Literature Circles in Grades 6-8

 

Chocowinity Middle SchoolMay 17, 2012

Teacher:“Please stop reading while you’re walking down the hall! You might bump into someone!”

Student:“I am really not interested in books or reading or anything like that. Especially poetry.”“I hate reading.”

How to Bartle PuzballsThere are tork gooboos of puzballs, including laplies, mushos, and fushos. Even if you bartle the puzballs that tovo inny and onny of the pern, they do not grunto any lipples. In order to geemee a puzball that gruntos lipples, you should bartle the fusho who has rarckled the parshtootoos after her humply fluflu.

 From Deeper Reading (2004)

Conversation Piece

No!Yes.You didn’t!I didWhen?Just now.Where?Bedroom.Dead?Yes.Why?You know.I don’t!You do.Unfaithful?Yes.With whom?

With you.No!Yes.He didn’t …He did.We didn’t …You did.You knew?I knew.How long?Long enough.What now?Guess.Police?Later.Why later?Guess again.

Tell me!Look.Oh, no!Oh, yes.You can’t!I can.Please!Don’t beg.Forgive me!Too late.Good God!Good bye.-------Operator?Yes, sir.The police.

*

From Deeper Reading (2004)

GOAL

MOTIVATED & ENGAGED readers who

THINK DEEPLY about text.

Middle School Readers: What We Know

1. Decline in reading motivation and achievement at the middle school level (Casey, 2009; Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000)

2. Reasons for lack of reading comprehension: poor motivation, lack of experience, and egocentricity. They have not had experiences with language in meaningful situations (Holloway, 1999).

3. Goals that best support middle school students' development in reading and learning from text: actively construct meaning from text, learn about themselves and others, read strategically, and enjoy reading (Fisher & Ivey, 2006).

IRE

Teacher INITIATES, students RESPOND, and

then teacher EVALUATES.

Social Constructivist Literacy Learning

Actively construct meaning from text as a joint activity rather than one that is transmitted from the teacher to the student.(Lee & Smagorinsky, 2000; McKeown, Beck, & Blake, 2009)

Literature Discussions

Can be effective methods to support engagement at all levels (Burns, 1998; Casey 2008/2009; Heller, 2006; Lloyd, 2004; Long & Gove, 2003; Swaggerty, 2009; Wiebe Berry & Englert, 2005). 

Can also promote reading comprehension and learning (Applebee, Langer, Nystrand, & Gamoran, 2009; McKeown, Beck, & Blake, 2009; Pardo, 2004; Wiebe Berry & Englert, 2005). 

• 72 sixth grade students• 3 blocks of Language Arts

INVITE CHAOS: Getting Started with Literature Circles

MODEL, MODEL, MODEL

 SCAFFOLD, SCAFFOLD, SCAFFOLD:“All learning is social at first, with an expert guiding the learning through scaffolding. An expert teacher gradually turns over the responsibility of the task to the learner, moving back in to the dialogue as  needed.” ~Vygotsky

Getting Started

1. TEACH THE PROCESS Choose books, plan with your group, read carefully with your role in mind, bring your completed role sheet and talk about the book with your group, share with the whole class, complete a response project.

2. WHOLE CLASS PRACTICE TOGETHERTeach roles and model each one. Ex: everyone tries being the Discussion Director in small groups, filling out role sheet first, then “trying on” the role in small groups.

ROLESDiscussion Director: acts as group’s facilitator; creates questions to increase comprehension; asks who, what, why, when, where, how, and what if; open-ended questions that will stimulate discussion; focus on themes/big ideas

Word Wizard: locates amazing/interesting words; looks for new words or words used in unusual ways; clarifies word meanings and pronunciations; uses research resource; points to the words in context

Literary Luminary: locates examples of amazing/interesting writing that could be read aloud to the group; guides oral reading for a purpose; examines figurative language, parts of speech, and vivid descriptions

Reporter: prepares a summary of the book or selected reading; highlights the important details, events, and characters.

Connector: makes text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections; makes connections to what you’re studying; make disconnections.

Checker: checks for completion of assignments; evaluates participation; helps monitor discussion for equal participation

Practice: FISHBOWL

Key Ideas:Teach kids how to talk about text

Teach them how to compose good questions, questions that invite discussion

Teach kids how to be in a groupTeach them how to listen to one another

Teach kids how to read with purpose

Preparing for Literature Circle Meetings

1. High-interest books, span ability levels

2. Book talks

3. Students rank order books

4. Teacher build groups based on choice (sometimes ability)

First Meeting

• Teacher reads aloud a chapter or two to build excitement, set the tone, model pronunciation of new/difficult words

• Determine roles• Determine how far to read• Reminders: How to “be” in a group and how to read with your role in mind

DURING: Literature Circle Meetings

• Adequate talk time• Put kids in a circle• Sit on the outside• Float and dip • Strategies such as non-evaluative responses (hmmmm … ok…) tell students that they are to continue the dialogue 

• Encourage kids to be respectful of one another’s perspectives and experiences

• Reinforce positive, respectful, constructive contributions• Set goals for next meeting

Reflect

• What went well?• What could be improved?

Read the first 2 chapters with your role in mind. 

Use post-its to identify questions, connections, notes, etc. 

Fill in the role sheet as you go.

Talk and listen!

Try it!

Take it FurtherDIGITAL TALK: Moodle/Edmodo

Response Projects

Powerpoint, VoiceThread, GoogleDocshttp://voicethread.com/#q.b1888015.i9947656

Extra Support for Strugglers

Make sure they can read their booksMeet with them more often to make sure they are reading and are ready for the discussion

Give them extra opportunities to ask questions

Make sure they feel success with readingKeep them excited and motivated

Resource

Getting Started with Literature Circles (readwritethink.org)

Some High-interest Middle School BooksDrums Girls Dangerous PieFreak the MightyChicken BoySammy Keyes and the Hotel ThiefHow I Survived Middle SchoolGraphic novels My Life as a BookMaximum RideHunger GamesWhat Happened to

Goodbye

Elizabeth Swaggerty Kelley Bunn Lisa GodleyReading Education Grade 6 Language Arts Grade 6 Language ArtsEast Carolina University Chocowinity Middle School Chocowinity Middle Schoolswaggertye@ecu.edu kbunn@beaufort.k12.nc.us lgodley@beaufort.k12.nc.ushttp://swaggertye.wordpress.com/