TEACHING STRATEGIES

The Magic of Literature Circles: Transforming Reading into Dialogue

29 January 2024/ By Zineb DJOUB

Literature has long been a source of stimulation and engagement for readers that goes beyond mere entertainment. Yet, reading literature can be challenging for students. Lengthy and dense texts, complex language, the need for analytical thinking, and lack of interest can impact their engagement and the pleasure they derive from exploring texts. So, how can teachers create a supportive reading environment where students get maximum benefits from reading books? The answer is Literature Circles.

Yes, literature circles prove to be an effective technique when your goal is to develop students into discerning readers capable of expressing their profound comprehension of texts and ideas through active discussions and collaborative efforts, while also holding themselves responsible for their choices and assigned roles.

What are Literature Circles?

Literature circles are a technique based on focused, small-group conversations through which students develop a deeper and richer understanding of the text.

Within literature circles, a reading and meeting schedule is set for the groups for periodic discussions and each member of the group has a specific role or responsibility.

Students need to choose their reading materials and form small groups based on book choice.

While reading, they make notes to help them contribute to the upcoming discussion, and every member comes to the group with ideas to share.

They can use response logs or journals to jot down their reactions, comments, questions, or any ideas about what they read. Drawings can be used instead of writing with primary kids who can’t write words.

Then, groups meet on a regular, predictable schedule to discuss their reading. Those meetings have to be open, inclusive, and based on respectful communication and active listening.

When they finish a book, the circle members may share highlights of their reading with the wider community; then they exchange members with other groups that have also finished, choose new reading material, and transition into a fresh cycle.

How to use Literature circles in the classroom?

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make effective use of literature circles in your class.

1. Setting up Literature Circles

#Introduce the concept

Explain to students the benefits of literature circles, how they work, and your expectations. Emphasize the importance of active engagement, collaboration, and respectful communication.

Before starting this activity, take some time for training and practice to show clearly how it works in practice.

Demonstrate the process using videotaped examples of literature circles, ask students to identify effective procedures, and raise their questions.

Within literature circles, each group member has a specific role. So, it is important at this stage to provide guidance on how to fulfill each.

Not only is reading engagement essential, but discussion can also nurture critical thinking and communication, and sustain a love for reading.

Be sure to model effective discussion techniques and share examples. Discuss the types of questions that promote critical thinking and meaningful conversations.

#Select appropriate books

Provide a wide choice of good books that are appropriate for your student’s reading levels and interests. Yet, you don’t have to have a thousand-volume to launch literature circles in class. Four to six handful titles are enough for students to choose from, with multiple copies.

When selecting books, you should think not just about offering different themes and genres, but also a wide range of reading levels (from quick reads, medium-hard to hard titles). Because students can’t engage with a text they find it tough to understand.

So, providing students with choices can make them more comfortable reading what fits their level and interest.

Therefore, asking students to read the blurb, doing a quick book pass, or providing a summary of each book along with insights into its level of difficulty is advisable to aid them in making informed decisions.

If you are looking for books for every grade level, check out this collection.

# Form groups and assign roles

For effective discussion, groups need to be small (three to five) focusing on one particular article or book.

Letting students choose their books and the group is essential, but this does not mean you have no control.

If you have only two students interested in the same book, wrong or no choices from some students, what would you do?

It is important to know that your role in literature circles is to negotiate, help students pick books, and try to form heterogeneous groups with diverse experiences and opinions.

So, to manage effectively groups, you can ask students to list their top three choices and intervene when a choice seems questionable.

Additionally, to hold students accountable and contribute to the discussion, it is necessary to assign roles to each group member. Common roles include:

•  The discussion director is responsible for generating thought-provoking questions about the assigned reading.
• The summarizer provides a concise summary.
• The connector identifies connections between the assigned reading and the outside world, historical contexts, or personal experiences.
• The illustrator creates visual representations related to the reading material.
• The word wizard identifies and explores interesting or challenging vocabulary within the assigned reading.

#Create a schedule

Literature circles require planning and preparation. So, you can’t decide on this reading activity without establishing a reading and meeting schedule.

This means you need to determine how much reading should be completed before each meeting and how frequently the groups will convene.

When using literature circles at the beginning, devote more class time to learn the process and get help. You can use three hours a week for reading, for writing in reading logs, for group meetings, and for gathering as a whole class to share responses and discuss their ideas.

You may think that an intensive and regular schedule for literature circles is too much. You’ve got a lot on your plate and you may not have time to do this activity in class.

Remember that effective planning and focusing on doing less is more than necessary. Besides, engaging students in literature circles is not just a simple reading activity, but it is a dynamic, and intellectually stimulating experience your students will learn a lot from.

So, the process pays off!

As students get familiar with the process, you can assign reading and journals completion as homework and devote two hours of class time per week to meetings and discussions.

The time allotted to complete the assigned reading depends on the students’ grade level and books’ length. Still, most teachers who are using literature circles allow two to three weeks to finish a book.

2. Launch literature circles

Once deciding on how often literature circles will meet, when and for how long, it is time to develop a structure and start. The process involves three steps:

1) Mini-lesson (5 minutes)

Start the literature circles. You can focus explicitly on a particular aspect of effective book discussion, teach the procedures, indicate why these books were selected, how, or any idea you want to share about the assigned reading. Offer support and feedback as needed.

2) Group meetings and reading time (20–30 minutes)

The class disperses into its various groups. After selecting their books, members take on specific roles. During such meetings, they engage in discussions based on their roles, sharing insights, asking questions, and exploring various aspects of the text

You need to act as a facilitator. Ask thought-provoking questions, and encourage active participation, and reflection by encouraging them to write their journals and engage in reflective dialogue.

Also, guide discussions without dominating them, allowing students to take the lead.

3) Sharing/debriefing (5–10 minutes)

Reconvene the class after the session to share notable moments and engage in a debriefing of the day’s discussions.

Encourage students to reflect on the discussion, their role in the group, and their understanding of the text.

3. Assess

Assessing students’ growth in literature circles should focus more on the process or the development phases. So, it should be formative and involve self-assessment.

Examples of effective assessment tools to use in literature circles are:

-Using grading rubrics, including assessment criteria like doing the reading, having good ideas, listening to others, contributing to the discussion, etc.

-taking open-ended observational notes of groups’ and individuals’ contributions, preparation, and reactions,

-having periodic individual reading conferences with students to find out about their roles, what they have learned from literature circles, their choices, etc,

-using a portfolio system, in which students save their reading response logs, observation sheets, written reports, book projects, or any extension activity,

-encouraging each group to assess its progress toward its goals, using a checklist or grid.

4. Rotate books and roles

Changing books and roles allows students to a diverse range of genres, authors, and themes and take on different responsibilities over time.

In so doing, rotation helps you adapt the literature circle structure based on the needs of your students. Yet, providing regular check-ins and feedback is important to ensure that students are adapting well to their roles and responsibilities.

Besides, be open to adapting the rotation plan according to the class’s dynamics. If a specific book or role captures significant interest, consider extending its duration or introducing more flexibility.

To conclude, literature circles provide an engaging reading experience for students that goes beyond simply absorbing information. They cultivate a range of skills and attributes that are essential for their personal, academic, and professional growth.

This complete guide has explored the key components—from setting up and launching literature circles to assessing and rotating books and roles. So, Happy literature circles!