Certainly literature circles, book clubs, and discussion groups arent new tools for many teachers. Iv experimented with many different types of literature circles, and this page. This resource works for any novel and will become a lifelong tool that you can use multiple times each school year. Book club is my version of harvey daniels literature circles. Smokey has authored or coauthored thirteen books on language, literacy, and education. For example, the saskatoon public school board has some great resources on their website about different ways to run literature circles, as well as assessment and evaluation considerations. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups and teaching the best practice way. A book discussion club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read and express their opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. A passionate blog on getting a book club up ad running, with reasons why to have one. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the authors craft, or personal experiences related to the story. Other frequently used terms to describe a book discussion club include reading group, book group, and book discussion group. Voice and choice in the studentcentered classroom heinemann, 2002. What are the most common pitfalls in implementing studentled discussion groups. Allow students to choose groups or assign groups with 35 members per group.
Introduce the unit with a short book talk about each book that a group may choose or talk about what type of short text students will select. The chief difference is that students are not assigned roles. Students are grouped based on a book that they choose to read. See more ideas about literature circles, teaching reading and teaching language arts. Previously, i wrote a series of articles that cover procedures, minilessons, and assignments and assessments. Book clubs and partnerships play a crucial role in supporting student comprehension and also in making the reading process a social one nichols, 2006. The groups in both cases are fluid and flexible, meaning they may change frequently. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups by harvey daniels. Discussion in elementary education started by stephernie, mar 31, 2008.
In his system, each student has a different role or job to attend to as the group reads. Popular literature circle books meet your next favorite book. There is some live action, as well as a scripted section that was written by a student. With elementary students, the teacher can begin by reading an engaging picture book. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Lets specifically consider the question asked about same and mixedability grouping for literature circles.
Lit circles by teacher4life great ideas for this year. Literature circles as support for language development t. Literature circles as support for language development. Book clubs and literature circles reading instruction 101. Book clubsliterature circles book clubs are smallgroup discussions around a shared text. Students help each other understand a text and make sense of it.
These are cards that my students use when they are in literature circles or book clubs. Using literature circles the pros and cons rachel knauer. Book club by joel bedford is licensed under cc by 2. I must admit i was really skeptical at first with the idea of letting go, as she says. The ideas are from reciprocal teaching that i have adapted. The literature is tied together by author, genre, topic, or theme. Literature circles and studentled book clubs are both instructional strategies that allow students choice, voice and motivation in reading. One of the major areas i worked on with my 8th graders all year was questioning. From literature circles to inquiry circles the educators. One such approach, the literature circlewhich is somewhat like a student book club in the classroomhas drawn a great.
The first thing i learned about literature circles is that there are so many different versions out there that i would never have time to discuss them all. Book clubs literature circles book clubs are smallgroup discussions around a shared text. Literature circles are a great way to look at a book in many different ways. Classroom book clubs are an easy and fun way to implement literature circles.
The intent of literature circles is to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers dalie, 2001. Basically, literature circles are another name for elementary school book clubs. Smokey has been struck by the range of the book club boom that his book helped initiate. Students demonstrate how to conduct literature circles.
As we share ideas, we help the kids winnow the list down to a reasonable number of entries, eliminating duplicates and gently discarding wacko suggestions. Studentled book clubs have the same goals as literature circles. And getting beyond the basics, what do mature or advanced literature circles look like. They function in a similar way to lit circles, but allow for much more autonomy on the part of the kids. Your guide to starting a book club in your school oxford. A literature circle is equivalent for young people of an adult book club, but with greater structure, expectation and rigor. Literature circles, book clubs, and article studies literature circles, book clubs, and article studies are another important structure in our balanced or comprehensive literacy instructional framework. This ready to print curriculum guide meets thirteen of the ccss in reading literature, language, and speakinglistening for upper elementary students in. Last year, a colleague introduced me to the idea of book clubs.
Reading az also provides all the resources you need for literature circles with any book. Explain the role sheets and your expectations for behavior in literature circles. Literature circles can be a place for cooperative learning. Cavanaugh proposes that literature circles promote critical thinking skills, comprehension skills, cooperative learning, and discussion cavanaugh, 2006. The problem is i have to have the titles to the media specialist by friday morning.
