Literature Circles Begin!

We have started literature circles in Language Arts this past week. A literature circle is where a small group of students read the same book and meet regularily to discuss what they are reading. Over the course of a month each student will come to the meetings with a different assignment or role work and be prepared to discuss the book with other members of the group. The four roles are: Discussion Director, Media Producer, Point of View Writer and Connector. Each member of the group will have the opportunity to play each role. The discussion director writes questions and organizes the meeting. The Media producer prepares a creative response to the book such as a pamplet, advertisement, comic strip, blog entry, article or other media form. The Point of View Writer writes from the point of view of one of the characters in the book. Finally, the connector writes about connections between the book and the world, themselves or other books.

Reader Responses

Most students have finished their first novel and have started writing a reader response. A reader response is different from a book report. When they are writing their responses, I have asked students to imagine that they are having a conversation with me about the book that they are reading. They have a number of paragraph starters to choose from and we have modelled a number of these paragraphs with the class. Some paragraphs could discuss their favourite part of the novel, compare the novel with something else they have read, discuss one of the characters from the novel or what a particular part reminds them of, just to name a few choices. Students need to remember to support their ideas with examples from the text, when they write their response.

The Reading Process

In Integrated Studies, we have introduced The Reading Process and practiced using stickie notes to jot down and remember information from the text. This process outlines the steps that good readers go through when reading a new text. Being aware of these steps can make us better readers.

1. Set a purpose: why are you reading this text?

2. Preview the text: do you have prior knowledge about the topic?

3. Plan: what strategies will help you remember what you read?

4. Read with a Purpose: be clear about why you are reading.

5. Connect: making connections to your own experiences helps you to remember.

6. Reflect: ask yourself if you have met your purpose?
7. Re-read: be patient - you may have to read the text more than once.

8. Remember: use a graphic organizer or stickie notes to remember important information