Lit Circles
Grades 2-12
Big Idea
A Literature Circle is a structure for getting students to talk about a novel with their peers as they read it together. Students are in charge of the discussion and the decision of how many pages will be read before the next discussion. There are between four to six students in each literature circle, and each member rotates one of the following jobs throughout the project: Discussion Director, Literary Luminary, Character Captain, Connector, Artistic Adventurer, and Vocabulary Hunter. Students are empowered with so much choice and get to "run" the show. Each job requires the student to be thorough and detailed. *Key: you must show you read your assigned reading! Keep up on the reading you all agree upon.
Directions
2. Preview books by allowing students to participate in a "Dinner Party" (see attached handout) or give a book talk (you can invite the librarian for this as well or take student volunteers who have read the book).
3. Group students based on interest in titles (might be good to have them select their top three choices as all students won't get their first choice).
4. Distribute books and assign book numbers. Have5 students put a sticky note inside with their first and last name, the teacher's name, and the book number).
5. Day 1: Students get with their new book groups and preview the book. You can use the "Dinner Party" template again. Then students decide the number of pages to be read by the next meeting date (might be good to meet once or twice a week). Students select one of the role sheets (color code these so that each time the students grab a different color role sheet and get different jobs.)
6. On the next meeting date, students come with their book and their completed role sheet.
The DIRECTOR or another student if the Director is not there, facilitates the discussion. They begin by going through their role sheet and holding a discussion about their questions. Then another student reports out their new learning from their role, etc.
7. At the end of this meeting, the Director completes the evaluation form (see attached) grading students on role sheet completion and participation in the discussion. The process is then repeated for the next meeting date. Each student selects a different role each time.
8. The teacher can collect role sheets each time to check for understanding and to give feedback.(Provide student models for the role sheets so students know the expectations).
When to use
Resources
Role Sheets with Icons https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rOp1ykfvvHheTe7rarudRElK7XYY1tyR/view?usp=sharing
Additional Lit Circle Ideas and Differentiation Strategies https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWjxIsWj8-sYDHnEAPH-EtbRUmjYDsH44JFmPRxy1rg/edit
Overview and Director Reporting sheet https://docs.google.com/document/d/14HIyrtZAFECjkYRfi_xRZV3q-3hU73c9AZTFtEJt4Ok/edit#heading=h.agx1i1ms2fl6