Literature Circles
Literature Circles is an exciting reading program that allows students to take control of their own learning. In this program, the class is divided into reading groups, with each group consisting of four or five students. Each group then has the opportunity to select its own book to read, as well as the pace at which it wishes to read it (all under teacher supervision, of course). During the reading of their selected literature, students complete various "jobs" emphasizing skills such as high-level questioning, vocabulary development, and writing. Similar to a book club, students then get together for an opportunity to share their jobs and discuss the books they are reading. Here is some research on the effectiveness of Literature Circles, and here's a list of frequently asked questions about how Brent used Literature Circles in his classroom.
Literature Circles Job Sheets
Click on a sheet below to download it for use in your classroom.
Click on a sheet below to download it for use in your classroom.
Discussion Director
Students write high-level questions to be used during group discussion.
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Word Finder
Students find and define unknown or interesting vocabulary words to share with the group.
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Connector
Students connect an event in the book to an event in their own life or that of someone
they know. |
Correspondent
Students write a letter from one of the book's characters to another.
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Illustrator
Students illustrate a scene from the book.
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Assignment Sheet
Students use this sheet to keep track of group assignments.
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Questioning Packet
Discussion Directors can use this handy packet to help them come up with high-level questions for group discussions.
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