The Literature Circle is an ideal strategy for developing and practising the skills of independent readers. With small adjustments the strategy can be implemented using both literary and factual texts. Literature Circles provide a structure to implement the four resources model (Freebody and Luke, 1997) and develop the skills of text analyst, code-breaker, meaning-maker and text user.
Before beginning it is desirable to prepare students by developing the skills they will need in order to participate. This will involve introducing the ‘roles’ and providing opportunities for all students to think and talk about the books they are reading. The ‘roles’ have related tasks and include: Connector, Questioner, Literary Luminary, Illustrator, Summariser, Researcher, Word Wizard and Scene Setter. Students also need to develop a sense of community with each other before beginning, so it is a good idea to focus on active listening before using this strategy.
All students will need a folder in which they will keep their journal entries about the book they are reading and discussing along with a set of ‘role’ sheets to refer to. The journal is brought to every session and used as a discussion tool for the student, not as a product for the teacher. It will include phrases, questions, connections and other notes related to their ‘role’.
Each session involves the group meeting to discuss and read. The first thing the students do is discuss their reading from the previous session. Students may use the ‘role’ sheets to pose questions to the group and refer to their journals in order to contribute to the discussion. The circles meet regularly, and the roles rotate. After the discussion the members remind each other how many pages they will read for the next session.
Harvey Daniels (1994) describes Literature Circles as ‘small, temporary discussion groups’ of students who are grouped together based on interest and reading ability. Each member has specific responsibilities related to his/her role. The teacher’s role is to be both a group member and an observer of the skills in use: including reading, preparedness for the discussion, cooperation, active listening and on-task behaviour.
References
1. Daniels, Harvey (2002) Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups. Stenhouse, Portland.
2. Luke, A., and Freebody, P. (1997) ‘The social practices of reading’, in Muspratt, S., Luke, A., and Freebody, P. (eds.), Constructing Critical Literacies: Teaching and Learning Textual Practice. Allen and Unwin, Sydney.
Like to know more?
PEN 140 Day, Catherine (2003) Reading and Responding in Literature Circles. PETA, Sydney.
This PEN describes the process of introducing Literature Circles into your classroom, as well as the ‘roles’. The author makes explicit links to the four resources model.
Simpson, Anne and Willson, Paula (1994) Catering for Diverse Needs in the Classroom’ in Lowe, Kay (ed) Growing into Readers. PETA, Sydney.
This chapter provides information on establishing literature discussion groups.
Nicoll, Vivienne and Roberts, Victoria (1993) Taking a Closer Look at Literature-Based Programs. PETA, Sydney.
This book provides good background reading for any teacher using literature in the classroom.
PEN 118 Edwards-Groves, Christine (1999) Explicit Teaching: Focusing Teacher Talk on Literacy. PETA, Sydney.
Good background reading for the teacher who wants to be more aware of how s/he uses language in the classroom.
This information is available as a PDF Teaching Tip Sheet. Download Literature Circle
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