranked choices 5. Determine how to be a group leader 6. Determine pace of reading. Establish time limits. 7. Discuss and Assess

7 Model good discussion behaviour & have students brainstorm  Through your daily reading activities  Brainstorming activity such as the one we did earlier to determine elements of a good discussion

8 Elements of a good discussion  Active Listening  Active Participation (respond to ideas and share feelings)  Piggybacking off others’ ideas  Disagreeing constructively  Supporting Opinions with evidence  Encouraging others

9 Group Discussion  Helps promote students’ acceptance of others’ opinions  Enables more students to take risks to actively participate  Provides opportunities for students to make meaning before reading, during reading and after reading  Develops critical literacy skills

10 Introduce the books, browsing and selecting  Book introduction  Picture walk through  You will like this book if…  Allow time to handle, see print size etc.

11 Small temporary groups are formed, based on book choices.

12 Teach them how to be a leader  Discuss qualities of a good leader  Model a mini session with teacher as discussion director  Rotate the role of discussion director

13 The teacher acts as a facilitator initiating mini-lessons where necessary.

14 What does the teacher do?  Models  Organizes  Informally assesses with assessment sheets in hand  Moderates when necessary  Sits with each group for a few minutes  Mini lessons  Jot down great comments or questions to share with the class afterwards  Formal observation

15 Modeling  Extremely important  Each task needs to be modeled in isolation  Start with the easiest  Artful Artist  Word Wizard  Super Summarizer  Discussion Director

16 Timeline  How many sessions/classes  How much to read each session, or each week at home  Decide who does which job – let students decide?

17 Assessment  Observations  Conferences  Portfolios  Mini – Lessons  Self and group assessments  Projects – To do or not to do?  Rubrics

18 Assessment - cont’d. Student Self-Assessment (Scoring Guide)* IngredientValueMy Score Do the readings25 Listen to other people15 Have good ideas30 Ask people questions15 Stick to the reading10 Prepared5 Total100 * “Literature Circles, Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups by Harvey Daniels, (Second Edition, 2002)

19 What supplies do I need?  Multiple copies  Post-it notes  Chart paper  Self assessment forms  Teacher assessment forms  Copies of role sheets  Student folders  Journals (optional)

Literature Circle Assessment 20 Level OneLevel TwoLevel ThreeLevel Four Discussion Does not participate in group discussions Offers few opinions and makes no personal connections to the text Participates reluctantly in group discussions Offers few opinions and makes limited connections to the text Participates competently in group discussions Offers some insightful opinions and makes connections to the text Participates enthusiastic ally in group discussions Offers insightful and thoughtful opinions and makes pertinent connections to the text

21 Role Fulfillmen t Rarely completes role tasks properly and not always on time Tasks are done with little or no genuine effort Sometimes completes role tasks properly but not always on time Tasks are done with minimal effort Completes role tasks independen tly and on time Tasks are thoughtfull y done with genuine effort Completes role tasks independen tly and on time Tasks are thoughtfull y done demonstrati ng extension of the activity

22 Reading Rarely assigned reading completed on schedule Sometimes has assigned reading completed on schedule Has assigned reading completed on schedule

Some ideas to add a little more fun:  Have each group give themselves a name  Have each group perform a totally self- made skit of an important scene from the book  Always display the illustrator roles  Do end of unit activities – group collage, group play, group speech, sharing ‘character’ journals, movie….  Involve students in the assessment process

24 Resources   ang_lit_circles.htm ang_lit_circles.htm  ature_Circles ature_Circles   3/circles.htm