I am starting Literature Circles in the next couple of weeks with my first grade students. Until now, I haven't had a large enough group of them that could read a chapter book with success. Now 10 of my 15 students are reading a chapter book well. Five of my students will be reading a Junie B. Jones book. That is a 2.8 reading level (or 2nd grade eighth month). Five others will be reading a 3.3 (3rd grade 3rd month) reading level book (one of the Magic Tree House Series). The other five students will be reading several picture books during this time in the 1.8 to 2.2 reading range. I am really excited about their progress this year.
A Literature Circle is a group of 4 to 6 students who read a section of a book. As they read each of them have a job to do. The jobs that I will give the students include summarizer, vocabulary finder, passage picker, connector, artful artist, and Question Writer. Basically, each student reads the same passage and does a different job. Then the group meets and I will lead them in a discussion about the book-being careful to make each person feel as though their job was important! Sounds like a lot of fun. I wish I wouldn't have had to wait so long to start this, but I didn't feel that the kids were ready. If I follow my class to second grade, I will do Literature Circles for the entire year. They will be exposed to many types of literature!
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My kids love the literature circles. The parents hate them. The students have provided great discussion. The parents don't like the homework required for daily discussion. I think that is crazy myself. I would thrilled if a teacher were to challenge my child. Guess that is why my kids will not be in a public school! :)
ReplyDeleteI will have to put the llterture circle into my curriculum for next year! I like that each child just has one job, so they feel like they can accomplish this task. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteYour welcome. They are really fun! I usually just sit and listen while my students have a discussion. If they get stuck or are inattentive that is when I say something. It gives the kids an opportunity to teach each other. It is usually more fun than listening to me talk.
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