Literature Circles

While he was still in the classroom, Brent received a lot of questions about how he ran his Literature Circles program. Below is a list of the most commonly asked questions, followed by his answers. Please understand these answers should not be considered "right" or the only way to run a Literature Circles program. Rather, the answers represent what Brent found to work well in his classroom. ​

How did you group students?

I grouped my students homogeneously. Using Lexiles as well as other classroom assessments as a guide, I placed students in groups with readers at similar reading levels. I also tried, whenever possible, to create boys- and girls-only groups. I didn't do this throughout the curriculum, but over the years I've found that students tend to open up more in their book-based discussions when they are surrounded by others of the same gender. They also tended to be more interested in the same types of books.

Did students stay in the same groups all year?

Not necessarily. The goal of Literature Circles was to match readers to appropriately leveled text, so it made sense that if a student showed dramatic improvement in his/her reading abilities, it was necessary to move him/her to a higher-level group. That being said, I found that over the course of a school year, everybody improves, not just one or two students. As one student developed, so did the rest. In short, most groups grew together, making it possible to keep the groups intact. Of course, if a student was progressing more rapidly than the rest of the group, a change would have been necessary and was made.

Did students select their own books or do you assign them?

Although I approved their selections to ensure that the books were at an appropriate reading level, groups chose their own books. When students were first introduced to the Literature Circles program, they were given a list of all the books available. Next to each title on the list was the book's Lexile level. By comparing a book's level to the Lexile levels of the students in the group, students could quickly and easily find an appropriate selection. 

It's important to note that when making book selections, the books' Lexile levels were used as a guideline, not a rigid rule. I did occasionally recommend books for my students that don't exactly "match" in terms of the students' and books' Lexile levels. I have encountered books whose assigned Lexile level, when compared to my experience with the books, don't seem quite accurate. For example, Mr. Popper's Penguins has a Lexile of 910, putting it at a high 5th grade level. I found, however, this book to be perfect for some of my struggling 5th grade readers.  In fact, when I taught 4th grade, I used this book as a core novel for my entire class. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if your experience leads you to believe a book may be a good match for your students, despite the lack of an apparent match between the Lexile level of the book and students, don't be afraid to give it a try. The students will know within a chapter or two if the book is too hard or too easy.

How long did it take for a group to finish a book?

It depends on the group and on the book being read. A shorter book may have been finished by a high-level group in only a week or two, or a longer book may require a month by students reading at a slower pace.

How were "jobs" assigned?

Each student had what we call a "job wheel." To create the job wheel, I first gave students a circular piece of paper divided into pie-like sections, each section containing the name of a Lit. Circle job (here are the uncut job wheels I used for 4-person and 5-person groups). This piece of paper was then attached to a small square piece of construction paper by pushing a small brass brad through the center of both sheets of paper. By drawing an arrow at the top of the construction paper and rotating the wheel, students were able to determine, on their own, what jobs they were responsible to complete each week. Students kept track of their jobs, reading assignments, and due dates on a Literature Circles Assignment Sheet.

How did you grade students' jobs?

In my classroom, each job were worth 5 points. When grading jobs, I looked for three things: completeness, effort, and accuracy. First, I checked to make sure the job has been completed in its entirety, including all of the appropriate headings (e.g. book title, pages/chapters read). Jobs with incomplete headings were automatically docked one point, and incomplete jobs are marked down and had to be redone. I then checked to make sure the job was completed accurately. For example, did the Discussion Director write high-level questions (not just yes/no questions)? Did the Word Finder correctly define the words he/she looked up? Lastly, I look for effort. It was very evident when a student has put forth good effort on a Literature Circles assignment, just as it was very evident when he/she did not. I consistently stressed to my students that if they worked hard and do their best, improvement (and typically a good grade) was bound to follow.

How often did you meet with your Literature Circles?

