Literature Circles
R.N.
C.K.
D.M.P.
V.A.
M.K.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume
D.H.
N.K.
K.K.
K.F.
T.H.
Journey to the River Sea, by Eva Ibbotson
K.O.
E.K.
M.M.
M.M.
The Sisters Grimm, by Michael Buckley
K.N.
S.H.
A.O.
H.S.
N.P.
We started literature circles this week. Literature circles are small, peer-led reading discussion groups. The goal of literature circles is to promote high-level thinking skills and lifelong reading habits. We will be meeting in our literature circle groups twice each week, Mondays and Thursdays. On Thursdays, students will turn in a letter that they write to their group members. These letters include things like questions that they have about the book, what they thought of the characters, predictions about what will happen, and opinions about how the author wrote. During their Thursday meeting time, each group member will exchange letters with one of their group-mates, who will read their letter and respond. Literature circle group members will also be responsible for writing down five ideas to talk about during their Monday meeting. During their Monday meeting, each member will share an idea, the group will discuss that topic, then they'll move on to someone else’s idea. Here is a copy of the instructions: lit circles.pdf
Groups met this week to decide on their reading assignments. I gave them an ending date, February 21 (with the exception of two groups - one reading a very long book and one that is reading two books), and they divided the book up into reasonable assignments for each night. They either wrote their homework plan down in their planner or they used a separate calendar, which should live from this point on in their homework folder. This was a challenging, but extremely valuable, activity for each group because they needed to consider many different factors, such as everyone’s reading pace, nights that they have a lot of other homework or outside activities, and making sure they have read enough to have a worthwhile discussions on their meeting days. The groups also came up with rules for their group to make sure that everyone felt comfortable sharing their ideas. Your child should be starting their literature circle homework tonight.
During literature circles, homework will be a little different. These are the differences:
1. Students will write a letter to their group members, due Thursdays.
2. Students will write down five ideas for discussion, due Mondays.
2. Literature circle reading can count towards your child’s 20-30 minutes of reading a night.
Please help me stress how important it is for your child to do their literature circle homework. Their doing the correct amount of reading (not over or under) and preparing ideas and letters for the meeting greatly impacts their whole group and the quality of everyone’s literature circle experience.
Posted on January 10, 2008 5:30 PM | Permalink