Literature+Circles

__**Literature Circles**__  //Several of you have mentioned an interest in Literature Circles, so I thought I would add some information to the wiki. This is from one of my wikis -- you can access it [|here]. Let me know if you want to talk about this or anything else during one of our days together. Liz is also a great resource. Also, as this is your wiki, feel free to add resources/information to this page! ~ Shannon // Definition: __** Literature Circles is a structured learning experience that facilitates higher-order thinking about, thoughtful and powerful discussion of, and meaningful interaction with texts. Literature circles is structured around the desire for students to 
 * __
 * connect and interact with text
 * increase self-direction independence
 * engage in shared meaning-making
 * think critically
 * communicate understanding

 There are several elements essential to the structure of the Literature Circles experience.  Though educators may disagree, there are some elements that are negotiable. //Recommendations follow each element. //  
 * __ Essential Elements: __**
 * Students are divided into groups.
 * Each group reads a work (novel, play, work of non-fiction)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In class, students are given time to read, independently responding to text, and hold discussions with their groups.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Literature Circle discussions are structured.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Each student in each group has a predefined role that he/she must fulfill.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Roles are pre-determined before each discussion.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students are expected to prepare for discussions by completing tasks based on their assigned roles.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Roles are changed after each discussion.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The teacher's role is to facilitate. There is very little to no whole-group lecture during literature circles.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students are expected to take a major role in directing their own learning.
 * __ Negotiable Elements: __**
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Number of students per group
 * //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Recommendation: 4-5 Students //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Choice in Material
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">It is **always** recommended that students be allowed to choose their own books. Most teachers offer a limited choice (7-10 books), and then ask students to pick their "top three." Students are then assigned groups based on choices. However, based on resources, it is not always an option for teachers to offer a large number of choices, or even a choice at all. Literature circles can still be done if more than one group is reading the same novel, or even if all groups are reading the same. See below for ideas on how to gather books. //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Roles
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Many educators gravitate towards a few standard roles for Literature Circle discussions, but you certainly are not limited. See below for information on roles. //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Extension Activities
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> //Some teachers extend Literature Circles beyond reading and responding. You may wish students to keep an individual or group journal (or blog), and/or engage in other activities. See blow for ideas on how to integrate extension activities into Literature Circles.//
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Time Frame
 * //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Depending on the length of work(s) to be read, age and reading level of students, time in-class, resources, time required for additional instruction (writing, gammar, etc.), Literature Circle cycles can last 3-9 weeks. It is not recommended that you spend more than 9 weeks have students read the same book. //

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __ **Roles** __ "The roles are designed to invite different cognitive perspectives on a text (drawing a response, reading passage aloud, debating interpretations, connecting to one's own life, creating a summary, tracking the scene, focusing on words and tuning in to one character). The students practice the roles on a rotating basis until they are internalized. "<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">(See reference * below.)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The most common roles are as follows. Examples of role sheets are available below descriptions. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Discussion Director**: has the official responsibility to think up some good discussion questions, convene the meeting, and solicit contributions from the other members
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Summarizer**: summarizes the assigned pages clearly and concisely, identifying main idea, theme, important details, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Passage Analyzer**: takes readers back to memorable, important sections of the text and reads them aloud
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Vocabulary Builder**: identifies key vocabulary terms, defines them, and explains them in the context of the novel
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Connector**: takes everyone from the text world out into the real world where readers' experience connects with literature
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Illustrator**: provides a graphic, nonlinguistic response to the text which often elicits very helpful contributions from kids who don't always succeed at the usual school-language prompts

__ **Additional Roles** __ Depending on your students, you may choose to create additional roles from which they could choose. Some examples might be: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> You can see that there are as many roles as ways to analyze a novel.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Historian: researches and reports back on the time period in which the book was written
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Media Specialist: Connects text to other media (song, movie clip, etc.)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Psychologist: Relates text to psychology
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Archetypal Critic: Relates text to Jungian Archetypes
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Devil's Advocate: Argues against the book's main theme(s)/idea(s)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Craft Curator: Points out specific, powerful instances where writer's craft is apparent
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Metaphor Moderator: Keeps track of instances where extended metaphor/motif appears in a novel

Here are some more role sheets from Liz Fisher.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">The following section is from [|www.studyguide.org]. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Preparing Students for Literature Circles **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Advance preparation is crucial! Literature circles are most successful when students have been prepared for the various roles and the meeting procedures. Prior to the first meeting of the groups, you will want to go over: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">Prior to starting the novels, you might wish to practice with short stories or picture books. The entire class reads the story, then they practice all of the roles we'll be using. You could discuss various questions and passages the students find, then have them write about them in journals. It may take several short stories before the class feels comfortable with the system. It is beneficial to practice the skills of summarizing chapters, writing fat (higher-order level) questions, and choosing passages in a text BEFORE starting a rotation of literature circles. To practice these skills, the entire class reads the same novel. A common reading helps the less able students hear good questions and passages that stronger students have come up with. In addition, the more summarizing students do, the better summarizers they become.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">an explanation of each role you will be using
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">how to write fat questions
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">how to choose appropriate passages
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">summarizing a chapter
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;">how to write an excellent sentence for a vocabulary work

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 130%; font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">If you find yourself lacking the resources to provide students with novels, you could // <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> > > <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Talk to your media specialist and/or local library to see about reserving multiple copies of books. Your media specialist may also have money in the budget to order books. //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Talk to your department chair, assistant principal, principal, or PTA chairperson to see if there is any money anywhere. Remind them that Literature Circles is a proven, research-supported method of differentiating instruction. //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Share class sets with another teacher. Divide up class sets so that all teachers have 4 - 5 copies of each book.//
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Ask for donations. Parents may be willing to donate. It never hurts to ask. //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">If you cannot require students to purchase a book, you can //
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Visit used book stores, garage sales, and library sales. Many places offer used paperbacks for $.25 to $1.00. //

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Reference: []
 * [|The San Diego County Office of Education], who referenced the following book: [|Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom]//.// Stenhouse Publishers, 1994, ISBN 1-57110-000-8.