1. Literature Circles

2. Three types of reading assignments:
Reports
Questions from the book
Literature Circles

3. What is a Literature Circle?
A method used to encourage literary analysis, in which students read a work, then meet together (usually sitting in a circle) to discuss the text and their reactions to it, and to reread important or meaningful passages.
Every person in the group is assigned a role or job so no one person does any more work than the others.

4. Discussion Director
The Discussion Director has a good understanding of the text as a whole. He or she must come up with five solid discussion questions about the important aspects of the text. Sample types of discussion questions include but are not limited to:
How would it make you feel if…?
What would be your reaction to…?

5. What were you thinking about as you read?
What did the text make you think about?
What do you think this text/passage was about?
How might other people (of different backgrounds) think about this text/passage?
What one question would you ask the writer if you got the chance? Why?
What are the most important ideas/moments in this text/section?
What do you think will happen next---and why?
What was the most important change in this section? How and why did it happen?

6. Illustrator
Your role is to draw what you read. This might mean drawing a scene as a cartoon-like sequence, or an important scene so readers
can better understand the action. You can draw
maps or organizational trees to show how one
person, place, or event relates to the others.
Use the back to explain how your drawing
relates to the text. Label your drawings so we
know who the characters are.

7. Connector
Your job is to connect what you are reading with what you are studying or with the world outside of school. You can connect the story to events in you own life, news events, political events, or
popular trends. Another important source of connections is books you’ve already read. The connections should be meaningful to you and those in your group.

8. Word Watcher
While reading the assigned section, you watch out for words worth knowing. These words might be
interesting, new, important, or used in unusual ways. It is important to indicate the specific location of the words so the group can discuss these words in context. Write down six of these words, their definitions, the sentence and page number from the book where you found them, and a sentence using the words in your own words.

9. Every group will have a team captain who will assign roles.
If one person doesn’t do their job, they are the one who will receive a bad grade instead of the group as a whole. However, if the group repeatedly shows up without their work done collectively, all members will be penalized.
Groups with the best effort overall will receive extra credit.
No one person can have the same role twice in a row. They must circle through all of the roles at least once.