Year-at-a-Glance

• early in the year, model key components with read aloud

 
• usually 3-4 rounds of literature circles per year

 
• sometimes begin with whole class reading the same book (in anthology or class set of one title)

 
• alternate literature circles with guided reading instruction

 
• begin with all students doing the same extension & response projects -- gradually add choices

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• each unit lasts about 3 weeks for reading & discussion, one week for extension project

 
• sometimes tie books together with broad human theme (e.g., Taking Action to Care for Others), by author, or by genre (e.g., biographies)

 
• book talk on the first day, students choose books; I try to honor student choice whenever possible

 
• I aim for 4-5 students in a group

 
• I help students divide up the number of pages in the book by the number of days theyíll have to read.  This often takes a few mini-lessons:  "How many days do we have available for reading?  How many pages in your book?"  "If you divide the number of pages by the number of days, how many pages will you need to read each time?"  "What makes a logical stopping place (help students see that sometimes they may need to read more or fewer pages to fit chapter ends or logical pauses in the book)?"

 
• students have a special journal for each literature circle

 
• 1-2 response projects in a round, tied to a focus such as character study (bookmark), sequencing (story hat), understanding main idea (main idea belt)

students read 4 days each week

 

we write in journals whenever we read or meet in groups

 

I give a mini-lesson each week on a reading/writing strategy and one on a procedure related to  literature circles (specific lessons come from our debriefings)

 

groups meet to discuss 1-2 times each week; all groups meet simultaneously -- I roam with a clipboard to take anecdotal notes

 

I read with most struggling readers every day to check in on how they are doing

 

if they get behind, students make up reading at silent reading time

Literature circles take place during my 1-hour Reading Block (usually 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.).  The exact activities for each day will vary throughout the 3-4 weeks of the literature circle cycle.  Below are three of the most common variations for each day's agenda:

Variation A:     Read:  20 minutes
                     Write in journal:  15 minutes
                      Meet in group to discuss:  10 minutes
                      Debrief as a whole class:  10 minutes

Variation B:     Share picture book for reading strategy mini-lesson:  20 minutes
                      Read:  20 minutes
                      Writing linked to mini-lesson:  20 minutes

Variation C:      Meet in group to discuss:  10 minutes
                      Reflect on discussion/whole-group debrief:  15 minutes
                      Read:  20 minutes

•     when students finish at varying times, they work on response project or independent reading

•     I always try to debrief how things went -- that's where the literature circles mini-lessons come from

class-generated rubric for journal

checklist or anecdotal records for discussion.  I figure out what Iíll be looking for first (e.g., participation, questioning, and/or listening)

response & extension project (culminating) show understanding of book, theme, characters, etc.

quality work on bookmark & golden lines

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Organizational Structures That Work in My Class:

Folders for students to keep journal entries, pocket for focus lesson work, "Golden Lines," self-evaluation sheets, project plans.

 

Bookmarks to identify books and keep notes as students read.

 

Boxes for book sets and folders for each group.  Cereal or pre-fab boxes work fine.

 

Wall postings:

GuidelinesDecide as a class how they will prepare for literature circle meetings, when and how reading can be made up, what makes a discussion run smoothly.  Click here for more information on helping students develop discussion guidelines.

 

Group listsA chart showing who is in which group and what pages they have decided to read.

 

 Journal promptsKeep a running list of ideas for ways to start and what to include.  Click here for ideas on using prompts in discussion; click here for ideas on using prompts in written response.

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