| Lesson
1: Introduction to
Literature Circles: Part I (i)
Students will be introduced to the basic concept of literature
circles. (ii)
Teacher will guide the students in the examination of the poem Secretly
by Ruth Roston from the perspective of each discussion role (presented
through prepared overheads).
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| Lesson
2: Introduction to
Literature Circles: Part II
(i)
All students will read A Mountain Legend by Jordan Wheeler. (ii)
Students will be randomly divided into groups of six. (iii)
Students will decide which role each group member will assume and
begin preparing for discussion. (iv)
Using the role sheets as a foundation, students will interrogate
the text as a group. (v)
Each group will select a spokesperson to relate to present a short
oral report to the class after the analysis is complete. (vi)
Students will be assessed using the following method: (a) Participation Check-Sheet
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| Lesson
3: Introduction to
Literature Circles: Part III (i)
Students will be given a choice of any text in the What A Story
unit material – they will be grouped according to their own selections. (ii)
Students will read their selections as a group. (iii)
Students will select discussion roles. (iv)
The group will interrogate its selected text together using the
role sheets as a guideline. (v)
Each group will select a method of presentation to represent the
groups cumulative understanding of the text. (vi)
All role sheets will be collected for assessment at the end of this
analysis. (vii)
Students will be assessed using the following methods: (a) Participation Check-Sheet (b) Presentations – grading rubric designed specifically for the kind of presentation selected. (c)
Self-Assessment Form and Journal Entry
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| Lesson
4: Literature Circles in
Action The focus of this lesson is the implementation of what the students have learned over the previous three introductory lessons on literature circles. Students will be formed into random groups and set upon the task of interrogating an entire novel using literature circles. (i)
The current 7-9 Curriculum for English Language Arts demands that
students study at least three novels in-depth in the classroom.
It is useful to use one of these novels for this grouping of
literature circles because all students will have access to the text –
the teacher does not have to worry about finding materials. (ii)
The time allotted for this kind of novel study is generally three
weeks. Students will discuss
the novel, taking on each of the various discussion roles at least twice
(in order to become more familiar with them) before abandoning the
prescribed discussion roles and replacing them with reading logs. (iii)
Students will switch discussion roles every day and pass
their prepared sheets into the teacher for evaluation at the end of each
period. (iv)
When students switch to reading logs, these will be collected in
once every few days for assessment. (v)
Students will be assessed individually using a combination of : (a) Checksheet (b) Anecdotal Records (c) Interviews with teacher (d)
Self-Evaluation Forms and Journal Entry (vi)
Each group will decide on a method of final presentation and be
assessed using specific scoring rubrics.
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| Lesson
5: Virtual Literature
Circles
Students
are required to study a certain number of novels independently and provide
“closure” reports on these. In
addition to this evaluation technique, students will employ their
discussion skills, which they have learned from the previous lessons on
literature circles, using an internet discussion forum designed
specifically for that purpose. Students
will spend one period per week in the computer room entering their
material into the forum and reading/responding to the entries of others.
Students will be required to make at least one entry during each of
these periods but they will be strongly encouraged to participate in these
forum discussions as much as possible, whether at home or in school.
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Back to Virtual Literature Circles
