Literature Circles

EECE 441
C. Sibley

Introduction
Readers need to have time to read both extensively for enjoyment and
information and intensively to deepen and enrich a reading experience. When readers
are given time to respond to a book, they make the ideas encountered in the literature
personally meaningful and are able to extend those ideas in a variety of ways. Through
talking about books with others, readers are given the time they need to absorb and
savor a book so that the book becomes a significant part of their life experiences.

Talking about a piece of literature with others gives readers time to explore half-
formed ideas, to expand their understanding of literature through hearing other’s
interpretations, and to become readers who think critically and deeply about what they
read. Readers need to understand that there are a variety of interpretations for any
piece of literature and that they can collaboratively explore their interpretations with
each other so as to reach new understandings. Literature circles help readers become
literate.

Literature provides readers with an important way of learning about the world.
Literature combines both knowing and feeling. Literature educates and entertains. It
stretches the imagination, allowing readers to see their world in a new way and to
imagine other possible worlds. It is the stories we create from our experiences that
allow us to bring meaning to those experiences and to understand how our world
works.

Materials/Procedures
1. Several works of literature should be selected for discussion by the teacher, the
students, or by both. These are introduced to the class by giving short book talks
and then making the books available for the students to browse through. For young
children, the teacher may read each choice aloud to the class. The teacher will need
to have multiple copies of these books.

2. Students must then make a choice of which book they would like to read. This
choice can either be indicated by signing up on a chart for a certain piece of
literature or by having students mark their first and second choices on a piece of
paper which they give to the teacher who then forms the groups. These groups
should have 4-5 members.

3. Students read the piece of literature and meet in Literature Circles to discuss the
book. There are several variations depending on whether students read the book
before beginning the discussion.
 a. Students must read the piece of literature prior to coming to the circle. Students
reading longer chapter books can read these the preceding week either as
homework or during their reading time. For young children who cannot read
the literature independently, teachers can read the literature to the children and
then place the literature with a tape in the listening center.

b. Students read the literature as they discuss it. Each day the group meets to
briefly discuss the part of the literature they had read the previous day and to
decide as a group how far they will read for the next day. Once the book is
finished, the group meets for more intensive discussion of the entire book.

4. Literature Circles usually last anywhere from two days to a week depending on the
length of the book and the depth of the discussion about the book. Usually only half
of the class is involved in Literature Circles at any one time and the others are doing
extensive reading, literature response activities, writing, etc.

5. The Literature Circle discussions are open-ended discussions focused on bringing

the literature and the reader together. The following are some variations in how
these discussions can be conducted.

a. The teacher begins the discussion on the first day by asking a broad question
such as “What was this story about?” or by asking students to “Talk about this
book while I listen.” From this initial discussion, the teacher gets an idea of
which aspects of the book the students find the most interesting. The teacher
participates as a member of the group contributing comments about the book as
well as asking open-ended questions. The direction of the discussion in the
Literature Circle and the types of questions asked depend both on what the
readers are most interested in and on which aspects of the book are the most
outstanding. For example, if the book is an excellent example of character
development or description of setting, these as well as the students’ interests
would influence the focus of the discussion. It is also important that the group
members be encouraged to make links between the book and their life
experiences as well as to other pieces of literature. This should be done in such
a way as to deepen and extend their understanding of the literature rather than
to take them away from the story.

b. The group can begin by discussing their reactions to the book, sharing favorite
parts, and raising questions about parts they did not understand or that
surprised them. The group then makes a list of issues or questions they want to
discuss about this literature. They use this list to guide their discussion over the
next few days.
6. At the end of each day’s discussion the group should decide on what they want to
talk about the next time the group meets. This gives the students time to reread
certain sections of the book and to think about the topic or questions so they are
more prepared to talk the next time. Some teachers give students the option of
writing their ideas about the topic in literature logs. The Literature Circle then
begins by having students share from their logs.
7. While the teacher will often begin as the leader of Literature Circles, once the
students understand how these groups operate the teacher should not always be
involved as a member or leader of the groups. The next section on the teacher
discusses a variety of ways to involve teachers and students in the circles.

