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LITERACY CIRCLE

Eng_bustang@yahoo.co.id

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FEATURES

1. Students or instructors choosetheir ownmaterials.

2. Small temporary groupsare formed, based onbook choice or instructors direction.

3. Different groups read different or the same books.4. When books are finished, readers share with their

classmates, and then form new groups aroundnew reading

5. Groups meet on a regular, predictable scheduletodiscuss their reading.

6. Students use written or drawn notesto guide boththeir reading and their discussion.

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FEATURES

6. Discussion topics come from thestudents.

7. Group meetings aim to be open, natural

conversations about books, so personalconnections, digressions and open-endedquestions are welcome.

8. The teacher serves as a facilitator, not agroup member or instructor.

9. Evaluation is by teacher observation andstudent self evaluation.

10.A spirit ofplayfulness and funpervadesthe room.

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ROLES

Groups discussion leader

Summarizer

Connector

Word master Passage person

Culture collection

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Group Discussion Leader

Prepare several questions to start the discussion and keep the discussionlively;

Make sure each group member participates in the discussion;

Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts,feelings, and questions as you read.

Either as you read or when you have finished reading todays assignment,list some of your questions below.

Possible discussion questions or topics for today:

1.How did you feel when you were reading this?

2.What did you think about this reading?

3.Would you summarize what happened? (ask the summarizer)

4.What questions did you have as you were reading?

5.Did anything in this section of the book surprise you?6.Which character in this story did you like best? Why?

7.What do you think will happen next? (to be used for a longer story).

Adapted from Harvey Daniels Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in BookClubs and Reading Groups2nd Edition. Stenhouse: 2002

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SUMMARIZER

Give a one or two minute statement that covers the mostimportant events in the reading.

(The other members of your group will be counting on you to givea summary that will remind them of the key points, the mainideas, the action that occurs in the story. You may need to read

the story (or section) more than one time to give a goodsummary.)

What is absolutely essential for everyone in the group to knowabout the reading? In other words, what is the most importantevent in this reading?

What are the key points to remember about this section?(facts/plot summary)

Adapted from Harvey Daniels Literature Circles: Voice and Choicein Book Clubs and Reading Groups2nd Edition. Stenhouse: 2002

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CONNECTOR (1)

Help group members makeconnections between the readingand the world outside.Think about how the story relates tohis/her own experiences or to theexperiences of friends or familymembers.

Talk about how this story isconnected to other readings or thingsthat they have heard about.

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CONNECTOR (2)Here are some questions to begin discussing connectionsbetween the reading and the world outside.

What has happened in your life that is similar to some of thethings that are happening to the people in the story? Do any of the characters remind you of people that you know?How? Why? Do any of the characters help you to understand

the thinking of real people that you know? Have you ever had thoughts or feelings similar to those of anyof the characters in the story? Does anything in the story remind you of something in thenews or something that you have read?

Some connections I have found between this reading andother people, places, experiences, events........1.2.3.

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WORD MASTER (1)

Look carefully through the reading and to notice thewords and phrases that you do not know or are not sureabout.

(part of being a good reader means that you know whichwords you can skip over and return to later, and whichwords you need to know to understand the reading)

If you find words that you do not know, use a highlighteror pencil check in the margin to mark them while you arereading. Later, you may look them up in the dictionary.

Please look carefully for the words that really stand outin the reading. These may be words that are repeatedoften, words used in an unusual way, or words that areparticularly important to the meaning of the story.

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WORD MASTER (2)

Choose 5 words (only five!) that s/he thinks are important andnecessary to understand the reading and to prepare theanswers to these questions for each of the five words:

1. Where is the word found? (page and place on the page)

2. What does the word mean? Explain in SIMPLE English.3. How is the word used in this sentence?

4. Why is this word important in the reading?

Please write the words and the page numbers below, but youcan use the back of the paper or notebook paper if you needmore space to explain your findings.

Word Page # and Explanation (definition, synonym,Paragraph reason for choosing the word, etc.)

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PASSAGE PERSON Find and bring to the groups attention important, interesting,

or difficult parts of the reading, parts that may be importantfor the storys events (the plot) or to explain the characters,interesting or powerful language. A passage is usually about one paragraph, but sometimesjust a sentence or two. Some possible reasons for choosing apassage to share and discuss in the group are because thepassage is:

important surprising funnyconfusing informative well written The Passage Person may read the passage to the group ormay ask someone to read it. The Passage Person should prepare the following for eachpassage:

Page #& Reasons for choosing Questionsthis passage for discussionParagraph________1.________2

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CULTURE COLLECTOR (1)

Look at the story and note both differencesand similarities between the culturerepresented in the story and their ownculture.

For example, think about the theme of thestory and talk about whether or not thistheme is important in your own culture.

Remember, look for both similarities anddifferences and try to point to specificpassages in the story that clearly show theCultural Points that you are collecting(please note both the page and paragraphnumbers for the passages that you select).

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CULTURE COLLECTOR (2)

The Collectors role is similar to the Connectors, butwhile the Connector tries to find ways to connect thestory to her own life, the Collector tries to compare andcontrast the culture represented in the story with herown culture. As Culture Collector, ask questions to your

group about cultural points that seem confusing to you.

Some differences and similarities between my cultureand the culture represented in the story are. . . . .

1.

2.

3.Cultural Questions

1.

2.

3.

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Literature Circle Reading Schedule

Mtg 1 Mtg 2 Mtg 3 Mtg 4 Mtg 5

Date

Name Role Role Role Role Roles

GDL = Group Discussion Leader S = Summarizer

PP = Passage person C = Connector

WM = Word Master CC = Culture Collector