These middle school junior high literature activities are great for any classroom. Of course, in order for them to be an effective structure for cooperative learning, the teacher needs to intentionally. My experience of literature circles is constantly evolving. Rationaleskey understanding for literature circlesinformation about reading minilessonsbook selection information and printable for literature circlesinformation and printables for esablishing literature circle expectations and. Book set recommendations for middle school literature circles. There is some live action, as well as a scripted section that was written by a student.
This is a guide to helping teachers organize and run successful literature circles in their middle school classroom. Of course, literature circles are, by nature, very interactive. Over the course of three articles, i have talked about doing literature circles with my 8thgrade students. Middle school is an ideal time to introduce literature circles to students. Literature circles in the middle grades hello friends. Mcswain, a 3rdgrade teacher, wants to excite her students about reading. Literature circles are a fun and effective way to get kids excited about reading, and they are aligned with common core state standards for speaking and listening. She wants an energized classroom engaged in quality, open. As we lay the foundation for literature circles, ive found that it works best to have the whole class read the same novel. The intent of literature circles is to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers dalie, 2001. Literature circles differ from other small group instructional approaches like guided reading in several ways. We teach reading through the exploration of novels for young adults. In middle school, where friends reign supreme and getting the opportunity to chat with your classmates is something most students would give anything for, literature circles are that tricky thing teachers put into the curriculum where students dont feel like theyre doing much work, but theyre doing a ton of learning.
Literature circles are an ideal practice that i love to implement in my classroom to enhance students love of reading. Then they switch roles at different points and so on. A multiple choice quiz after reading is a quick and easy way to check student comprehension, but it doesnt allow you to assess deeper. Introduction to literature circles challenged book project. To begin, here are some general guidelines for setting up literature circles in your classroom. Each day students met in their literature circles they had certain procedures they were expected to follow. A high school science teacher in north carolina, for example, uses literature circles to help her students understand complex scientific terms. High interest novels are chosen at various levels to accommodate all readers. Literature circles planner a literature circle is a group of students that are reading the same book.
In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. See more ideas about literature circles, teaching reading, reading workshop. Dual narrative, uncomplicated sentences, sparse use of imagery, simple word choice, and personification. The discussion is organized into five roles, with the roles rotating each night. Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group might want to discuss about this part of the book. Five powerful holocaust novels for literature circles. Im here to share how i run literature circles in my middle school classroom. Read through the chat for ideas to implement in your own classroom. Its the perfect way to start and end any school year to foster a love of reading and community in your classroom. Train weaves together the stories of six teens in berlin desperately trying to escape nazi capture.
Literature circles unit literature circles are a fun and engaging way for students to take ownership of their learning. Samantha schnoor is a fifth grade teacher at century elementary school in grand forks, north dakota. Middle school literature circles are a great way to get students hooked on reading. There is no doubt that middle school students love to socialize. Free printables for literature circles laura candler. Knolls fifth grade ela class engage in literature circles where they read, discuss, and analyze novels.
The teacher takes on the role of facilitatorand isnt that what we really want. The five roles help the students strenghten their literacy skills by allowing each student to have a specific job they. Lit circles teach kids how to use each other as resources and become independent learners. I found that, overall, my students took more pride in their weekly role work and did better work to go along with it. If youre interested in learning about an easy method of implementing literature circles, head. Teachers also shared popular themes for connecting novel choices. This lesson provides a basic introduction to literature circles, a collaborative and studentcentered reading strategy. I have experience at the middle school, high school, and college level. Mar 15, 2011 literature circles for high school reluctant readers, a scholastic unit plan, shows how literature circles may target this group of readers. As they conclude their description of the use of literature circles in a bilingual classroom, peraltanash and dutch explain the ways that the strategy helped students become stronger readers. Taking literature circles outside using social media apps. My students like routines, and i like to know what progress each student.
