# data[].attributes.headline
Lesson Plan: Literature Circles Getting Started 

# data[].attributes.subject
Lesson Plan: Literature Circles Getting Started 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Literature Circles: Getting Started - ReadWriteThink

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students practice different ways of collaborating to read a work of literature. They work in different roles as they compose and answer questions, discover new vocabulary, and examine literary elements.

# data[].attributes.headline
Article: The Power of Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.subject
Article: The Power of Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
My six-year-old son has finally, really started reading. It's thrilling to watch him grab book after book off his overflowing shelves and read stories he's been hearing for years. Now he wants to take books to school so that during recess, he can entice his friends to sit together and read. He says it will be called the "Reading Club."

"I was in a book club once," I said, explaining how a group of friends read the same novel and then discussed it over dinner. My son loved the idea and immediately started brainstorming who he'd invite, when they'd meet, what they'd read, and what they'd eat.

But the rabbit hole of nostalgia that I tumbled into was of my experience as a teacher facilitating literature circles. I get kind of giddy and dreamy-eyed when I remember what it felt like to circulate through a class of seventh graders meeting in lit circles, when I remember their arguments about a character's actions, or the post-its covered in notes that stuck out of the pages, or the pleas for a few more minutes when I'd say we were out of time. During literature circle meetings my classroom vibrated with learning, passion, and joy.

Why Literature Circles?

I promise to provide practical resources on the how, when, where, what of lit circles, but let me first make a case for why every K-12 classroom should institute some version of literature circles.

Reason #1: Literature circles can be a place for cooperative learning. Students help each other understand a text and make sense of it. Lit circles teach kids how to use each other as resources and become independent learners. Of course, in order for them to be an effective structure for cooperative learning, the teacher needs to intentionally develop them as such. Without guidance, modeling and support, they aren't automatically places of collaboration.

Reason #2: Literature circles allow students to make choices about their learning. Students are usually given the opportunity to select one of several books that they'd like to read. They can also have a say about who to be with in a book group. All children desperately need more opportunities to make choices in school. Choice leads to deeper engagement, increased intrinsic motivation, and an opportunity for guided-decision making.

Reason #3: Literature circles are fun, in part because they are social experiences. Students are expected to talk a lot, (in contrast to the rest of their time at school) to debate and argue their ideas. Students are invited to bring their experiences and feelings into the classroom and to share them. Reading has to be fun some of the time; if we don't make the experience enjoyable, our students are not likely to continue it once they're released from our grip.

Furthermore, when we experience joy or pleasure, we feel more connected to a place, and to the people in that place. It was an imperative that my middle school students felt connected to school and had positive academic interactions with their classmates. As in many urban districts, the drop out rate in Oakland, California is terribly high; research reveals that students drop out primarily because they don't feel connected to a place or its people.

Therefore I'll argue that a structure like literature circles, when functioning as a place of connection and fun, can serve to anchor our kids in school. Our students will not master standards and perform on exams if we cannot keep them in our classrooms; lit circles can help do that.

Reason #4: Finally, because they are fun, because students have choice, and because they are a cooperative learning structure, literature circles are powerful experiences for reluctant and/or struggling readers. Literature circles have to be differentiated; by nature each group will read books at different levels on different topics. Struggling readers can select a text at their level; the teacher can provide direct support to that group or can include a couple of higher-readers.

One important note (now moving into the details): students should be offered many genres -- "literature circles" does not imply only fiction. My struggling readers (often boys) wanted mostly non-fiction. (A fascinating book on this topic is Reading Don't Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men.)

Resources for the "Who, What, When, and Where"

Of course, in order for lit circles to be fun places where students learn cooperatively, there's a lot that a teacher needs to do. Fortunately, there are many resources for creating high-functioning literature circles. To start with, try checking out these resources:

Readers: I'd love to hear about your experiences with literature circles. Why and how have you established them in your class? What happened? What were some challenges? There's so much more to say on this topic (perhaps in a future blog post!)