My students met in their Literature Circle groups once a week, typically on Fridays. The other four days of reading instruction were spent in our district-adopted reading series and/or a core novel unit. A few years I had students meet twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays), but I found once a week more to my liking for two reasons. First, it allowed me to devote more time to our reading curriculum and second, since there was more time between meetings, students were able to read larger portions of their books, thus enabling them to have deeper discussions when they met in their groups.

Where did you get your Literature Circles books?

I was fortunate enough to build my Literature Circles library almost entirely by using bonus points from book clubs like Scholastic.  Beginning in about my third year of teaching, I began putting all of my bonus points toward new Lit. Circles books. By adding two or three new sets of books each time I place a student order, I was able to build a pretty substantial collection.

How did you find Lexile levels for your Literature Circles books?

Lexile.com has a fantastic database that can be used to file the reading level of books. Each time I got a new book, I searched the database using its book search feature to find the book's Lexile level.

In what grade levels can you run Literature Circles?

I ran Literature Circles in both my 4th and 5th grade classrooms and know of teachers who have run them in higher grade levels. 3rd graders may not be ready for the freedom and responsibility that come with a full-blown Literature Circles program, so I would recommend a modified program with more teacher involvement at this grade level. When I taught 4th grade, I used to wait until around January to begin the program. Since student responsibility is imperative for the program to run successfully, I always waited until we got a little deeper into the school year. This gave students more time to strengthen their independence and responsibility before we got started. When I taught 5th grade, I typically introduced the program in October.

How did you monitor groups?

During each session, I typically moved throughout the classroom, spending a little time with each group. I'd sit down and listen to the discussion and sharing that was taking place, making sure the group was on task, and then I'd move on to another group. I also made it a point several times a year to spend sessions with each group from start to finish. This enabled me to see group dynamics for a complete session and not just during a random five-minute block of time (when they were on their best behavior).

Are Literature Circles effective?

I found them to be extremely effective. My students' comprehension and vocabulary scores consistently rose as a result of the program. But what thrilled me more than improved test scores was the fact that Literature Circles made my students excited about reading. They looked forward to their group meetings each week and were always disappointed when something like an assembly forced the rescheduling of a Literature Circles session.

Can I use your job sheets with my own students?

Absolutely! Please feel free to download and use my job sheets and other handouts with your students.

Any tips for getting started?

• Make sure you take the time to thoroughly train your students on exactly how you want your program run. Before I even split my class into groups, I typically spend two or three weeks on things like:
• introducing the concept of Literature Circles.  Here's the PowerPoint presentation I use to help introduce the program to my students.
• discussing the qualities students must display in order for Literature Circles to be effective.
• going over Bloom's six levels of questioning, highlighting the need to use higher-level questions during group discussions.
• discussing and modeling each job.  Here's a "Things to Look For" chart detailing the requirements for each job.
• introducing job wheels and assignment sheets.
• modeling the procedures of a Literature Circles session (what you do first, second, etc.).

Also, I highly recommend being strict with your expectations early on so that bad habits don't develop (I'm speaking from experience here). In terms of jobs, I've found that when I've accepted less than a student's best effort in the beginning, I was more likely to continue to receive work that didn't always reflect what the student was capable of producing.

Finally, Literature Circles only work when everyone comes to the group prepared. A group can't have a discussion if the Discussion Director doesn't do his/her job. Students must be responsible for the program to work. Comments like "I didn't do my job" or "I left my job at home" can doom a Lit. Circles session. In my earlier years of using Lit. Circles, I sometimes had problems with students not completing jobs on time. I've found that the best way to ensure that students complete their jobs on time is to make the penalty for not doing their jobs severe. In my class, students knew that if they didn't complete their assigned job, they had to complete all five jobs during recess and/or lunch. Simple "benching" during a recess did not prove to be enough of a deterrent. I told my class, "Take the time to do one job well, so you don't have to spend a lot more time doing all five." Strict? You bet. But you know what? It worked. Plus, I let my students know that if they didn't do their jobs, they weren't only letting me and themselves down, they were letting their groupmates down as well.