Literature circles and book clubs betterlesson coaching. Running effective literature circles in elementary school. Rather than teach a fullclass book at the end of the 201516 school year, i opted to have my 8th graders read in literature circles. Literature circles in the middle grades adventures in. Middle school junior high literature activities page 1 abcteach. No matter what, you should always teach plot structure because understanding and being able to identify different points of plot is great for comprehension. The benefits of literature circles in the high school. The literature circles helps deepen students understanding of the chapters by allowing the students to share ideas. Students help each other understand a text and make sense of it. To prompt student thinking, the following role cards may be used. After doing literature circles for a few years and in a few different ways, i decided to do an interactive version this year.
By creating roles within each literature circle or book club group and specific tasks for the group to accomplish during their text discussion time, teachers can modify the work to make it more studentcentered. First, students come to class prepared to discuss the chapter they read for homework. Because routine is a middle schoolers best friend, we follow the same pattern each class period. Often, literature circles are enhanced with extra assignments making time lines to help understand the book better, or. One teachers journey bonnie campbell hill, katherine l.
Literature circle lesson plans for middle school just add students. Top five holocaust books for middle school literature circles. They had the choice between six historical ya lit novels. Students use their experiences to create meaning, make connections, and have lively discussions about the book. Jul 21, 2016 rather than teach a fullclass book at the end of the 201516 school year, i opted to have my 8th graders read in literature circles. The implementation of literature circles is outlined in many of our reading workshops. And for an explanation of how i used minilessons both as a full class and in the small lit circles, read here. Of course, in order for them to be an effective structure for cooperative learning, the teacher needs to intentionally develop them as such. Each teen represents a different group targeted by the nazis, exposing students to lesser known populations marginalized by the nazis. Some of the possible book choices for students when students are reading their book and fulfilling their roles in the literature circle, there are a few guidelines i outline for them for discussion that. Book set recommendations for middle school literature. Literature circles for middle school by kasey kiehl tpt.
This is a great unit for reading instruction at the middle school level because you can use it s. Literature circles a literature circle is the student equivalent of a book club, but designed with greater structure, expectation and rigor. Without guidance, modeling and support, they arent automatically places of collaboration. A literature circle is a small group instructional approach to support the development of comprehension, independence and enjoyment. Students should also feel free to connect incidents or characters with other books that they have read literature. Students are interacting constantly with their classmates and with the literature. Dec 20, 2018 the basic idea of literature circles is to get students thinking critically about what they read, but also about showing what they know. Book tastings are a wonderful way to get elementary or middle school students. While teaching plot structure is important for all prose literature whether its fiction or nonfiction, there are some specifics you can teach with each category. Middle school junior high literature activities page 1. Im going to cheat a little bit here and link up with my own linky party, thursday throw down. Nov 23, 2009 and although it might seem that the most logical subjects in which to use literature circles are those heavy in reading, such as language arts, history, and english, they can be used in other subjects.
A literature circle or book club provides a way for students to dig into books that are at their reading and interest level. When youre ready to see specific examples of structure from grade levels similar to yours, click on the. Literature circle lesson plans for middle school just. The power of literature circles in the classroom edutopia. A book club can help fuel the passion of books to young readers, this will help a teacher with what they need to know, and give suggestions on good books. Its usually pretty easy to catch middle school students reading a text, a snapchat, or anything on social media, but the best feeling in the world is catching one of your students reading a book all on their own with no prompting from you. With literature circles, the students take control and the learning is driven by the students, for the students.
She has taught middle school, high school, and community college and has her masters degree and is currently working on her doctoral degree in. Literature circles and book clubs are a text discussion strategies that supports studentled facilitation and discussion in small groups. Literature circles that engage middle and high school students 9781596670624. I did not have a book club in my middle school, but i think it would have been great. Literature circles in high school the doing what works.
And although it might seem that the most logical subjects in which to use literature circles are those heavy in reading, such as language arts, history, and english, they can be used in other subjects. The aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. With literature circles, students get into groups to discuss the work they did for their specific role. In literature circles, students come together to discuss and respond to a book that they are reading at the same time.
