Transcript Literature Circles - Ventura Elementary

Literature Circles
Mr. Shivers
Ventura Elementary School
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What is a literature
circle?
Choose your own reading materials
Small temporary groups are formed, based upon book choice
Different groups read different books
Groups meet on a regular, predictable schedule to discuss their
reading
Students use written or drawn notes to guide both their reading and
discussion
Discussion topics come from the you!
Group meetings aim to be open, natural conversations about books,
so personal connections, digressions, and open-ended questions are
welcome
The teacher serves as a facilitator, not a group member or instructor
Evaluation is by teacher observation and student self-evaluation 11.
A spirit of playfulness and fun pervades the room.
When books are finished, readers share with their classmates, and
then new groups form around new reading choices.
Literature Circle Books:
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Bridge to Terabithia
A View From Saturday
Serving the Apple Whites
Judy Moody Gets Famous
Confessions from the Principals
Chair
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Return of the Indian
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Shiloh
Wayside School Gets a Little
Stranger
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The Best Christmas Pageant
Ever
Chocolate Fever
From the Mixed-up Files of
Mrs. Basil
The Kid in the Red Jacket
My Side of the Mountain
The Whipping Boy
A Wrinkle in Time
Island of the Blue Dolphins
The Secret Garden
Discussion Director:
 It is your job to write down some good
questions that you think your group
would want to talk about. List a minimum
of five thought provoking questions
below.
 Think of these starters:
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Why...
If...
What...
Who...
How...
Connector:
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It is your job to find connections between the
novel your group is reading and the outside
world. This means connection the reading to:
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Your own life
happenings at school or in the neighborhood
similar events at other times and places
other books or stories
other writings on same topic
other writings by the same author.
Literary Luminary:
It is your job to read aloud parts of the
story to your group in order to help your
group members remember some
interesting, powerful, puzzling, or
important sections of the text. You
decide which passages or paragraphs
are worth reading aloud, and justify
your reasons for selecting them.
 Write:
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 page
numbers
 paragraph numbers
Character Captain:
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It is your job to share observations you
have about the main character(s).
Select three adjectives that describe
one or more of the characters in your
novel
Support your selection with an example
taken from your reading assignment.
Artistic Adventurer:
• It is your responsibility for sharing an
artistic representation of the material you
read for today’s Literature Circle. Some
ideas for sharing may include: a character,
the setting, a problem, an exciting part, a
surprise, a prediction, or anything else.
Examples of genres for expression may
include:
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Artwork
Music
Poetry
Collage
Mobile
Vocabulary Enricher:
 It is your job to look for especially
important vocabulary words within the
book your group is reading.
 Words chosen should be:
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Important
Unfamiliar
Different
Puzzling
Funny
Travel Chaser:
► It
is your job to follow the setting as it
changes throughout the story.
► Fill
in the graphic organizer as the
setting changes.
Fortune Teller:
It is your job to make predictions about
events to come in the story.
Make sure you back up all your
predictions with information (proof) from
the novel.
Literature Circle Books:
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Bridge to Terabithia
A View From Saturday
Surviving the Apple Whites
Judy Moody Gets Famous
Confessions from the
Principals Chair
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Return of the Indian
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Shiloh
Wayside School Gets a Little
Stranger
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The Best Christmas Pageant
Ever
Chocolate Fever
From the Mixed-up Files of
Mrs. Basil
The Kid in the Red Jacket
My Side of the Mountain
The Whipping Boy
A Wrinkle in Time
Island of the Blue Dolphins
The Secret Garden
Choosing the Book!
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You will be given 2 minutes to
look through each book.
Write down books that spark
your interest!
List top 5 Books