Literature Circles 2011-2012

What are Literature Circles? Literature Circles are… Literature Circles are not… Reader response centered Teacher and text centered Part of a balanced literacy program The entire reading curriculum Groups formed by book choice Groups formed based on ability Structured for student independence, responsibility, and ownership Unstructured, uncontrolled "talk time" without accountability Guided primarily by student insights and questions Guided primarily by teacher- or curriculum-based questions Intended as a context in which to apply reading and writing skills Intended as a place to do skills work Flexible and fluid; never look the same twice Tied to a prescriptive "recipe"

Literature Circle Expectations Work together Come prepared and ready to discuss Do your job for the day Talk quietly taking turns Be respectful of your group members No arguing or fighting

Roles in a Literature Circle Summarizer Discussion Leader Word Wizard Illustrator Real-life connector Story connector

Plan for Literature Circles Each day we will review the roles and expectations of literature circles. You will have 20 minutes to read to a certain page and prepare 3 things to share in literature circles, these can be questions or vocabulary words that you do not know. We will then break into our groups and begin discussing. The discussion leader for that group is responsible for leading an organized discussion. All jobs for must be discussed during circle time.

Literature Circles Group 1: Jayden, Victor, Yesenia, Joshua, Leann, Grant, and Aaron Group 2: Rocky, Christopher, Jasmine, Kayla, Lorena, Dailyn Group 3: Tania, Connor, Marcos, Nate, Daimir, Johanna

Monday Summarizer: Jayden, Rocky, Tania Discussion Leader: Joshua, Leann, Jasmine, Connor Word Wizard: Victor, Nate, Marcos Illustrator: Yesenia, Kayla, Christopher Real-life connector: Grant, Lorena, Daimir Story Connector: Aaron, Dailyn, Johanna

Tuesday Story Connector: Jayden, Rocky, Tania Summarize: Joshua, Leann, Jasmine, Connor Discussion Leader: Victor, Nate, Marcos Word Wizard: Grant, Kayla, Christopher Illustrator: Yesenia, Lorena, Daimir Real-life connector: Aaron, Dailyn, Johanna

Wednesday Real-life connector: Jayden, Rocky, Tania Story Connector : Joshua, Leann, Jasmine, Connor Summarize : Victor, Nate, Marcos Discussion Leader : Grant, Kayla, Christopher Word Wizard : Yesenia, Lorena, Daimir Illustrator : Aaron, Dailyn, Johanna

Thursday Illustrator: Jayden, Rocky, Tania Real-life connector: Joshua, Leann, Jasmine, Connor Story Connector: Victor, Nate, Marcos Summarize: Grant, Kayla, Christopher Discussion Leader: Yesenia, Lorena, Daimir Word Wizard: Aaron, Dailyn, Johanna

Friday Word Wizard: Jayden, Rocky, Tania Illustrator: Joshua, Leann, Jasmine, Connor Real-life connector: Victor, Nate, Marcos Story Connector: Grant, Kayla, Christopher Summarize: Yesenia, Lorena, Daimir Discussion Leader: Aaron, Dailyn, Johanna