In the meantime, I'm off to cook up some green soup for my son's first book club meeting. They're starting with a classic: Green Eggs and Ham. My son plans to debate the ethics of eating animals. I can't wait to hide in the hallway and listen.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Power of Literature Circles in the Classroom | Edutopia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
My six-year-old son has finally, really started reading. It's thrilling to watch him grab book after book off his overflowing shelves and read stories he's been hearing for years. Now he wants to take books to school so that during recess, he can entice his friends to sit together and read.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Making Discussions Work from Chapter 5 Getting Started with Literature Circles by Katherine L. Schlick Noe and Nancy J. Johnson ©1999 Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc. used with permission

# data[].attributes.body
Article: The Nuts and Bolts of Setting up Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Let me repeat something: it took FIVE MONTHS to prepare my first batch of sixth graders for literature circles. I know it was the preparation that led to the success we had. (A core belief for me as teacher: You can never be too prepared. Never.)

Laying the Groundwork

What did I do during those months? I slowly, carefully led students into this structure -- paying close attention to skills, attitude, and social relationships, and then I slowly released them, looping back to re-teach or re-enforce weak skills. Here are some of the things I did:

1. First, I had to get students thinking and talking about the purpose of reading. Many read far below grade level and had been turned off from reading in elementary school. Many were beginning to associate reading with a kind of person that they could never envision being. I had to get them hooked. So I asked, "Why read?" And they generated a list of over a hundred ideas which stayed posted all year and which prompted many conversations.

2. I talked to my students, all the time, about what it meant to me to be a reader. When I read and where, what I talked about with my book club, and how I perused used book stores on the weekend. I read passages to them from books I was reading. I very intentionally shared the pleasures of reading, the distraction it provided, the way it helped me solve problems and deal with life's challenges and how I learned from reading.

3. I provided articles and stories on the same subject written by public figures and authors with similar backgrounds and ethnicities of the students. Malcolm X, Luis Rodriguez, Oprah, and many others have written about how literature changed their lives.

Building It

Are you getting the picture? In order to get to the joy of reading and the skill development, I had to build a foundation starting with expanding students' intrinsic motivation. I continuously worked to get them bought into this challenging task. Simultaneously, I taught skills:

1. I read aloud every day and gave kids opportunities to talk. (I love reading picture books because they're short, packed with meaning and great for discussion.)

I crafted questions to prompt students to make personal connections to the text, to draw inferences, make predictions, and to call their attention to the vocabulary and language. In literature circles, students need to become experts at creating questions.

I also provided feedback to students in pair-share discussions. I listened in and then gave very specific instructions, in the moment, about how to engage each other in dialogue.

2. I modeled the skills I asked them to use -- over and over. I showed them how to respond to someone else's statement, how to find and share evidence from the text, how to disagree respectfully. I often modeled a conversation with another student. I posted sentence stems and conversation frames. Modeling is essential. (This goes for every skill we're trying to teach kids in every area.)

I also had students model effective discussions. Even once lit circles were underway, I regularly, and sometimes spontaneously, asked the class to make a fishbowl around a group that was having a fantastic conversation. We watched and listened, and then I guided them to reflect on what made the conversation good. Kids need to see what we want them to do.

3. Alongside instruction on reading and discussion, I did community building and conflict resolution activities. It was critical to develop the relationships between students so that literature circles would be a place where kids could take risks.

4. In the meantime, I read every novel for this age group that I could. I amassed a library that would be accessible and interesting to my students. When it came time to share offerings for lit circles, I had to be one hundred percent confident in the texts I put forward. (I also had to know my students as readers --what genres they preferred, what where their reading levels, etc.)

5. After about four months, I placed students into groups of four and the whole class read the same highly engaging novel. Each day I did a mini-lesson and modeled an aspect of literature circles (for example, how to get a discussion started, the role of the facilitator, and what to do if someone isn't participating.) and then released students into their groups. There was lots and lots and lots of guided practice.

