Sciences, Culinary Arts and Personal Through participating in literature circles students learn to work cooperatively. The intent of literature circles is "to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers" (DaLie, 2001). This doesn’t mean giving the students a lot of “busy work”. They also allow students to view the world from multiple perspectives that they previously might not have seen. first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. 2.3.2. Literature circles will keep students interested and wanting to learn more from you, and that is our highest goal as educators. Help to teach, not merely check, comprehension This site not only offers ideas on how to get started on literature circles but also how to structure and make the best of the groups. Thus, some students may lose interest, and the flow of the story may not come across as well. Recent evidence demonstrates that literature . Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. One idea might be to put the common ideas or topics in a hat and have students draw a topic at random. There are a variety of different things to choose from, and different avenues you can take with this and the incorporation of technology in your classroom. BENEFITS Literature circles present a cooperative and participative active assignment throughout the collegiate classroom (Wood, 2018).Online literature circles provide many benefits, with one of the largest benefits being the convenience. Literature circles that give the students too much choice take away some of the choice of the material from the educator. The program is appropriate for grades 4-8. Maybe there are some common themes or topics that students can discuss about each novel. Anne is a teacher and freelancer with a passion for writing. Reason #1: Literature circles can be a place for cooperative learning. In a literature circle, students can select from a wide variety of genres, including fiction and non-fiction. courses that prepare you to earn When someone else is reading, other students may find their minds are wandering, and they may stare out the window or daydream. Lastly, in order to keep students engaged in what you are doing, make sure you keep up to date with current teaching trends and things that students might be interested in. (Contains 4 tables and 5 footnotes.) literature circles are designed to assist students in developing independent and critical thinking skills, as well as increasing their understanding and enjoyment of literature. For instance, if you know a student that takes art and is really great at drawing, you might encourage them to draw pictures of scenes that they have read in the book. Maybe someone else in the group is good at video editing and they want to make a video about the book. The aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Much . The book may take much longer to read than if the student were simply reading it alone. More importantly, our job is to instill in them the value of learning and reading. This type of project is something that will be valuable to the student and maybe inspire them. Don’t fall into old ways just because it’s all you have access to. Slower readers may feel rushed, and the teacher may unknowingly contribute to this feeling by pronouncing the words just to keep the story moving along. “Once students get to high school, the responsibility rests in them to continue reading on their own.”. In many schools, early elementary students as well as middle schoolers are required to do independent reading and take tests, such as AR (Accelerated Reader) tests, to ensure that they are reading on their own. In my time as an educator I have come across countless students who claim to dislike reading and shy 2 . Think of a table tennis player who improves by playing someone of equal or slightly greater ability. exposed to the benefits of book discussion, but are not rewarded for failure to follow through with their responsibility in the group. Most important of all the benefits, literature circles help students develop … Literature Circles Resource Center is a site to help teachers with literature circles. credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of literature circles on the reading achievement of college reading students using a mixed method approach. BENEFITS OF LITERATURE CIRCLES. Playing someone much better would not benefit either player. Some studies suggest that students actually understand and. As they conclude their description of the use of literature circles in a bilingual classroom, Peralta-Nash and Dutch explain the ways that the strategy helped students become … I usually like to give students suggestions for projects that they can do, but letting them choose what option they would like. The!findings!of!this!study!highlight!the!complex!nature!of!student!engagement! “I usually keep is as 5 to 6 members per group to ensure there are enough people to participate.”