Balanced reading program from chapter 1, getting started with literature circles. For example, one of the literature circles reads a long walk to water. Ninthgrade humanities teacher rebecca wieder describes how she facilitates literature circle discussions. I will group students with similar reading levels to avoid frustrations of too fast and too slow readers.
How to create a classroom literature circle edutopia. Whether you call them literature circles or book clubs, this type of reading instruction is a powerful and engaging way to improve reading. Literature circles encourage students to have rich conversation surrounding text. Literature circles are a form of small group instruction in which students take the initiative. Browse this collection of printables to use with your literature circle activities. Wieders students discuss a novel in groups where each plays a role. Literature circles department of education and training. Literature circles at warriner middle school is our reading class. If you have any suggestions on managing literature circles, please share them below. By sharing ideas the children build on their knowledge that they already had or took from the chapters. Engage your students with these middle school junior high literature activities. I thrive on organization and structure in my classroom.
The basic idea of literature circles is to get students thinking critically about what they read, but also about showing what they know. Next, the group completes an exit ticket in order to demonstrate their understanding of the chapter. Students are assigned a novel based on their reading readiness level. Circle time model 1530 minutes share job responsibilities with group members and have an open. There are a variety of ideas you can teach while you are doing literature circles in your middle school classroom. A literature circle is equivalent for young people of an adult book club, but with greater structure, expectation and rigor. It is an opportunity for them to showcase their talents and also grow to appreciate the value of independent reading and project based learning. Literature circles are small group reading instruction that are formed with heterogeneous groups and encourage students to have rich conversation surrounding text. Even though each group was reading a different novel, i was still able to do fullclass and small.
Literature circles are a strong classroom strategy because of the way that they couple collaborative learning with studentcentered inquiry. This post will guide you through everything you need to know to get started. If a group is struggling, i give each student in the group two poker chips. During our most recent kate dicamillo literature circles i learned a great deal about my students that will directly impact our literature circles for the rest of the school year no more than 3 students in a group. Literature circles can be your classrooms best friend when it comes to fostering not only reading, but talking about literature as well. Basically, this method blends the modern idea of literature circles in the sense that students are reading out of class and coming together with a group to discuss and dig into the text with the oldfashioned methods of traditional out of class reading strategies that offer the structure and accountability that i think students also need to get. Adapted from chapter 2 literature circles in middle school. About katie sluiter katie sluiter is currently an 8th english teacher in west michigan. Literature circles can be a place for cooperative learning.
Students demonstrate how to conduct literature circles. However, learning when to talk and when to listen can be a challenge. In an academic age where high stakes bubble tests and formulaic, calculated responses to mundane prompts seem to trump creativity and selfexpression, lit circles allow for authenticity and ownership while also reinforcing the higher. Nov 03, 2007 literature circles allow students to smartly articulate the exchange that occurs between a reader and a text. Studentcentered literature circles high school english.
A literature circle is when you put students into small groups and have each group read a. Literature circles that engage middle and high school students marc moeller. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups harvey daniels. Literature circles are a fun and effective way to get kids excited about reading, and they are aligned with common core. Ten newbery books for a middle school book club and an explanation how to start one up. Intermediate grades and middle school to begin, here are some general guidelines for setting up literature circles in your classroom. Literature circles bring reading to life for these sixth graders. When they meet, they discuss the parts of the book they have read and plan for the next session. Sep 14, 2012 students demonstrate how to conduct literature circles. Literature circles that engage middle and high school.
Students will have some of the books above as options to read in their literature circles. To read about the procedures i put in place for my students, check here. I found that if a student was the word master for the group, thats all she did. Literature circle lesson plans for middle school just add. But i wanted to throw the interactive notebook element in there. Friday is choice, and then literature circle although we call them book clubs time. Literature circles allow students to smartly articulate the exchange that occurs between a reader and a text. I feel literature circles give the students the power of choice, and that is crucial when it comes to getting middle school readers engaged.
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