1. Sharing & responding to shorter, creative/personal pieces of writing
Feather Circles
Sharing & responding to shorter,
creative/personal pieces of writing

2. Talking Circles Native American tradition Seated in a circle
Whoever holds the Sacred Object holds the floor
Encouraged to “speak from the heart”

3. Feather Circles Used to share and respond to writing
Pieces will be shorter, creative and/or personal
Focus is speaking from the heart when you share and when you respond
Praise and support

4. Feather Circle Laws Only he/she with the stick speaks.
Everyone LISTENS. Save all praise and questions for “thank you” notes.
When the speaker is finished reading, the speaker will pass the stick to the left.
Rules #1 - #3 AGAIN!
Breaking the rules even once is grounds for being excluded from future Feather Circles.

5. SPECIFIC Praise
“That was good” or “I really liked it” will NOT cut it!
Praise must be SPECIFIC! Examples:
“Your choice of the word(s) _________________ when you described _____________ was very powerful.”
“I felt the tension you were building when you described ___________________.”
“When you included your thoughts and feelings about ______________ it made your story much more personal and interesting.”
“The opening lines to your piece intrigued me right from the beginning.”