. Clubs tend to meet at regular times, which can be a good thing. What is the Difference Between Blended Learning & Distance Learning? !Three!main!lines! circles positively impact student learning . In an education setting, this can be achieved through literature circles. It is our job to teach our students not just classical literature, but also modern texts. Students are often grouped according to their reading level to make them feel comfortable, and students' reading comprehension levels may improve. Then, the class must discuss how that idea or topic relates to their book and discuss the similarities and differences between the books they are reading. processes and language development. This affords teachers the ability to assess students in a variety of ways, giving it a more student-centered approach. Students help each other understand a text and make sense of it. This is why literature circles are so important and essential in the classroom. I am also open to suggestions for literature circle books from my students and take these things into consideration when choosing book sets for my classes. This has a direct connection to developing reading comprehension and fluency skills. Many of us like to read on our own, but sharing a love of reading and fine literature can be rewarding as well. Anyone can earn away from literary opportunities. Create your account, Already registered? This type of project is something that will be valuable to the student and maybe inspire them. Get access risk-free for 30 days, Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Students will ultimately pick a book that is catering to their own interests and needs. Another great strategy to try is to jigsaw the groups every once in a while, meaning you will group every student together with someone reading a different book, and then they can discuss and explain the book they have been reading to others who have not read the book. Participating in literature circles may benefit a student's reading comprehension. However, some students may have other commitments that prevent them from being there. Literature circles are meant to be one part of a balanced literacy curriculum, as opposed to a replacement. Quiz & Worksheet - Literature Circle Pros & Cons, Over 83,000 lessons in all major subjects, {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}}, Literature Circle Lesson Plan for Elementary School, Literature Circles: Purpose & Best Practices, Literature Circles: Assessment & Evaluation, The Difference Between Book Clubs & Literature Circles, Literature Circle Discussion Question Examples, Brave New World Literature Circle Activities, Gallery Walk Questions for Social Studies, Gallery Walk Activities for Science Class, Biological and Biomedical We also outline the advantages, disadvantages and potential issues for students and educators. There are advantages and disadvantages to the literature circle model. As Thein, et al. 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They’re not an entire program, but another tool that teachers can use to help foster a true love of reading. Ling (2008) claims that literature circles reduce student apprehension, which creates an environment that challenge students to communicate in foreign language and develops their communicative skill (p.61). Modeling is at the heart of successful literature circle implementation in the classroom. Daniels recognizes the power of small literature discussion groups and the power of collaborative learning. In my classroom, I usually pick a wide selection of books and then have the students “preview” the text. While literature circles are often seen as more suitable for older students, rich conversations, observations and wonderings about texts are possible at all year levels, even as early as Foundation to Year 2. Literature Circles – Roles and Responsibilitie s. Roles * Discussion Director * Passage Master * Word Wizard * Summarizer * Connector. This usually prevents them from being intimidated by others that are at a higher reading level. imaginable degree, area of In order to make the group discussion and student learning more effective, Mr. Knoll has prepared a STEAL template for the students to work on. However, if we incorporate a little bit of this in our classrooms every day, this will not only help students be motivated to learn, but will also help them improve reading comprehension, knowledge, and actually aid in analyzing and understanding literature. Who amongst us doesn't love curling up in front of the fireplace with a favorite book, a warm mug of cocoa, and some fuzzy slippers? Services. Finally, the book could take longer to read as a group, the flow of the story might be dimmed, and students may lose interest. {{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | A literature circle is equivalent for young people of an adult book club, but with greater structure, expectation and rigor. What this means is that all students are able to use their own talents, ideas, and creativity to bring something unique to the group dynamic. It can seem like a pretty daunting task sometimes to get students excited about classical literature, such as Julius Caesar or The Odyssey. Thanks for sharing. Us being the busy teachers that we are, it is often difficult for us to find time to encourage students to read on their own when we have novels to read, assessments, and state standards or Common Core to align with. Study.com has thousands of articles about every A literature circle is defined in this study as students who form a group, read a novel, degree with a major in psychology and a minor in mathematics from Christopher Newport University. Literature circles give students choices over their learning materials. This Digest will focus on benefits of literature circles which some studies have identified. Improved comprehension skills . However, once students get to high school, the responsibility rests in them to continue reading on their own. It is imperitive that students know how important reading is in their daily lives, but students should also understand and appreciate the value of reading for pleasure. Literature circles offer many moments to grow as a reader. Literature circles are a strong classroom strategy because of the way that they couple collaborative learning with student-centered inquiry. Introduce literature circles by explaining they are "groups of people reading the same book and meeting together to discuss what they have read" (Peralta-Nash and Dutch 30). They give students more choice and allow the students' imaginations to thrive. 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