The questions written or passages selected are meaningful to the discussion or activity. The discussion questions in this lesson will help you and your students keep. Once the groups are established and the procedures are modeled, you will be a facilitator of learning, empowering your students to explore and respond to their books. Literature circle discussion card questions what events cause the character to change.
Lliitteerraattuurree cciirrcclleess uusseerr gguuiiddee. If you find that roles would be helpful for you, we recommend the clear descriptions in harvey danielss book, literature circles. Role cards for literature circles discussion director. Offers few opinions and makes limited connections to the text. If desired, make overhead transparencies of the literature circle roles and literature circle process. Literature circles and book clubs are a text discussion strategies that supports studentled facilitation and discussion in small groups. Reminds you of something that has happened in your life. As you read, find 3 words that you want to look up. To prompt student thinking, the following role cards may be used.
Students will have ample time to practice and develop reading comprehension skills unique to the digital learning environment. O literacy circles are part of a balanced literacy program. You can use them to assess students performance, and as mentioned above, students can evaluate their own individual performances, as well as their. In literature circles, students can independently apply the skills and strategies learned throughout the year. By creating roles within each literature circle or book club group and specific tasks for the group to accomplish during their text discussion time, teachers can modify the work to make it more studentcentered. Literature circles planner a literature circle is a group of students that are reading the same book. These cards inform students of their role in the literature circle team. Select four to six fluent readers for each literature circle group, basing your decisions on the following criteria. For the first paragraph of your response, describe what this character is like. Literature circles are a fun and effective way to get kids excited about reading, and they are aligned with common core state standards for speaking and listening.
You will also find helpful information about roles at, a web site based on harvey danielss book. The discussion director guides the group discussion by posing relevant and interesting questions, and encouraging all members to contribute equally to the discussion. Students run their own discussions and remain on task. Preparing for discussion adapted from chapter 5 getting started with literature circles katherine l. Literature circles are small, peerled discussion groups whose members have chosen to read the same story, poem, article, or book. Tell the class over the next two weeks each student will work with 34 peers to discuss a text of the. Literature circle roles discussion director the discussion director asks questions to increase comprehension. Literature circles user guide literature circles encourage conversations among students who have read the same text and help students develop insights by considering texts from different points of view. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups 2001. For decades, literature circles have been used in language arts classrooms to give shape to childrens literary discussions while affording students utmost agency in textual interpretation and response. This file has 30 question cards with book discussion. Literature circles a literature circle is the student equivalent of a book club, but designed with greater structure, expectation and rigor. Literature circle golden rules groups are formed based on the selection of books. Offers few opinions and makes no personal connections to the text.
Your job is to prepare a brief summary of todays reading. Getting students involved in literature circles is a wonderful way to help them think deeply and abstractly about text. In this video, the teacher leads a literature circle to engage students in deeper understanding of the text. They enjoyed the step up to student led and facilitated literature circle. Getting started with literature circles the curriculum. Discussion director character vocabulary enricher literary. Circles reminders literature circles reflection questions. Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group might want to discuss about this part of the book. Discussion cards these can be used by the discussion director or in other ways as needed. If someone is not involved, discuss it with the student or temporarily join the group and draw that student into the discussion with a thoughtful question. How does the character remind you of yourself, another character or someone you know. When they meet, they discuss the parts of the book they have read and plan for the next session. O the circles allow students to engage in critical thinking and reflection through reading, discussing and responding to literature.
Eyes on space explains the history of telescopes, how they work, and how scientists and others use them to study distant objects in space. Your group discussion will start with your 12 minute statement that covers the key points, main highlights, and general idea of todays reading assignment. List some words that describe how the main character feels at the end this story. The implementation of literature circles is outlined in many of our reading workshops. Literature circles use this wheel to rotate your jobs for each literature circle meeting. While reading, pick a main character from your book. Includes 12 questions designed to get students thinking about their reading. Literature circles students choose their own reading materialsengagement groups read different books differentiation groups meet on a regular schedule to discuss their reading discussion topics come from the students group meetings aim to be open, natural conversations about books, so personal connections. Book discussion book discussion book discussion book discussion who is the main character in this story. Think about how the main character solved an important problem in this book. Identify symbols such as people, actions, or objects that stand for something bigger than themselves.
This literacy unit goes along with the book, chocolate fever, by robert kimmel smith. If youre printing out several literature circle worksheets to form a packet, you can use this cover page. Balanced reading program from chapter 1, getting started with literature circles. Often, literature circles are enhanced with extra assignments making time lines to help understand the book better, or. Literature circle assessment rubric level one level two level three level four discussion does not participate in group discussions. Literature circles support students to be responsible for their learning. Training students for literature circles scholastic. Literature circle openended discussion prompts vocabulary think about the interesting words and vocabulary words in your book. Language arts lessons literature circle roles for discussing. Alternately, you might write the information on chart paper or the board. Includes reading comprehension worksheets, literature circle printables, a word search puzzle, and more. Free printables for literature circles laura candler. O students are enthusiastic, motivated and actively involved. They were able to read a chapter and answer the questions as a group.
Preparing for discussion literature circles resource center. Literature circles and book clubs betterlesson coaching. Literature circles are a widely used reading response activity in current. Make copies of the literature circle role sheets discussion director, vocabulary enricher, literary luminary, and checker for students to use independently and as.
These literature circle worksheets provide a basic approach to getting started. Does the author use flashback, moving back and forth between present and past. Literature circle cards discussion director, word wizard, literature luminary, and illustrator. Literature circles department of education and training. Browse this collection of printables to use with your literature circle activities. The best questions are usually the ones that you had while you read. To prepare for my specific role in the literature circle meeting eg discussion. Literature circles and response bonnie campbell hill. Develop a set of questions for your group to discuss about this part of the book. Literature circle questions use the questions and activities that follow to get more out of the experience of reading love that dog by sharon creech. Literature circles jobs these jobs will be modeled by the teacher during the first week, and then performed by the students in each literature circle group on a rotating basis. Literature discussion evaluation sheet both you and your students will benefit from completing these evaluation sheets. What do you think the author wants you to learn from reading this story.
Readers also learn about advancements that astronomers and other scientists are working toward achieving. I survived the american revolution, 1776 discussion cards tpt. Use the literature circle wheel to help remind students what their next job is. You will notice as you circulate to each group how involved each student is or should be during literature circles. Literature circles provide a meaningful way for students to participate in accountable talk while they respond to text in meaningful ways. My highest level book club used this resource as discussion prompts.
Making discussions work literature circles resource center. If literature circles are brand new to you or your students. Literature circle role cards a literature circle is a small group instructional approach to support the development of comprehension, independence and enjoyment. Digital discussion boards will both engage students in dialogue with each other and provide an authentic purpose for annotating texts. Discussion director your job is to make a list of questions that your group might want to discuss. These words need to be words that you do not know the meaning of, or a word that you want to know more about. Literature circle guide cover page this can be used if you plan on putting the student pages into a booklet. Each student has a specific role to play when it is their turn to lead the discussion. Discussion topics for literature circles respond to a part of the book that. Can you relate to the main characters conflicts or problems. If the students will be using a set of discussion cards they have not used before, go through the entire set with the class quickly to clear up any confusion about the wording of the questions.