Literature Circles - Important information for teachers
Literature Circles are the hottest growing trend in language arts teaching. Literature Circles are formed from a small group of students that pick a book of their choice. Each group picks a different book. Each group meets regularly to discuss the reading material the students write down or draw notes they wish to discus with the group. The teacher acts as a facilitator to the group. They do not participate.
Literature circles are used successfully in all age groups from elementary through college. These circles differ widely from grade to grade. High schoolers will be more in depth then students in elementary school. So to say that different ages get different benefits from the group discussions would be accurate. The most beneficial being the deeper understanding of literature and discussing it with others. It is said that these groups would be appropriate for gifted students. At the other end of the spectrum it can have a tremendous impact on at risk students. The students that need help in improving reading skills and make reading more enjoyable for them.
Something else to consider when forming literature circles is not to group students according to their reading ability. Students with lesser reading ability will greatly benefit from others with as little more, although you don’t want to group someone who is really struggling with someone who is an avid reader, this could lead to embarrassment in group discussion. The student with less reading ability might not speak out because he might be embarrassed by what they contribute to the group.
So what makes literature circles so successful? There are so many ways to structure the circles, the approach is very adaptable. There is no rhyme or reason to make groups successful. Teachers have to trust themselves and their students and do what works best for them. Teachers could get a group of other teachers together that have used literature circles already and discuss what has worked well and what didn’t and go from there.
In closing I would just say the purpose of literature circles is for the students to discuss what they read with their other classmates. This will help them have a better understanding of what they read. The group discussions should not be controlled by an adult.
Literature circles.com is a web site that offers discussions, book recommendations, classroom ideas, links to related sites and organizations and photos of students participating on literature circles.