Literature Circles

One of the first structures I implemented in my Reading Workshop was literature circles. My school requires small group reading instruction; however, teachers have the responsibility and flexibility to determine the structure of the small groups. When I began teaching, I almost always put students in leveled groups, and we practiced on an instructional level text. While this can be helpful for certain strategies and for certain students, I generally did not feel that it was authentic practice for my students.

Choosing Books

Now students in my class have choice in what they read during small group. At the beginning of a new round of literature circles, I have students fill out a Google Form of books they would be interested in reading. I usually have 8-10 books on the Form, and each student needs to select three. I then look at each student's selections and choose the one that I think is the best fit in terms of reading level, content, or group members. If a student strongly wants to read one book, I take that into consideration, but for the most part, everyone is usually happy with their group. Additionally, many students still go ahead and read the other books but don't meet with the small group when discussing it.

Literature Circle Expectations

One difficulty I originally had when implementing Literature Circles was deciding what students should "do" for group. Obviously, it was always expected that they read the agreed upon pages, but beyond that, I gave them a variety of recording sheets to generate reading responses and discussion topics. I realized no matter how great of a recording sheet I designed, students still saw each and every one as another assignment to do. I had to stop and think about what I wanted from students, which basically was some evidence of their thinking. From there, I determined what I would count as acceptable evidence and made the anchor chart below. I introduced students to these expectations on a Monday, and the rest of the week was spent modeling and practicing.

The expectations I introduced my students to on a Monday.

Literature Circle Responses

I am truly impressed by the responses I am getting from my students. I feel like giving students more choice and freedom has given me a much better view of their understanding. Not only am I able to assess students in terms of standards, but I can also assess each one as an authentic reader. I can see that one student is finally connecting with a character while another is deepening her analysis and commenting on the mood of a text. My students love reading the same book with a group, but giving students freedom and choice in how they respond means that everyone is still getting a personalized and authentic reading experience.

One student's book a couple weeks into Literature Circles.

Noticing the author's craft!

I can't wait to confer with this student! I love how she grouped all of her thinking into categories based on emotions.

Key Takeaways

Determine what you actually want from students (mine = evidence of thinking)
Choose multiple forms of acceptable evidence
Model forms of acceptable evidence
Have students experiment with the different forms of acceptable evidence
Try it! And adjust as necessary!

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