Mrs. Cowan's Literature Circles
Welcome to my Literature Circle Page! If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, feel free to email me. Thanks again for dropping by and I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
Mrs.
Cowan
Quick Reference Worksheets:
Roles:
Story Maps:
Character Maps:
Literature Circles are great way to teach reading by allowing the students to take a more active role in their learning. Students get to be the leaders by deciding what they will read and how they will learn in Literature Circles. Literature Circles allow the students to become leaders so to speak. Students are broken up into groups of 4 to 6 students based on similar reading levels, likes, needs, strengths and weaknesses. The students then select a story to read together and discuss together as a group. This story must be agreed upon by all members of the group.
Students are allowed to read the stories independently and then return to the group to discuss what has been read. Students may also chose to buddy read or read as a group together. That is the beauty of Literature Circle. It is student directed! Students are the leaders in their own learning with this method.
Students also determine the pace at which they read. The groups meet on a regular schedule to discuss their reading. The students are also assigned tasks or jobs to promote their involvement as well as to complete specific tasks. Jobs also insure that each child is an "active" participant in his or her own learning. The group meetings are meant to be open discussions about the books so personal connections, digressions, and open-ended questions are welcome.
What are the jobs in a Literature Circle?
- Team Leader - The Team Leader is responsible for writing the questions that are to be used for discussion. Team Leader is also responsible for making sure each member contributes equally to the group discussion.
- Vocabulary Keeper - The Vocabulary Keeper is responsible for keeping track of any new and exciting words that are discovered while reading the text. They are also responsible for defining the new term for the other members. The Vocabulary Keeper needs to make sure he/she gets input from all members in listing the new terms as well.
- The Connector - The Connector is responsible for writing any connections made to the story. These connections can include text to text, text to self, and text to world. Remember, the more connections that are made, the more likely a text will be remembered.
- The Illustrator - The Illustrator is responsible for illustrating a moment in the story. Their job is to provide others with a "snapshot" or visual of what is happening in their story.
- The Story Mapper - The Story Mapper is responsible for creating a story map such as a Venn Diagram, Thinking Map, Flow Chart, etc. relating to the story. The Story Mapper must be able to explain his/her own map to the others.
- The Summarizer - The Summarizer is responsible for writing a brief summary of the story to be shared with the group at each meeting. The summary should be brief and include only key events and characters. The summary does not need to go into great detail.
How are jobs determined in a Literature Circle?
Jobs are assigned weekly by the students. The students are permitted to change jobs at the end of the week to allow the students the opportunity to try all jobs. Not all jobs will be assigned each week since some groups consist of only four to five members.
How often are the job pages collected in a Literature Circle?
Job pages are collected once a week. This is to maintain the student's interest in reading the stories while still requiring them to turn in something concrete which can be used as an assessment.
