Lit+Circle+Overview

Novels of War: Student Led Literature Circles

Literature circles are small groups of students who gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students' response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author's craft, or personal experiences related to the story. Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response (Noe and Johnson 1999). It may help you to think of a literature circle as a “mini” Socratic Seminar.
 * What is a literature circle? **

As we explore our novels you will be responsible for completing much of the reading at home on your own time. The book will be broken down into several reading sections, and for every section you will be participating in a literature circle in class. As an active reader, it is expected that you will be questioning and analyzing the work as you go, and the literature circles will provide an opportunity for you to discuss your questions and insights relating to the book. For each assigned reading section, you will have a specific “job” that you are required to complete before meeting with your literature circle for a discussion. The purpose of assigning jobs is to insure that each member of your group is an active participant, and also to ensure that your group discussion will be worthwhile and meaningful. Because each job is so critical to the success of the entire group, you will be REQUIRED to submit your portion of the assignment to google drive by the night before the scheduled literature circle. If you fail to submit the required work, or your work does not meet expectations, you will NOT be allowed to participate in the literature circle and you will instead be required to complete an alternate assessment (i.e. an essay) while the rest of your class is holding discussions. You will also still be required to submit your missing work.
 * How will we use literature circles while reading a novel? **