Literature Circles

This year our team worked together to implement Literature Circles as part of our Language Arts program.  We adapted Dr. Katherine Schlik Noe's ideas presented on her website.  In preparation for our literature circle groups, some teachers send home the book to read.  Students are instructed to read the book twice and discuss it. During the second rereading, students use  post-it notes to mark any pages they'd like to share and talk about in our groups. When groups meet at school, a packet is provided for each of the six roles in each group.  Our groups are comprised of a Summarizer, Discussion Leader, Word Wizard, Story Connector, Real-life Connector and Illustrator. 

The Summarizer begins the meeting having written down the main points of the book to share with the group.  The student will think about what happened at the beginning, middle and end of the story and may want to explain what was learned.  The Summarizer will read the summary to the group.  He/she will have each person tell about their favorite part.  You can view the page from the Summarizer's packet here.

The Discussion Leader follows the Summarizer and guides the discussion of the book.  This person tries to think of open ended questions which will get the group talking about what they have read.  After everyone has answered, the Discussion Leader will share his/her answers.  Click here for the page from the Discussion Leader's packet.

The Word Wizard looks for special words in the book.  A word can be chosen for a variety of reasons - it's a new word for the week, a spelling word, or it is unknown.  In this role, the student writes down the word and the page where it is found.  If the student does not know a word, it will be identified in our circle.  The Word Wizard will ask members of the group to use the words in a sentence as he/she reads them.  The Word Wizard page can be viewed here.

The Story Connector tries to find connections between the book and another story we have read.  After the Story Connector shares, he/she will ask members of the group for other story connections.  You can view the page from the Story Connector's packet here.

The Illustrator is to draw anything about the story.  It can be a character, setting, a prediction of what will happen, or anything else.  When the picture is brought to the group, the group will talk about the drawing first.  Then the Illustrator will tell the group about the picture.

The Real-Life Connector finds parts from the story that remind him/her of things that happened to him/her or someone else in real life.  It can be an event at school, home, or in the neighborhood.  After the Real-Life Connector shares, other memebers of the group can tell about a connection they can make with the story.  Click here for the page from the Real-Life Connector's packet.