Lit circles.kamloops.sec
- 1. Grand Conversations, Thoughtful Responses: Literature Circles at Work Kamloops Secondary Teachers Faye Brownlie April 21, 2015
- 2. There is great success in engaging students with text and conversation using literature circles Literature Circles STUDENTS Within these groupings, choose their own books are never assigned roles read at their own pace engage in conversations keep journals about readings and conversations are taught comprehension strategies
- 3. Day 1: Introduction of book conversations • Model and practice with poems or short texts • Ask the students: “What comes to mind when you read this? SAY SOMETHING.”
- 4. This is My Rock - David McCord This is my rock And here I run To steal the secret of the sun; This is my rock And here come I Before the night has swept the sky This is my rock, This is the place I meet the evening face to face.
- 5. Day 1: Start with the books • choose 5 or 6 books with multiple copies • choose books that cover a wide range of reader interest and level of difficulty • choose books that lead to further reading (series, author)
- 6. Day 1: Introduce the books • read an excerpt • describe the kind of reader who might enjoy this • Describe the font, text features etc. including “notice that’s” Start Reading!!! Students choose 2 texts each. (One as a back up)
- 7. Day 2: Meeting with the groups • meet with a group who are reading the same book, while the other students continue reading • students come to the meeting with a brief passage prepared to read aloud • After a student has read, others respond by: SAYING SOMETHING about what they thought.
- 8. Literature Circle Assessment Rubric for Group Discussions English Gr. 5/6
- 9. Response Logs Generally this is a 10 minute write Students respond in writing twice a week, reacting to their books. Initially students write at the same time, but as the process becomes familiar, most will write when it is appropriate
- 10. Criteria for an effective group discussion: •all voices must be included •everyone must feel included •everyone’s ideas are respected •the discussion should move us to new understandings
- 11. Response Journals ! double-entry journals ! initially, written in class, together ! develop criteria for powerful responses
- 12. Response Logs Create Criteria SHAREWrite in front of the students. Have them analyze your response – what works? Create an initial criteria list from their ‘what works’. Students attempt their first response, following this criteria. Give descriptive feedback on their response. Revise the criteria as needed. Generally this is a 10 minute write Students respond in writing twice a week, reacting to their books. Initially students write at the same time, but as the process becomes familiar, most will write when it is appropriate Read and respond to selected student responses. Not all responses need to be responded to by a teacher.
- 13. From Student Samples Creating Criteria 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Choose 3-6 student responses including a variety of forms (webs, paragraphs, pictures) and turn them into overheads Accept “I have chosen a variety of responses to use as samples. These samples will help us build criteria for what makes our responses effective” Say Ask Only positive comments “What did you notice that really works in a response?” “What strikes you as powerful about this response?” Revise Reorganize The list as important new criteria emerge The list to guide further work with responses for the next 4-6 week period The list into a more coherent form Post Use
- 14. Coast Reads 2014-15 Grades 8-‐9 and Brian’s Grade 10 Class Grade 12 The Last 13 A Tale for the Time The Edge of Nowhere Being Steelheart The Orenda Grades 9 (higher readers) and 10 The Fault in our Stars Where’d You Go, BernadeQe? Grades 10 (higher and more mature readers) and 11 Where’d You Go, BernadeQe? The Fault in Our Stars A Tale for the Time Being
- 15. Grand ConversaTons, ThoughUul Responses -‐ a unique approach to literature circles -‐ Faye Brownlie Portage and Main Press, 2004 Student Diversity, 2nd ed -‐ Brownlie, Feniak and Schnellert Pembroke Publishers, 2005 It’s All About Thinking – in English, Social Studies and HumaniTes – Brownlie and Schnellert, 2009
- 16. Webcast: Literature Circles in the Middle Years www.bced.gov.bc.ca/literacy Webcast, part 2