And during that last month, I talked up literature circles like crazy. I got them really excited about what would happen once they'd mastered this structure, about the fun and freedom they'd have. I lured and tempted and enticed them.

The Launch

Then, at the end of January, we began our first round of literature circles. Although there were rough spots, overall they went pretty well. Kids were excited and turned on to reading together; and they were invested in refining the process.

And there's still so much more to say about literature circles! I've shared how I got kids into them and why everyone should try them, but I have more stories to tell. In the meantime, readers, please share your tips for getting students trained in lit circles. What were (or what are) the challenges you've experienced? How did you manage the bumpy spots?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Nuts and Bolts of Setting up Literature Circles | Edutopia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Let me repeat something: it took FIVE MONTHS to prepare my first batch of sixth graders for literature circles. I know it was the preparation that led to the success we had. (A core belief for me as teacher: You can never be too prepared. Never.) What did I do during those months?

# data[].attributes.headline
The Teacher's Cabinet: Literature Circle Resource

# data[].attributes.subject
The Teacher's Cabinet: Literature Circle Resource

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
theteacherscabinet.com -&nbspThis website is for sale! -&nbspteacher resources k 6 education download printables elementary teachers middle school educational Resources and Information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This website is for sale! theteacherscabinet.com is your first and best source for all of the information you're looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, theteacherscabinet.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

# data[].attributes.body
Introduction to Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Literature Circles Let's talk about what YOU want to talk about! What is a literature circle? a group of students, reading the same book, each fulfilling different roles to analyze, discuss, and dissect the text. word wizard discussion director illustrator illuminator summarizer connector Word Wizard Your job is to look for important, confusing, unfamiliar, or interesting words.

# data[].attributes.body
Video: Five Roles of Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learning about Literature Circles and the 5 student roles: summarizer, visualizer, inferencer, symbolizer and word detective. Literature Circles help deepen student understanding of texts.

# data[].attributes.body
West Virginia Department of Education Literature Circle Overview

# data[].attributes.body
Literature Circle Resource Center

# data[].attributes.body
Laura Chandler Resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you want to see kids get excited about reading, let them choose their own books and talk about them in groups. That's the basic idea behind Literature Circles, sometimes known as Book Clubs. Literature Circles are even Common Core aligned! If you're new to Literature Circles, or even if you are a pro, visit my Classroom Book Clubs page or watch the short video below.

More Literature Circles Links

Classroom Book Clubs Overview
Watch this short video to how Classroom Book Clubs work!
I spent 15 years experimenting with Literature Circles in my classroom, and I finally found an approach that students enjoy, an approach that's free of cumbersome management systems. I'd love to tell you how it works! Click the video below and I'll share the 7 steps to Classroom Book Clubs success! To find out what others think, read what teachers are saying about this resource.

Other Literature Circles Resources

Here are some of my favorite books on how to implement Literature Circles. Click the covers below to find these books online at Amazon.com!

Candler's Classroom Connections

Awesome freebies and resources for elementary educators!

Literacy Featured Products

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you want to see kids get excited about reading, let them choose their own books and talk about them in groups. That's the basic idea behind Literature Circles, sometimes known as Book Clubs. Literature Circles are even Common Core aligned!

# data[].attributes.body
Video: Teaching Strategies for Introducing Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teaching Strategies for Introducing Literature Circles to a 4th Grade Class

# data[].attributes.body
Video: Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Thought starters

1. How do literature circles help students further develop their speaking and listening skills?

2. How does the STEAL template deepen students' understanding of characters in a novel?

3. What routines and expectations does Mr. Knoll have in place to help the literature circles run smoothly?

School Details

Kipp Truth Academy
3200 South Lancaster Road
Dallas TX 75216

Data Provided By:

Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rising to the Challenge with Literature Circles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students in Mr. Knoll's fifth grade ELA class engage in literature circles where they read, discuss, and analyze novels. First, students come to class prepared to discuss the chapter they read for homework. The discussion is organized into five roles, with the roles rotating each night.

# data[].attributes.body
Literature Circle Overview