Literature Circles

Literature Circles

 

Aim: To provide small groups of student opportunities to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by student's response to what they have read.

 

Selection criteria:  All children will be given the opportunity to access the programme and groups could be mixed ability. 6 children from a year group are taken at a time, usually 3 from each class. Group sessions can be 3 per week or just 1, dependent on timetabling. Children are encouraged to select a book that no one in the group has read before, so that its meaning can be discovered together. There is no time limit on how long a group continues, but usually 6-8 books are looked at and 1 book takes 6-10 sessions.

 

Measuring impact:  Students are involved in monitoring and recording their own level of response and engagement with their book and participation with their group after each book is completed. The students write a book review and rate each book they have read and share their ideas.                           

On-going teacher observation and active participation in group discussions is critical in assessing student progress both individually and in whole group. This data is submitted to the class teacher using individual reading grids for the Literature Circle setting only and these help to inform overall reading levels for each pupil. This soft data is collated to gather an understanding of students reading habits, likes and dislikes and preferences.

A questionnaire has been created which the children fill out before the sessions start and is completed after they have finished.