What Is A Literacy Circle?
A literature circle is a students' equivalent of an adult book club, but with greater structure, expectation and rigor. The aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. The true intent of literature circles is "to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers" Literature circles combine the best practices of collaborative learning and student-directed learning.
They are not to be confused with book clubs. While both book clubs and literature circles focus on discussion of books in small group settings, book clubs have a more loosely-structured agenda for discussions and are not usually tied into literary analysis such as thematic or symbolic analysis. Furthermore, literature circles are the domain of the classroom, both at the elementary and secondary level, and involve various types of assessment (including self-assessment, observations and conferences) and evaluation (portfolios, projects and student artifacts) by both the teacher and the student.
Literature circles are a pedagogically sound alternative to teacher-centered instruction such as guided reading (though I will still continue to hold guided reading groups. During class time, students are required to use their knowledge of what they've read and strategies they been specifically taught in class to complete a variety of comprehension activities. They are required to work independently and with others, rotating the roles through four-person groups as they read the books they have chosen.
Literacy Circles are very powerful because students have to apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate the books they read. They must draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features.
They can be used at all grade levels (elementary through secondary) and ability levels, and are often credited with instilling a love of reading and disussion with students. Furthermore, current research indicates that peer collaboration has a positive effect on student learning and performance in Language Arts, increases student learning, and also improves reading comprehension and content-knowledge.
If you wish to learn more about literature circles please click here
They are not to be confused with book clubs. While both book clubs and literature circles focus on discussion of books in small group settings, book clubs have a more loosely-structured agenda for discussions and are not usually tied into literary analysis such as thematic or symbolic analysis. Furthermore, literature circles are the domain of the classroom, both at the elementary and secondary level, and involve various types of assessment (including self-assessment, observations and conferences) and evaluation (portfolios, projects and student artifacts) by both the teacher and the student.
Literature circles are a pedagogically sound alternative to teacher-centered instruction such as guided reading (though I will still continue to hold guided reading groups. During class time, students are required to use their knowledge of what they've read and strategies they been specifically taught in class to complete a variety of comprehension activities. They are required to work independently and with others, rotating the roles through four-person groups as they read the books they have chosen.
Literacy Circles are very powerful because students have to apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate the books they read. They must draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features.
They can be used at all grade levels (elementary through secondary) and ability levels, and are often credited with instilling a love of reading and disussion with students. Furthermore, current research indicates that peer collaboration has a positive effect on student learning and performance in Language Arts, increases student learning, and also improves reading comprehension and content-knowledge.
If you wish to learn more about literature circles please click here
The Different Literacy Circle Roles
During a literature circle, each student is given a specific role and thinking task. As the groups reconvene each session, students switch roles, so that by the end of the literature circles "unit," each student will have the opportunity to participate in each role several times. The ideal is to eventually do away with the roles, although I may opt to continue assigning the roles to assist group on-task behavior. Readers who are deeply engaged with a book and eager to talk about it with others may not need the structure of roles. Sometimes having a set role will feel restrictive to some students and can become a disincentive to take part in literature circles. Hopefully assigning roles will be a temporary scaffold to support students as they learn to talk about books in small groups.
I have chosen 4 roles for each literature circle: Discussion Director, Vocabulary Enricher, Literary Luminary, and Checker
Discussion Director
• Fills out comprehension worksheet requiring an understanding of book content and an analysis of plot
Vocabulary Enricher
• clarifies word meanings and pronunciations
• uses research resources
Literary Luminary
• guides oral reading for a purpose
• examines figurative language, parts of speech, and vivid descriptions
Checker
• checks for completion of assignments
• evaluates participation
• helps monitor discussion for equal
participation
I have chosen 4 roles for each literature circle: Discussion Director, Vocabulary Enricher, Literary Luminary, and Checker
Discussion Director
• Fills out comprehension worksheet requiring an understanding of book content and an analysis of plot
- creates questions to ask different group members that increase comprehension
Vocabulary Enricher
• clarifies word meanings and pronunciations
• uses research resources
Literary Luminary
• guides oral reading for a purpose
• examines figurative language, parts of speech, and vivid descriptions
Checker
• checks for completion of assignments
• evaluates participation
• helps monitor discussion for equal
participation
What The Process Looks Like
1. Groups of students choose one of the available texts to read and decide on a homework and assignment schedule.
2. The teacher creates a time and place for students to mee literature circle groups, based upon book choice.
3. First Literature Circle Meeting
• Students meet to decide how much of the text to analyze and which role each student will fill during the next meeting.
• Students read and analyze assigned portion of the text.
• Students fill out assigned role activity sheet and prepare for next literature circle meeting.
4. Following Literature Circle Meetings (repeat until the text is finished)
• Students use their already completed, written or drawn notes to guide the group’s reading and discussion, according to the role that they are filling for the session.
• Students work together to be open about their opinions and make sure that everyone is participating.
circle meeting.
5. When books are finished, each group completes a summative assignment that they share with the o new groups form around new reading choices.
2. The teacher creates a time and place for students to mee literature circle groups, based upon book choice.
3. First Literature Circle Meeting
• Students meet to decide how much of the text to analyze and which role each student will fill during the next meeting.
• Students read and analyze assigned portion of the text.
• Students fill out assigned role activity sheet and prepare for next literature circle meeting.
4. Following Literature Circle Meetings (repeat until the text is finished)
• Students use their already completed, written or drawn notes to guide the group’s reading and discussion, according to the role that they are filling for the session.
• Students work together to be open about their opinions and make sure that everyone is participating.
- Group will complete assigned work and then decide together how much of the text to read and rotate the roles that each will fill during the next meeting.
circle meeting.
5. When books are finished, each group completes a summative assignment that they share with the o new groups form around new reading choices.
Worksheets For Each Role:
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