Literature Circles That Engage Middle and High School Students

Marc Moeller, Victor Moeller

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138137776
• eBook ISBN: 9781317924074
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Engage your students with Literature Circles! This book will show you how to prepare your students to lead their own active, focused discussion in small groups. Give your students the tools to engage with books and with each other. You can even incorporate film versions of classic texts into discussion.

1
The What, Why, and How of Literature Circles

"Here in the Midwest, our closely knit team of teachers has been developing one version of literature circles for almost fifteen years.... Do we think our model is better? Certainly not. We are genuinely impressed by the diverse ways that other teachers around the country have created and supported literature discussion groups." (Daniels, 2002)

The first time I saw Harvey gDaniels speak was in a large conference room in Wheaton, Illinois. His discussion centered of the nature of reading and how it should develop a sense of the human condition. The teachers I remember most are those who had the ability and courage to tap into the things that really move us: love, relationships, fears, pain, hopes, and dreams. Some teachers, perhaps subconsciously, seem to have been taught to restrict, ignore, or dismiss, the human element in their classrooms. I agree strongly with Daniels's position on the relationship between reading and the human spirit, "We've asked kids to bottle up their responses, and in doing so we have blocked the pathway that leads upward from responding to analyzing and evaluating" (Daniels, 1994, p. 9). With mock humor and irony, Daniels correctly pointed out that presently, "traditional school reading programs are virtually designed to ensure that kids never voluntarily pick up a book once they graduate" (p. 11.)

My father and I regard ourselves among those teachers who have followed the 12 principles of Literature Circles for several years but have made their own refinements and innovations. Literature Circles and Great Book Groups have so much in common that some teachers regard them as a prelude to Great Book Groups while others see them as complementary and still others regard them as an alternative method of engaging all students, whatever their ability, in authentic, active learning. However, all teachers agree that both methods, although distinctly different, have common immediate goals: to develop independent and critical thinking and to increase student understanding and enjoyment of literature. Both methods also share the goal of enabling students to become lifelong readers, and as a result, lifelong learners.

Twelve Principles

Two key concepts associated with Literature Circles are independent reading and collaborative learning which were first developed by Becky Abraham Searle. Today, her idea like Harvey Daniels's, is being developed and adapted with great enthusiasm throughout the country. So what are the characteristics of a Literature Circle? Here is our version of the Twelve Principles that determine and guide these small-group discussions.

• ♦ First, students choose their own reading.
• ♦ Second, small, temporary groups (six to eight students) are formed based on book choice.
• ♦ Third, different groups read different books.
• ♦ Fourth, groups meet for discussion on a regular, predictable schedule.
• ♦ Fifth, group members use written notes to guide both their reading and discussion.
• ♦ Sixth, discussion questions come from the students, not teachers or textbooks.
• ♦ Seventh, group meetings strive to become open, natural conversations about books.
• ♦ Eighth, students take on a rotating assortment of role tasks.
• ♦ Ninth, the teacher does not lead or participate in group discussions, but acts as a facilitator and observer.
• ♦ Tenth, evaluation is by teacher observation and student self-evaluation.
• ♦ Eleventh, a spirit of fun about reading pervades the room.
• ♦ Twelfth, when books are finished, readers share with their classmates and then new groups form around new reading choices.

Several of these principles need some elaboration. On the first principle of letting children choose their own reading, some veteran English teachers may gasp. However, I am not old enough to gasp but agree with Daniels's contention that "you absolutely can not fall in love with a book that someone stuffs down your throat" (Daniels, 1994, p. 19). In my classroom, students are allowed to choose from the books that we have available or are easily obtainable and meet in groups of six to eight with those who have chosen the same book.

The second principle, that groups form around book choice, is also vital. I want to group kids the way they would naturally group themselves–out of a common interest. I also realize that I may start off the class with every student picking one book to read for themselves on their own with a regularly scheduled Friday for sustained silent reading, just to get them into the mode of reading for pleasure on their own. Later, I get kids into Literature Circles with a limited list of books from which they can choose and want to read in a group setting. While there is an initial challenge in letting kids choosing their own books and groups, this difficulty can soon be overcome by trial-and-error and common sense.

The third principle, allowing kids to choose their books is important for two reasons: it gives them the opportunity to assign reading to themselves as adults do. By giving students the opportunity and practice of setting up their own readings they take ownership. With practice and repetition it may continue even after they leave school. Second, choice is an integral part of literate behavior. Being forced to read too often results in not reading at all—even when one has the freedom to do so. On occasion, the entire class may read and discuss the same book, short story, or play. In this situation, the class is divided into three or four groups of six to eight students.

The fourth principle is to have discussions on a regular predictable schedule. As Daniels states, "literature circles require a consistent down payment of time for training, but once they are installed in your portfolio of strategies, they pay big dividends in the reading program all year long" (p. 21). At times, my students meet in Literature Circles weekly, biweekly, or monthly.

