Open the pages of this new guide and put yourself into a terrific literature circles environment — one where the focus is specifically on your middle school learners! Whether you’re a classroom teacher, curriculum coordinator, language arts coordinator, or administrator, you’ll find enough ready-to-use help and realistic strategies to get you started, help you implement, and even improve upon existing literature circles in your classroom.

Included is a CD-ROM with a database containing over 800 young adult book titles.

©2003 Paperbound 136pp est. with CD-ROM
ISBN: 1-929024-50-9

Table of Contents

Introduction / The Structure of This Book

1. Literature Circles in My Middle School Classroom
Why Literature Circles?
What Are Literature Circles?
How Can Literature Circles Meet the Needs of Middle School Students?
What Is the Role of Literature Circles in My Middle School Language Arts Program?
The Grading Challenge
Successful Literature Circles in Middle School
2. Organizing Literature Circles
Getting Started
Determining a Yearly Plan for Literature Circles
3. Choosing Books
Keeping Up With New Books
Obtaining Multiple Copies
Selecting Different Books for Different Grades
Meeting the Needs of Less Proficient Readers
My Secret Weapon: The Read Aloud
4. Supporting Quality Discussions
Benefits of Discussion
Providing Guidance for Discussions
Beyond Role Sheets
Preparing for Discussion
Developing Discussions Over Time
Debriefing: The Key to Successful Discussions
Focus Lessons for Discussion
Teacher Evaluation
Student Self-Evaluation
My Own Goal for Discussion
5. Supporting Quality Written Response
Purpose of Written Response
Different Ways to use Writing
Developing Written Response Over Time
Writing Response Journals Today
Focus Lessons for Written Response
Responding to and Evaluating Student Writing
Student Self-Evaluation
My Own Goals for Written Response
6. Extending Response through the Arts
What Are Extension Projects?
Purpose of Extension Projects
Sample Extension Projects
Teaching the Process
Exploring Literary Elements through Extension Projects
Setting a Timeline for Extension Projects
Focus Lessons for Extension Projects
Evaluating Extension Projects

Conclusion

Appendix A: State Standards and Literature Circles

Appendix B: Additional Literature Circle Books

References

Professional Books

Young Adult Books

Also in this series

Literature Circles Resource Guide

Bonnie Campbell Hill,
Katherine L. Schlick Noe, and Nancy J. Johnson

Getting Started with
Literature Circles

Katherine L. Schlick Noe and Nancy J. Johnson

Literature Circles and Response

edited by
Bonnie Campbell Hill,
Nancy J. Johnson, and
Katherine L. Schlick Noe