Literature Circles Marian Staley & Marjorie Balin Welcome to our workshop Get ready for some fun and learning today!

Teacher Role Facilitate Circulate Evaluate After laying the groundwork, teacher stays in the background as a facilitator.

Student Roles Discussion Director Literary Luminary Illustrator/Mapper Word Wizard Connector Investigator

Discussion Director Develops 2-3 discussion questions. Takes on more of a leadership role in the group. Sample questions and question starters are provided to the students. See packet for example. As students gain confidence, they will be able to develop their own discussion questions.

Literary Luminary Select text to be read aloud Can be a quote or a paragraph Luminary can read the section themselves or ask others to read aloud. Reader’s Theater is an option. Select text that is thought-provoking, humorous, controversial, poetic, confusing, unusual, important, interesting.

Illustrator/Mapper Create illustration or graphic organizer related to the text. Illustrator shows picture and allows group to guess the connection to the story and to elicit discussion. Only after group is finished does Illustrator explain the importance of the picture and its connection to the story.

Word Wizard Select unfamiliar, challenging, enriching, unusual, or interesting words. Use context-clues to guess the meaning. Look up dictionary definition. Make sure word meanings can be expressed in students’ own words. Share and discuss with group.

Connector Make connections between the text (characters, setting, conflicts, etc.) and … Happenings at school Life outside school Similar events of another time or place. Other people or problems Another book Events in the news

Investigator Find background information on any topic related to the text. Geography/culture of the setting History of the time period Background on the author Music, objects, or word derivation Investigator keeps a record of where they looked for information and whether or not they were successful.

Most Common Roles Discussion Director Illustrator Literary Luminary Word Wizard

Investigator and Connector can be supplementary roles Role Tips Investigator and Connector can be supplementary roles If there are more than four students in a group Or combine roles with Literary Luminary or Illustrator if they finish quickly

Management of Literature Circles

Suggested Sequence Introduction & Practice Roles First-through poetry reading Next-through short stories Move on to whole class novel Finally, small groups reading variety of books Grouping Method Options Random: students can pick numbers or use grouping cards to develop groups. Teacher-Directed: teacher may choose group members based on observation. Examples: mixed or similar abilities, personality, etc. Student-Choice: students choose groups by filling out a wish-list card, encourage good choices Book-Selection: students are grouped by reading interest. Students complete a Choice Sheet where they state the novels in order of preference and groups of similar interests are formed.

Provide students with . . . Laminated role cards with clear directions on how to carry out the role to reference on a continuous basis. Response Journals/packets for recording responses, which will be graded. An organizational form on which to record meeting dates and reading & role assignments ‘Rules for Discussion’ handout.

Evaluation Teacher created rubric for Response Journals or Packet Teacher observation form for each group Student Self-Evaluation Rubric Peer Evaluation Rubric Group Participation Record Evaluation of Discussion *Use forms at your discretion and modify as needed.

Parental Involvement Send home a letter or create a post on classroom website explaining your literature circles, deadlines, student responsibilities. Provide links to more information on Literature Circles. Post evaluation criteria and PA standards. Invite parents in to assist in literature circles activities, see story skit performances, attend wax museum, view extension projects on display, etc.