The fifth principle that kids use written notes to guide both their reading and discussion is essential for the success of the program. By using role sheets (explanation to follow), students have time to respond to the reading before discussion to be able to bring something specific to discussion. Instead of having students fill in correct phrases or answers in workbooks, Literature Circles allow students to reflect and write down their responses before discussion. In this way they become genuinely active readers. In addition to preparing students for discussion, notes gathered from these role-playing sheets also serve as a staging area of ideas in the book that can be used by the group for a follow-up project that summarizes main ideas and themes in creative ways: book review, advertising posters, a "missing chapter," or converting parts into readers theater. As a result, students often interest other students in their book.

Principle six that discussion questions come from the students, not teachers or textbooks is the life-blood of this method of learning. Indeed, this may be the most important feature of all: "After all, if kids never practice digging the big ideas out of texts themselves and always have teachers doing it for them, how can they ever achieve literary and intellectual independence?" (p. 23). This condition should not be confused with permissiveness or letting kids do whatever they want. When kids are given the opportunity and the challenge (thinking is difficult) to ask what is really bothering them, they begin to ask real questions—those that they have no answer to at all or those that evoke several answers but none of which entirely satisfy. Only real questions lead to an increase in understanding and comprehension. Can we expect students to write good prepared questions spontaneously? Not in our experience. Indeed, some teachers have given up on Literature Circles because their students keep writing factual, trivial, incoherent, or generic questions. (Are they not but imitating the kinds of questions that have been so familiar to them in so much previous reading instruction?)

To ensure productive discussions, teachers must teach mini-lessons on: (1) The difference between factual, interpretive, and evaluation questions. (2) How to formulate good, prepared questions during prediscussion that are clear, specific, and capable of sustained discussion because they have multiple implications. (3) How to ask good, spontaneous, follow-up questions for clarification ("Roger, what did you mean by —?), substantiation, ("Jennifer, what in the story backs up your idea?"), and more opinion ("Mary, do you agree with John that —?). Hence, the coleaders role is to begin discussion with prepared questions and then to develop answers by asking spontaneous follow-ups to move discussion along and to keep it focused on the story.

Principle seven, that discussions strive to be open, natural conversations about books, does not mean put-downs, petty comments, bickering or intentional digressions are acceptable. Student coleaders must be taught to deal with rude behavior and to avoid digressions to keep the focus on the book or story. After all, the purpose of discussion, as in Great Book Groups, is to increase understanding and enjoyment of the reading.

Principle eight, that students play a rotating assortment of role tasks provides the structure for students to be free to examine their own responses. Since a goal of this kind of discussion is to develop individual responsibility, students must clearly understand the varied roles or tasks that they will assume. These roles should be structured enough so the student is aware of what he or she is to be doing but not so structured as to have a specific outcome in mind. Open-endedness is crucial for lasting results. Daniels stresses that the roles rotate so each student has an opportunity to approach the books from different angles giving them chances to internalize the various perspectives offered by each role. Incidentally he also advises that once all the students virtually have all of the different roles mastered or memorized that they be phased out and lead into using solely their personal response logs (p. 25.) However, the coleaders' role to prepare and lead good interpretive questions cannot be phased out.

Principle nine, that the teacher serves as a "facilitator and observer," sounds like a cliché but not for Daniels. In this setting, the teacher's role is not didactic, to dispense the "correct" interpretation or to correct answers, but to organize, manage, and to handle the logistics. This involves collecting sets of good books, helping groups form, visiting and observing meetings, conferring with kids or groups who struggle, orchestrating sharing sessions, keeping records, making assessment notes, and collecting more books for them to read (p. 26.)

Principle ten, evaluation both by teacher observation and student self-evaluation, implies that "covering material," teaching specific "subskills," or "being sure that they get it" (that is, the "correct" interpretation) are all beside the point. According to Daniels, "Literature circles necessitate high order assessment of kids working at the whole thing, the complete, put-together outcome—which, in this case, is joining in a thoughtful small-group conversation about literature" (p. 27). Here authentic assessment by the teacher is through postdiscussion critiques (when the teacher points out what was done well and why and what needs improvement and how to do it), kid watching, narrative observational logs, performance assessment, checklists, student conferences, group interviews, video/audio taping and collecting materials produced in the end of the book group project. Equally important, students are responsible for writing a personal assessment of their own role(s) in the group, record keeping and written summaries and/or resolutions to the discussion questions in brief one-page essays.

Principle eleven, that a spirit of playfulness and fun pervade the room, may be a red flag to some principals but not to me. I know the things I learned the most from were almost universally the most fun. In my seventh grade social studies class I was very much involved in the various projects and competitions that made...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Meet the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Preface
• 1 The What, Why, and How of Literature Circles
• 2 Literature Circles—Then (1993) and Now (2007): A Critique
• 3 Techniques of Active and Close Reading
• 4 Who Are Your Real Friends?
• 5 When Do You Need Family Most?
• 6 How Important Is a Brother, a Sister, or a Girlfriend in Your Life?
• 7 How Do True Leaders Inspire Followers and False Leaders Deceive Theirs?
• 8 Is Technology as Much a Blessing as a Curse?
• Source Texts and Related Readings