1. Microsoft in Education Virtual Forum- Latin America & Caribbean
October 30th, 2014

2. Project Name: Reading Circle
Educator(s): Girlayne Faria
Roze Marri
School or Educational Institution: Colégio Poliedro – Private school ; Middle school.
Specify the Website:
Content / Subjects or Curriculum: Grammar (in Portuguese)
Age / Educational Level or Grade: Middle school (from 11 to 13)
Project Objectives:
#Reading comprehension
#Sharing ideas about reading experiences
#Communication skills development

3. Description of the project
OBJECTIVES:
Knowlwdge building / critical thinking
Communication skills development
Collaboration (team work)
Problem solving and innovation (creativity)
Student self assesment
#Long Term activity
The Reading Project is based on reading classic books during the classes. We all sit in a circle to create an environment where the teacher and students are equally important and everyone share their thoughts, including personal events, when they relate to certain parts of the reading. The reading is done out loud and everyone is responsible for reading a paragraph, or more than that. We talk about it, trying to share ideas and trying to make connections with other authors´ ideas. Students become really interested in it because they start relating with the book, they get to know the author and listen to each other´s opinion.
Planning and Design of the learning environment
Students plan and evaluate their performance as “multipliers”. They become the teachers. After reading the book in school, some students are chosen to be multipliers of the strategy, responsible for disseminating the project to public schools. They are supposed to know the book, plan the circle schedule, evaluate each other during the reading time and motivate the readers.
In order to embed or add resources or materials and information on the project, follow these steps:
You must have the resources or documents easily available.
In the Insert menu, select Object.
Select Create from File and click Change Icon … .... Look for the file that you want to include and click OK.
Select Display as icon and click Change Icon … and add or type a suitable title.
Click OK to add the title and click OK to embed or add the file.
Use the Action button in the Insert menu to activate the object.
Use hyperlinks to websites to display audio or video. Do not embed or add video or audio, use links to other sites that host the video or to your school's website.
Open the Word document by double clicking on the icons. Clicking Save in Word will save your changes.
Please make sure that you have full authorization to use any images and video, as this project will be in the public domain.

4. Evidence of Learning
In the reading process, we have several moments of discussion, and because of them we´ve eliminated (written tests) formal assessments related to the books. We started  checking learning from feedback routine. Students come to share thoughts, opinions and knowledge about reading. It's an interesting process, since they are expressing increasingly elaborate opinions on the issues addressed by the classic books. Students began to bring relevant information about the books which they discover from surveys made ​​by self-interest, thus creating a network of wholly autonomous and innovative learning. The classic books ideas are seen through an updated point of view.
After reading the book, there was a proposal for the construction of an argumentative text (writing), in which students would give their opinion on the reading strategy adopted by the school to build the project. It was expected their assessment and evaluation of the process as participants of the project, since its success depends on their involvement.
In order to embed or add resources or materials and information on the project, follow these steps:
You must have the resources or documents easily available.
In the Insert menu, select Object.
Select Create from File and click Change Icon … .... Look for the file that you want to include and click OK.
Select Display as icon and click Change Icon … and add or type a suitable title.
Click OK to add the title and click OK to embed or add the file.
Use the Action button in theInsert menu to activate the object.
Use hyperlinks to websites to display audio or video. Do not embed or add video or audio, use links to other sites that host the video or to your school's website.
Open the Word document by double clicking on the icons. Clicking Save in Word will save your changes.
Please make sure that you have full authorization to use any images and video, as this project will be in the public domain.

5. Collaboration
The multipliers have to work as a team, because each of them are very important to make the project as a whole. They work as the guiders of the reading circle, planning the way the reading is going to happen. As an example they have to answer these kind of questions: Are we going to read all the excerpts of the book? Are we going to stop in each paragraph, or after finishing each chapter? These decisions are made by negotiation, multipliers and teachers need to talk to reach a common sense.
In order to embed or add resources or materials and information on the project, follow these steps:
You must have the resources or documents easily available.
In the Insert menu, select Object.
Select Create from File and click Change Icon … .... Look for the file that you want to include and click OK.
Select Display as icon and click Change Icon … and add or type a suitable title.
Click OK to add the title and click OK to embed or add the file.
Use the Action button in theInsert menu to activate the object.
Use hyperlinks to websites to display audio or video. Do not embed or add video or audio, use links to other sites that host the video or to your school's website.
Open the Word document by double clicking on the icons. Clicking Save in Word will save your changes.
Please make sure that you have full authorization to use any images and video, as this project will be in the public domain.

6. Knowledge Construction and critical thinking
Extending Learning beyond the classroom.
The main evidence of learning is the increasing student interest in reading, which can be evaluated by the students feedbacks. It is developed by the opportunity that the project generates: student speaking and listening. Reading is a major obstacle in the teaching of language, it requires true understanding, which is not guaranteed by the literacy process. The strategy adopted by the project creates an atmosphere of engagement with the book, the characters, the story. We become friends, passionate readers, partners in the process of understanding the book.
Due to the students positive feedback, we decided to expand the scope of the strategy. We started  new "reading circles" in public schools with students who have gone through the process, became multipliers, responsible for planning, evaluation and coordination of the new circles.
Our current goal is to get the circle to other schools in the country, through the use of technological tools (skype, for example). Our multipliers (students) are willing to organize this new phase of the project, which came as a natural consequence of the current project.
In order to embed or add resources or materials and information on the project, follow these steps:
You must have the resources or documents easily available.
In the Insert menu, select Object.
Select Create from File and click Change Icon … .... Look for the file that you want to include and click OK.
Select Display as icon and click Change Icon … and add or type a suitable title.
Click OK to add the title and click OK to embed or add the file.
Use the Action button in theInsert menu to activate the object.
Use hyperlinks to websites to display audio or video. Do not embed or add video or audio, use links to other sites that host the video or to your school's website.
Open the Word document by double clicking on the icons. Clicking Save in Word will save your changes.
Please make sure that you have full authorization to use any images and video, as this project will be in the public domain.