8. At the conclusion of a Literature Circle, the members of that circle can be asked to
present the book to the rest of the class as a way to “celebrate” their completion of
the book.

Teachers’ Role
In order for Literature Circles to be successful, there needs to be classroom
environment already established that supports risk-taking and varied constructions of
meaning from reading. If the students feel that they must reproduce what the teacher
thinks is THE meaning of a piece of literature, then the literature circles will not be
productive. Students who have a long literacy history of basal reading groups may
initially treat Literature Circles as basal reader interpretation. They will be used to
sitting back and answering teacher questions and may not know how to talk and work
collaboratively with other students. The teacher will need to provide other kinds of
curricular strategies to establish a learning environment that supports Literature Circles
and should not be discouraged if students say little when they first become involved in
these discussions.

It is essential that students have time daily to read widely from many different
kinds of reading materials. The teacher should be reading aloud to the class and using
the whole class discussions after reading aloud to demonstrate the types of questions
and problems that the students can focus on in Literature Circles. In addition, students
should be involved in responding over time in a variety of ways to literature including
art, music, drama, writing, etc.

Literature Circles should be connected to other parts of the curriculum. If

students are focusing on a study of families or different cultures, then literature can be
chosen which deals with family situations or the clash of cultures. If students are
reading a particular genre, such as folk tales, they should be invited to try writing their
own folk tales or if students are going to be writing some type of non-fiction report,
then Literature Circles can focus on non-fiction.
 The depth of discussion in Literature Circles depends on the rich history of
stories to which the pieces of literature being discussed are connected. There are
various ways that this rich history can be built: use of familiar stories that students have
heard over and over, multiple readings of the same story in the classroom, relating the
book of other books read previously in the classroom through topic, genre, theme,
author, etc., or relating the literature to themes or topics being discussed in the
classroom.

During the initial circles, the teacher should demonstrate the types of questions
and discussion behaviors that are appropriate in order to establish a supportive context
for sharing and constructing interpretations of literature. Varied interpretations are
accepted as long as the reader can support that interpretation. Readers are asked to
support what they say, explain why, rather than simply making statements about their
reading experience with a particular book. The teacher also encourages readers to
explore each other’s interpretations and to collaboratively build new understandings of
the literature during literature circles. Literature Circles are a time of exploration with
each other, not a time to present a formal or final interpretation of a particular piece of
literature. Readers need to really listen to each other (that includes the teacher) and to
build off of each other’s comments. Both the students and the teacher should reply to
each other rather than assess in order not to cut off discussion.

There are a variety of ways in which Literature Circles can be organized so that
teachers and students share in the control of these groups. While the groups will
probably begin with the teacher taking an active role as the leader of the group, the
teacher needs to allow the students to take over and direct the discussion. Because of
the teacher’s great experience and knowledge, the teacher’s presence in Literature
Circles influences the dynamics of that group. Teachers can change their role from
leader to member by waiting for students’ responses rather than dominating the
discussion and by occasionally offering their own opinions about what is being
discussed rather than asking questions. Teachers can offer differing amounts of
support and share control with students by trying different variations of the circles in
which they sometimes present and at other times circulate from group to group or not
join the group at all. Instead of the teacher serving as the source of open-ended
questions or of a broad focus for the discussion, students can come to the circle with
their own questions or focus. These options ensure that the groups have a specific
purpose or problem that is being discussed but vary who is establishing that purpose or
problem: the teacher, the students, or both teacher and students together.

The teacher also needs to get hold of multiple copies of books especially if the
books are chapter books. Picture books can be easily shared among the group members
but students need their own copies of the longer books. Check the libraries, other
teachers, resource teacher collections, and closets. Use the bonus points from paperback
book clubs to buy sets. See if the school will let you use some of your textbook or
workbook money to buy sets (get several teachers to go together and share sets). See if
you can get money to buy sets through the parent/teacher organization or a fundraiser.
Remember that picture books are not just for young children but can be used very
productively with older readers. It is best to use a variety of literature including fiction
and non-fiction, poetry, short stories, picture books, and chapter books.

