Literature Circles

1. Literature Circles

2. Agenda 9/21 • EQ: How are literature circles set up and why should I use them? • Literature Circle Overview • Practice Lit Circle Session

3. Agenda 9/22 • EQ: • Finish Lit Circle Overview • Practice Lit Circle with Flash Fiction

4. Quickwrite • What roles do each of the characters on Scooby Doo play? Why are each important?

5. Think Aloud • Thinking of the poem we recently read and the sketches we drew, how did hearing other people’s interpretation change your meaning of the text? • Why do you think that’s important?

6. Yay Literature Circles • Goals: • Critically read literature from multiple “lenses” by utilizing classmates’ points of view and rotating different roles.

7. Lancer’s 3 Lenses of Reading • Mirror • Look into the text to make connections with your own life. • Microscope • Look into the text to find literary elements, text structure, facts. • Telescope • Look into the text to find connections beyond the classroom to the outside world.

8. Instructions • Every week, you will assume a different role. • Discussion Director • Illuminator • Illustrator • Connector • Word Watcher • Summarizer • Everyone needs a unique role. You cannot double up on roles. (i.e. two discussion directors per group) • You cannot be the same role more than once in one Lit Circle Cycle

9. Discussion Director • Identify the important aspects of your assigned text • Develop questions your group will want to discuss. • Focus on major themes or “big ideas” in the text and your reaction to those ideas. • Responsible for facilitating your group’s discussion.

10. Discussion Director Sample Questions • “What were you thinking about as you read?” • “What did the text make you think about?” • “What do you think this text/passage was about?” • “How might other people (of different backgrounds) think about this text? • What are the most important ideas/moments in this text?

11. Discussion Director Example Question: “What did you think about when you were reading ‘The Refugees?’ Did you think it was about the Holocaust?” Your group should reply thoughtfully.

12. Illuminator • Find passages your group should hear read aloud. • Memorable, interesting, puzzling, funny, or important passages. • Notes should include quotations and why you chose them.

13. Illuminator—Sample Questions • “What were you thinking about as you read?” • “What does this quote mean to you?” • “How does this quote make you feel?” • “What do you think will happen in the text—why?” • “I thought this quote was important because ______. Do you agree?”

14. Illuminator—Example Question: “I thought the line ‘A country welcomer than this’ was really important to the poem. I think it means that the boy is moving or going somewhere. What do you think it means?”

15. Illustrator • (Yes you get to color) • Draw what you read. • Cartoon like sequence. • Maps or organizational trees. • Use notes area to explain how your drawing relates to the text. • Label the drawing.

16. Illustrator—Sample Questions • “What do you think this picture means?” • “How does this drawing relate to the story?” • “What passage did this picture make you think about?”

17. Illustrator—Example • Sketch to stretch!

18. Connector • Connect what you are reading with what you are studying or with the world outside school. • Connect to events in your own life, news events, political events. • Books you’ve already read.

19. Connector—Sample Questions • What connections can you make to your own life? • What other places or people could you compare your story to? • How does this section relate to the one before it?

20. Connector—Example • “’The Refugees’ reminds me of that book Night because it takes place during the Holocaust and there are similar themes. Has anyone else read that? What does the poem make you think about?” • “I read an article about refugees…this is what it said and how it relates. Do you agree?”

21. Word Watcher • While reading the assigned section, watch out for words worth knowing. • Interesting, new, important, or used in an unusual way. • Locate the specific location of the word so your group can talk about it in context.

22. Word Watcher—Sample Questions • Which words are used frequently? • Which words are used unusually? • What new words do you find in this section? • Are there multiple meanings of this word?

23. Word Watcher—Example • “I notice the author uses the word ‘extravagant’ a lot in the poem. When I think of extravagance, I think of a ballroom—not a war torn country. Why do you think the author chose that word?”

24. Summarizer • Prepare a brief summary of the day’s reading. • What details, characters, or events are so important that they would be included on an exam. • Make a numbered list or timeline, if it works for you.

25. Summarizer—Sample Questions • What are the most important events in the section you read? • What makes them important? • What changes—in plot, character, or tone—did you notice when you read? • What might appear on an exam? • What might be a good essay topic based on this text?

26. Summarizer—Example • “I think it’s important to list the attributes of a refugee and how it feels. The poem was about the sense of loss and struggle for freedom. Let’s make a list of attributes of a refugee.”

27. Active Listening • Face the speaker. • Maintain eye contact. • Minimize distractions. • Focus solely on what the speaker is saying. • Respond appropriately. • Keep an open mind. • Even if you disagree with the speaker, wait until they finish to politely and intelligently defend your position. • Engage yourself. Ask for clarification. Restate what they said to check for comprehension.

28. How you will be evaluated: • Keep great notes! • Write questions/quotes/words on the left side. • Responses on the right side. • Summarize on the bottom. • Participate! • Active listening

29. How you will be evaluated… • Notes • See Rubric • Participation • Peer Evaluation

30. How you will be evaluated… • Five sessions of notes worth 25 points. • You can drop one session if you have an excused absense. • Total of 100 points for notes. • Notes Due at the end of the unit. (October 20th) • Peer evaluations due every Friday. • Each evaluation is worth five points. • Total of 20 Points for notes.

31. Evaluation • You are responsible for keeping up with your notes until October 20th. • If you lose them, you lose your grade.

32. Flash Fiction Practice • Choose a group name. • Choose a practice lit circle role. • Read “Pendergast’s Daughter” • Fill your lit circle role—come up with questions, draw a picture, find quotes, etc.

33. Flash Fiction Practice • On a piece of chart paper, write the similarities and differences you had with other group’s role.

34. Flash Fiction Practice • Now, read your assigned flash fiction as a group, choose a different role, and hold a lit circle meeting. • Take notes. • Evaluate your peers with the evaluation sheet.