Literature Circles are a great way to get your students engaged and excited about what they are reading. Literature Circles for text discussion is a teaching tool that is used with small groups of students to engage them in discussing literature that all of the participating students have read. After reading the selected text, students guide their own discussion by responding to what they have read. Students may discuss characters, events, writing style, or personal experiences related to the story. Education World highlights the use of Literature Circles by getting insights and advice from two experts about using this instructional strategy.
Katherine L. Schlick Noe, Ph.D., associate professor at the School of Education at Seattle University, told Education World why this teaching approach is so effective: "Literature circles offer students a chance to be readers and writers, to apply the literacy skills that they are learning."
Education World also shares that according to Harvey Daniels, author of the book Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom (Stenhouse Publishers, 1994), literature circles are small, temporary discussion groups of students who have chosen to read the same work of literature. Each member agrees to take specific responsibilities during discussion sessions. The circles meet regularly, and the discussion roles change at each meeting. When the circle finishes a book, the members decide on a way to showcase their literary work for the rest of the class.
Daniels likes the idea of assigning students individual roles within the Literature Circle. The use of roles allow student to see how what they do affects work within a group. The use of roles is very helpful, especially in the beginning, in giving students a sense of responsibility and ownership. However, once students are comfortable with engaging in the Literature Circle, teachers may choose to discontinue assigning student roles. This allows for more freedom of discussion.
The use of Literature Circles in the classroom provides a way for students to think critically about what they have read. Collaboration is essential to the implementation of Literature Circles as students learn to listen to other students' thoughts and opinions and learn from them - even if they don't agree. Literature Circles allow students to develop a deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and response opportunities.
Pepper has released a new workshop focused on Literature Circles as part of its new Pepper Online Workshop (POW!) content. This workshop is provided in two sections - one focused for elementary and a second for middle and high school. You can check all of our new POW content by visiting the Courses and Workshops section on your dashboard.
