Literature Circles

Literature Circles are a great way to get students involved in reading.

The class is divided into groups. Then each group member is assigned a role, such as Discussion Director (create questions to lead group discussion); Illustrator (draw pictures to illustrate reading); Connector (find a connection between the reading and the outside world); Summarizer (write a summary of the reading); Vocabulary Enricher (find and define unfamiliar words); Investigator (find background information); etc.

Harvey Daniel's book Literature Circles contains reproducible worksheets for the above roles and more, including sheets for nonfiction readings. (The book also delves into the history of Literature Circles and ideas for classroom uses.)

Students are more involved in the assigned readings, because they are responsible for contributing to their group's discussion.