Professional Development

October 27th 2010

Roosevelt S.T.A.Y.

Literature CirclesPresented

ByAngela Harriston, M.Ed.

Define Literature CirclesDiscuss and examine some key roles of

Literature CirclesParticipate in a mini version of Literature

Circles in an activityParticipate in just desserts

Objective- By the end of this session, teachers will

Small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth.

Discussion is guided by students’ response to what they have read.

Literature Circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books.

Literature Circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written response.

What Are Literature Circles?

Literature circles are… Reader response centered Groups formed by book choice Structured for student

independence, responsibility, and ownership

Guided primarily by student insights and questions

Intended as a context in which to apply reading and writing skills

Flexible and fluid; never look the same twice

Teacher and text centered The entire reading curriculum Teacher-assigned groups

solely by ability Unstructured, uncontrolled

“talk time” without accountability

Guided primarily by teacher-or curriculum based questions

Intended as a place to do skills work

Tied to a prescriptive “recipe”

Literature CirclesLiterature circles are

not…

It offers a change of pace. Students tend to see these activities as enjoyable. The selection of the roles in the group give the teacher the chance

to draw attention to particular skill roles within the discipline. Students have the opportunity to practice one specific skill

at a time. The teacher is able to remove him/herself out of the center of

discussion, at least temporarily. Since there is a lot of student interaction over the text

before there is any explicit teacher commentary on the text, the teacher gets a much clearer picture of how the students are reading and thinking about the text. It’s a great opportunity to observe and listen, and gives the teacher useful information to help shape the planning of subsequent lessons.

Can even be used in disciplines outside of the Language Arts.

Why Literature Circles?

Discussion Director-creates questions to increase comprehension

Vocabulary Enricher-clarifies word meanings and pronunciations

Literary Luminary-Examines figurative language, parts of speech, and vivid descriptions

Real World Connector- Examines situations in the text, writes, and explains how they connect to the real world

Summary Master- Writes a 1-2 paragraph summary for each chapter.

Illustrator- Draws pictures or creates a chart of major events or of major characters doing something that is relevant to the plot/ main idea.

Some Examples of Lit. Circle Roles

By the end of the class, unit, etc., students will:

Discuss, define, and explore unfamiliar wordsPredict text events using previous knowledge and

details in the textUse evidence in text to verify predictions.Ask relevant and focused questions to clarify

understandingRespond to questions and discussion with relevant

and focused commentsParaphrase and summarize information from textIdentify and analyze literary elements in text

Sample Objectives for Literature Circles

1. Get into groups of three.2. Select a task/ role to complete.3. As a group, read your short story together.4. After reading, each person should take the

allotted time to complete the task.5. After teacher has called time, be prepared

to present your findings first your group and then to the whole class.

6. Exit Ticket-Complete the self-reflection sheet.

Independent Practice