LITERATURE CIRCLE

What are Literature Circles?

"In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students' response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author's craft, or personal experiences related to the story."

Schlick Noe, K. L. & Johnson. N.L., Getting Started with Literature Circles , 1999 Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc. p. ix.

LITERATURE CIRCLES

The literature circle is a student centered cooperative learning reading activity for a group of four to six students at any grade level or subject area.

Each member of a circle is assigned a specific role, with specific responsibilities, which are used guide the group in a discussion of the text material they are all reading.

Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers in their group.

The literature circle assignments or roles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response. Literature circles provide a constructive educational opportunity for students to control their own learning as they share thoughts, concerns and their understanding of the concepts, events, and material presented in the material being read. The benefits of literature circles include:

1.      Help to teach, not merely check, comprehension

2.      Allow you to teach many facets of comprehension

3.      Encourage students to learn from one another

4.      Motivate students naturally

5.      Promote discussion more effectively than whole groups (Day 2002)

Literature circles can be known by many different names including: literature studies, literacy circles, book clubs, literature discussion groups, book clubs, and cooperative book discussion groups.

According to Schlick, Noe, and Johnson (1999), a literature circle is more than a book club. Where as a book club's discussion only centers on events and plot, a literature circle format promotes discussion from varying perspectives, which provides members with a deeper understanding of the text. During the reading of the selected literature, students complete various jobs emphasizing skills such as questioning, vocabulary development, and writing (MCPS 2000). 

The students in their cooperative groups have an opportunity to share material gathered from their assigned or role and have a focused discussion of the material they are reading with their other group members with the teacher acting as a guide or facilitator.

How do I do it?

1.         Select members for the Literature Circles (discussion groups).

2.         Assign roles for the members of each circle.

3.         Assign reading to be completed by the circles inside or outside of class.

4.         Select circle meeting dates.

5.         Help students prepare for their roles in their circle.

6.         Act as a facilitator for the circles.

Some roles may be:

·         discussion director - develops questions for the group to discuss

·         passage picker or literary luminary - chooses a selection that the group rereads and discusses because it is interesting, informative, the climax, well written....

·         vocabulary enricher - chooses words that are difficult or used in an unfamiliar way

·         connector - finds a connection between the story and another book, event in their personal llife or the outside world

·         illustrator - draws a picture related to the reading

·         summarizer - prepares a brief summary of the passage read that day

·         travel tracer - tracks the movement when the characters move a lot

·         investigator - looks up background information related to the book

The teacher will determine what roles should be used depending upon the age and ability of the students as well as the reading selections.