After reading the required chapters in Literature Circles, Chapter 2 stuck out to me the most. On page 18, Daniels states the “Eleven Key Ingredients” for Literature Circles. These are guidelines for what goes into having successful literature circles. I feel these would help a first year teacher who may be unsure about what to do or how to go about developing literature circles. One key feature I really like is to allow the discussion topics to come from the students. This makes the students in charge of what is happening in the group. The discussion comes from the students and what they have come up with. I feel this is key because the students will be more interested in the literature circle since they have the responsibility of coming up with questions and discussing them. I completely agree with what Daniels had to say on page 22. He states, “After all, if kids never practice digging the big ideas out of texts themselves and always have teachers doing it for them, how can they ever achieve literary and intellectual independence?” As teachers, we have to allow our students to use higher level thinking. We cannot always do it for them or they will never grow and develop within themselves.
Another chapter I enjoyed reading was Chapter 7 about books and materials. I can remember using some of the same strategies when I was in school. As a teacher, the quality of the book matters. On page 94, Daniels talks about a science project that gets smelly. What’s the point? You want students to see development, take risks, and grow while reading a story. It is important to remember the reading level of the students. You don’t want a student frustrated while reading. The point of literature circles is to have students reading at their “fluency level” (95). Teachers now have more options for literature circles. There are Reading Response Logs where students place their thoughts and responses to the reading. Students immediately are prepared for discussion. Post-its are great for having evidence from the text right in front of the student. They are able to write notes on the points about a passage. Students are prepared for discussion by having everything they need right in the book. Clipboards allow students to have discussion anywhere they would like to and take notes easily. Role sheets have lots of variety to them. Roles can be added or removed depending on the group and the importance to the text. Roles allow students to focus on one concept then share in discussion. As a teacher I would allow my students to choose what they like most so they are able to get the most out of their class-time discussion. I feel students can combine a couple options to get the most out of their discussions.
To get Role Sheets, there are a variety of ones in our text, or I found a website with role sheets. The internet is a great resource of finding materials and resources to use. On this particular website I like the section Ways to Share Books.
Harvey Daniels also has a website, literaturecircles.com that is being updated at the moment. He reviews books that work well for literature circles. I plan on checking back often to look at the reviews he has made.
“After all, if kids never practice digging the big ideas out of texts themselves and always have teachers doing it for them, how can they ever achieve literary and intellectual independence?” As teachers, we have to allow our students to use higher level thinking. We cannot always do it for them or they will never grow and develop within themselves."
ReplyDeleteBINGO!
"These are guidelines for what goes into having successful literature circles. I feel these would help a first year teacher who may be unsure about what to do or how to go about developing literature circles."
ReplyDeleteThis is very true. In order for us to feel comfortable approaching a (perhaps) new concept, the role sheets may be beneficial. Also, I think the students would have an easy introduction/ transition into literature circles while using role sheets. Even allowing the students to come up with a new role to do would allow for student choice, perhaps after a few times of doing the literature circles.
Ahh, I am getting so excited about teaching and thinking of implementing these concepts!
I agree with you that students need to pick their own topics. If the students are able to select what they want to talk about, they are more likely to be engaged in the discussion.
ReplyDeleteI like that you bring the idea of clipboards forward because it goes along with the idea of giving students an enviornment where they can be comfortable. If have a couch, beanbag etc. they can use the clipboard and possibly work more creatively. Making the students come up with their own ideas and topics about the book does help them think out of the box! Students can not always rely on teachers. I hear all the time that students come to college and get thrown into things because they never experienced such tactics in HS, such as doing things on their own! I do not want to be that teacher who gives students everything they need, and then my students come to college and be lost b/c of it.
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