Studentled book clubs have the same goals as literature circles. Scholastic book clubs is the best possible partner to help you get excellent childrens books into the hands of every child, to help them become successful lifelong readers and discover the joy and power of good books. Once my students did get the hang of our book clubs, i would switch it up every once in a while and run book clubs more like literature circles where everyone has their own job and added responsibility. For example, the saskatoon public school board has some great resources on their website about different ways to run literature circles, as well as assessment and evaluation considerations. Guided reading and book clubs also called literature circles also motivate students by giving a purpose to their reading. Like reciprocal teaching, you can establish group roles, and i think by doing so, youll have greater accountability in the groups discussion and workload. How literature circles benefit reading comprehension. Literature circles differ from other small group instructional approaches like guided reading in several ways. I love using book clubs every year and this packet makes it so easy to just print and go. Smokey has been struck by the range of the book club boom that his book helped initiate. Book clubs do not have formal roles for participants. They can also have a say about who to be with in a book group.
The power of literature circles in the classroom edutopia. Select a picture book or short text for this practice literature circle. Smokey has authored or coauthored thirteen books on language, literacy, and education. Why literature circles are an important part of student. Literature circles department of education and training. Differentiate instruction by allowing students to form literature circles or mini book clubs to read different texts within your class. Without this, students will merely sit silently in groups and accomplish nothing. There is no right way to run book clubs, and methods are always evolving. Were currently experimenting with online literature circles at our school. Variety of picture books, short texts, or student access to library if you want to choose the books, see the resources for using literature circles in your classroom book list for suggestions rubric outlining expectations for literature circles work and behavior.
Book clubs are smallgroup discussions around a shared text. Scholastic book clubs childrens books for parents and. With over 50 pages, the complete unit for book clubs is all youll need to successfully run literature circles for any novel. Students are usually given the opportunity to select one of several books that theyd like to read. Teachers can find activities, anchor charts, student roles, projects, printables, and other resources to plan for effective book clubs.
These clubs can teach students to discuss and learn in other unique and valuable ways. The components of book clubs include choosing a book, reading the book, discussing the book, writing in your journal, and sharing the book by doing an extension project. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups by harvey daniels grading literature circles is it possible to grade students for their work in literature circles, over a whole book or a marking period. Instead of being assigned a book they must read, students are given a menu of books to choose from and the teacher groups them according to their book selection. Literature circles and book clubs betterlesson coaching. Below you will find an example of how to use literature circles in your classroom. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the authors craft, or personal experiences related to the story. This unit contains everything you need to facilitate book clubs in your upper elementary or middle school classroom. Basically, literature circles are another name for elementary school book clubs. See more ideas about literature circles, book club books and teaching reading. The classroom book clubs method is more relaxed and less structured than many forms of literature circles. Literature circles often include each student in the group taking on a role and then sharing his or her responses based on that role with the group. A literature circle is equivalent for young people of an adult book club, but with greater structure, expectation and rigor.
While some educators do not distinguish among literature circles, book clubs, and article studies, others do. In his system, each student has a different role or. Literature circles are a process for engaging students in reading with their peers. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups is it possible to grade students for their work in.
If youre thinking about starting book clubs or youre lookin. Training students for literature circles scholastic. We allow students to sit in bag chairs which fit nicely in. If leaving the book choice wide open may be too overwhelming for your students, provide a list based on their appropriate reading levels and interests. Why you should use literature circles with your students. I like how we talk about what we read and we ask questions. The intent of literature circles is to allow students to practice and develop the skills and strategies of good readers dalie, 2001. Your job is to prepare a brief summary of todays reading. As a group of students reads a novel or longer text, they meet.
Classroom book clubs is a narrated slidecast that describes a fun and effective method of doing literature circles. A literature circle is basically a small book club for kids. The groups in both cases are fluid and flexible, meaning they may change frequently. The literature circle unit is complete, easy to use for book clubs, and covers the key elements of literature. Certainly literature circles, book clubs, and discussion groups arent new tools for many teachers. Book clubs help you talk about your questions and what you read. I promise to provide practical resources on the how, when, where, what of lit circles, but let me first make a case for why every k12 classroom should institute some version of literature circles.
A literature circle or book club provides a way for students to dig into books that are at their reading and interest level. How these groups work and their differences are topics you need to know when you take the quiz. Literature circles allow students to make choices about their learning. Effective literacy circles and book clubs center for the. From flip books, to games this bundle is jammed packed. For middle and highschool students, short stories are a perfect choice. Literature circles made easy classroom book clubs are an easy and fun way to implement literature circles. Book club book club literature circles novel studies book clubs is an exciting and educational way for your students to grow as readers in your class. During literature circle meetings my classroom vibrated with learning, passion, and joy. Embracing a book club and literature circle format can allow teachers the opportunity to shift from a whole class experience to a more. Voice and choice in the studentcentered classroom heinemann, 2002. Embracing a book club and literature circle format can allow teachers the opportunity to shift from a whole class experience to a more personalized reading experience. In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth.
Your group discussion will start with your 12 minute statement that covers the key points, main highlights, and general idea of todays reading assignment. Like literature circles, members read the same story and then discuss it. Literature circles and book clubs are a text discussion strategies that supports studentled facilitation and discussion in small groups. In my classroom, literature circles are called book clubs. Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups and teaching the best practice way. Students are grouped based on a book that they choose to read. At its core, literature circles are groups of students meeting together to discuss reading.
Harvey daniels wrote about a system to use when you are new to this type of instruction in his book literature circles. The classroom book clubs program is a variation of traditional literature circles in which groups of students read the same book and have weekly meetings to discuss their thoughts and feelings about the book. Imagine your students clustered into small groups around your room, excitedly discussing the books. I call it classroom book clubs because its a more relaxed method that seems like a club and not a reading lesson.
The training for literature circles seems to work best when done as a large group with the entire class. Use digital notebooks to facilitate book clubs and literature. Going through the quiz and worksheet, you can see what you know about book clubs and literature circles. I have run after school book clubs with our students.
As a group of students reads a novel or longer text, they meet regularly in book clubs to share observations, questions, and new learnings related to their reading. Mar 17, 2020 tips for organization and management of literature circles in the elementary language arts classroom. Use digital notebooks to facilitate book clubs and. All children desperately need more opportunities to make choices in school. It has everything you need to get your students started on literature circles. In our classrooms, we foster book clubs once a nine weeks.
The aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a love of reading in young people. The discussion is guided by students response to what they have read. Kids pick the books they want to read and then discuss them. This approach is very flexible and does require students to take on roles when they meeting. One struggle we ran into with some was not being prepared to discuss. With elementary students, the teacher can begin by reading an engaging picture book. This book by harvey smokey daniels is the place to go to learn about literature circles. By creating roles within each literature circle or book club group and specific tasks for the group to accomplish during their text discussion time, teachers can modify the work to make it more studentcentered. Another option for literature circles is a book club format. Literature circles give students the opportunity to talk about books with their peers. What i mostly like about book clubs is when we get in the group we take turns talking about points that are important to us. This resource consists of 5 short narrated videos that will teach you how to implement this method in a stepbystep way.