Beyond the Book Report by Jarrod Neff https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles Ideasfor structuring and assessing Lit Circles en-us 2016-11-07 18:45:39 UTC 2025-04-24 10:03:58 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png Voxer: discussions any place, any time neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135898319 Use Voxer to organize students into discussion groups based on common books. Students can conduct asynchronous discussions about their book via web or app, and you can listen to them at any time.

Direct students to create a group chat for their book, invite their group members, and then invite you as a member so you can monitor their discussion (or participate).]]> 2016-11-07 18:52:49 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135898319 Some twists on the "Old School" approach: Lit Circle Roles neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135899499 Assign (or let students choose) from a variety of roles that guide their job in the Lit Circle.]]> 2016-11-07 18:55:44 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135899499 Schoology Book Talks neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135900147 Use Schoology as a space for students to conduct their own book talks. Here's one way to do it:

  • Teacher creates a Schoology Discussion board for each student book or group (or compile them all in one Discussion).
  • Each student group will need one chromebook.
  • Each group should have one of their members sign into parkland.Schoology, then click on the Discussion for their group.
  • Each group should review the teacher's instructions for what they'll be discussing during today's book talk (see possible examples in the two posts to the right; it's also best to have handouts for each student so they know what they should be discussing).
  • When ready, each group should use Schoology's audio recording feature to begin recording their group's book talk. The teacher should track time and provide updates while the students are doing this (e.g. "Alright, we're 5 minutes in: you should be sharing your individual responses at this point!").
  • When finished, students should end the recording, insert it into the post, and click post (note: if they don't actually click "post," they'll lose the recording).
]]> 2016-11-07 18:57:25 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135900147 Activities and Projects neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135912302 Lots of ideas for concurrent activities and culminating projects from The New York Times (scroll down the page to find them)]]> 2016-11-07 19:25:20 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135912302 MORE Activities and Projects neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135913359 "Beyond the Book Report": The New York Times offers even more ways for students to respond to literature.]]> 2016-11-07 19:27:52 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135913359 More uses for Voxer neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135925840 A post on further uses for Voxer: study groups, lit circles, PLCs, or even personal use.]]> 2016-11-07 20:02:13 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/135925840 Voxer: Tips for Getting Started (and FAQ) neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136144369 2016-11-08 16:24:01 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136144369 Voxer: 1 minute in action neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136150779 2016-11-08 16:40:24 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136150779 Sample Questions for Book Talks neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136162268 First Impressions. 
Go around the group and share:
  • Your name and what page you're on.
  • What happened where you most recently left off.
  • Your impressions of the book thus far: what's interesting, strange, confusing or revealing so far? What questions do you have for the group?
Deepen Discussions.
  • Go around the circle again: each member should share the most interesting moment from his/her Reading Journal ( (encourage student to student interaction with this: you're "on the air"!).
Predict the Future.
  • Close it out by making your predictions about where the story's headed, or sharing what you're hoping will be resolved in the coming chapters.
]]> 2016-11-08 17:07:51 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136162268 Indy Reading Journal neffj https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136167639 Have students complete a reading journal during reading, then share moments from these journals during the Book Talk.]]> 2016-11-08 17:21:01 UTC https://padlet.com/neffj/LitCircles/wish/136167639