A blog about the experiences of a book club teacher. Literature circles are small, short term discussion groups that have chosen managed choice to read the same. A con for the literature circle is that literature circles take a lot of time. Literature circles and book clubs are a text discussion strategies that supports studentled facilitation and discussion in small groups. Literature circles, which has names like literary community, book group, book club in foreign sources duncan, 2009. Training students for literature circles scholastic. This is the first installment in a series of seven posts with ideas and suggestions for running effective literacy circles or book clubs with students from second grade through high school. Classroom book clubs is a narrated slidecast that describes a fun and effective method of doing literature circles. Literature circles department of education and training. What new resources and procedures can help teachers organize their classroom book clubs better.
Your group discussion will start with your 12 minute statement that covers the key points, main highlights, and general idea of todays reading assignment. Book clubs are groups that are formed by the teacher with literature selected by the teacher. What do we know about literature circles now that we didnt understand eight or ten years ago. Id like to get away from our basal reader a little bit by doing some literature circles or novel studies as a whole class i havent. An opportunity for students to practice reading in a group setting, discuss what they have read, and apply reading strategies they have learned are just a few. So, i will share details about two of the main types of literature circles being used in classrooms. The discussion is guided by students response to what they have read. For middle and highschool students, short stories are a perfect choice. This approach is very flexible and does require students to take on roles when they meeting. The power of literature circles in the classroom edutopia. Literature circles differ from other small group instructional approaches like guided reading in several ways. When students have one role, they might focus more on that one role than the rest of the book. Introduce literature circles by explaining they are groups of people reading the same book and meeting together to discuss what they have read peraltanash and dutch 30.
Were currently experimenting with online literature circles at our school. Literature circle journals save teachers time by pulling together predetermined roles appropriate for a leveled book. During literature circles, students use higher order thinking skills, work together, learn from one another, and through discussion develop a deeper understanding of the literature. Traditionally, we have used literature circles, book clubs, and article studies with students who were reading above grade level. This resource consists of 5 short narrated videos that will teach you how to implement this method in a stepbystep way.
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. I was in a book club once, i said, explaining how a group of friends read the same novel and then. In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. Book clubs are smallgroup discussions around a shared text. Pei, 2018, is a teaching method that the students come together. Emphasize the studentcentered collaborative nature of the reading strategy by discussing how the strategy places students in charge of leading their own discussions as. The literature circles took about five weeks to complete. The biggest difference between a literature circle and a book club is that the book club primarily focuses on comprehension of the story, while a literature circle explores not only comprehension. It is more often called simply a book club, a term that is also used to describe a book sales club, which can cause confusion. The training for literature circles seems to work best when done as a large group with the entire class. Guided reading and book clubs also called literature circles also motivate students by giving a purpose to their reading.
Your job is to prepare a brief summary of todays reading. In each strategy, students select books they wish to read with a group of their peers. The aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. What type of literature circle grouping works bestsame. Literature circles encourage students to own their learning. Depending on the maturity level of the class, we met with either great success or total disaster. Literature circles and book clubs betterlesson coaching. Lit circles teach kids how to use each other as resources and become independent learners. Book clubs and literature circles take advantage of peer relationships to help students comprehend what they have read and connect with books. So, i tried it as a whole class using the book holes. Overview of literature circles literature circles resource. Free printables for literature circles laura candler.
At its core, literature circles are groups of students meeting together to discuss reading. Another option for literature circles is a book club format. They prepare for a group meeting by reading agreedupon pages, with the followup discussion led members of the group. I use these in the beginning of the year to help students understand the process of how they should be working in a group of readers. Each group chooses a text and each group member chooses a role sheet. Last spring, my 8th grade students were involved in literature circles where they read one of six young adult historical fiction selections.
Taking your literature circles to the next level comprehension. I need a wide range from very low 3rd grade to high 4th grade. As a group of students reads a novel or longer text, they meet. Effective literacy circles and book clubs center for the. Harvey daniels wrote about a system to use when you are new to this type of instruction in his book literature circles. Heres the list one group of third graders at waters school recently came up with. See more ideas about literature circles, teaching reading and reading lessons. Of course, in order for them to be an effective structure for cooperative learning, the teacher needs to intentionally.
Like reciprocal teaching, you can establish group roles, and i think by doing so, youll have greater accountability in the groups discussion and workload. Types of roles in literature circles activities for book club participants. 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. Both of these options provide many benefits to our learners. Book clubs by the national library of new zealand a fantastic website. Ive tried lit circles for the past three years with my fifth graders, with varied results. Read the literature circles overview to learn specific protocols with a trackrecord of success. Literature club with program details for secondary. Literature circles are a process for engaging students in reading with their peers.