Variations of Literature Circles

1. A discussion of one piece of literature that everyone has read.
2. Discussing a variety of works that are related in some way.
3. Discussing literature by a particular author or poet.
4. Discuss literature by a local author who can then visit the group.
5. Discuss literature written by class members. These circles recognize the
authorship of children within the room and can lead to interesting and insightful
discussions. The group first meets and discusses the book without the author
present and then invites the author to join the group.
6. Any of the above discussions can occur in groups that go across grade levels.
7. Lucy Calkins describes literature groups where the teacher had the entire class
reading the same genre. Each day, the teacher had a “secret” question for the
students to discuss. After discussing the questions in small groups, the class
then came together as a whole to discuss the question. Sometimes the small
groups had read the same book and, at other times, each child had read a
different book. However, since the books came from the same genre (mystery
story), the students were able to productively discuss the questions with each
other.
8. Karen Smith uses the read aloud time to help students listen and build their
comments off of each other. After reading aloud, she steps outside the group
and asks them to go ahead and discuss the chapter while she takes notes. At the
end of the discussion, she shares her notes with the students, particularly noting
any comments that students made which built off of what someone else had said.
 Eleven Key Ingredients for Literature Circles
1) Students choose what book they want to read.
2) Small temporary groups are formed based on book choice.
3) Different groups read different books.
4) Groups meet on a regular, predictable schedule to discuss their reading.
5) Students use notes to guide their reading and discussion.
6) Discussion topics/questions come from the students.
7) Group meetings are open-ended, natural conversations about books, so personal
connections, digressions, and open-ended questions are welcome.
8) The teacher serves as a facilitator, not a group member or instructor.
9) Evaluation is by teacher observation and student self-evaluation.
10) A spirit of fun and playfulness pervades the room.
11) When books are finished, readers share with their classmates through a celebration.
See ideas below. (Daniels 18)

What Student Behavior Occurs in Literature Circles

 Animated talk.
 Seriousness.
 Passion about literature.
 Notes and drawings that reflect readers’ thoughts and ideas.
 Open-ended, “real” questions.
 Reading aloud of favorite passages.
 Stopping to talk about difficult and powerful words.
 Constant revisiting of the book.
 Using specific passages to prove points and settle disagreements.
 Watching the clock to make sure everyone shares. (Daniels 18)
 Use of Student Bookmarks for Note Taking
The bookmark is a sheet of 8 ½ x 11 paper folded into quarters so that it
resembles a bookmark. This provides a simple, convenient way for students to take
notes as they read. (Strickland 68-69)

Ideas for bookmark notes (put page numbers behind each entry):
 I was confused when . . .
 I stopped reading to think about . . .
 I predict . . .
 I would like to ask the author . . .
 When I read . . . , I thought about . . .
 When I read . . . , I could picture . . .
 This part is mostly about . . .
 I looked up the meaning of . . .
 I checked on how to pronounce . . .
 I found this word/phrase interesting . . .

What Social Skills Teachers Can Look

for When Monitoring a Discussion Group (Daniels 240)
Do literature circle members:
 Attend to the topic?
 Stay on the subject?
 Participate actively in the group?
 Take turns?
 Ask questions?
 Make eye contact?
 Lean forward?
 Nod, confirm, respond?
 “Piggyback” on others’ comments?
 Allow all members of the group to participate?
 Avoid dominating?
 Pull other people in?
 Take turns actively listening?
 Avoid interrupting?
 Speak directly to each other?
 Honor member’s “burning issues”?
 Speak up when they disagree and disagree constructively?
 Support opinions with evidence from the book?
 Help others find evidence?
 Explain what they are thinking?
 Show respect for others’ ideas?
 What Thinking Skills Teachers Can Look for
When Monitoring a Discussion Group (Daniels 240)
Do literature circle members:
 Make connections with personal experience, current events, other books, artwork?
 Make pictures in their heads to visualize the scene, people, events?
 Put themselves into the story?
 Reread to clarify?
 Check and confirm facts?
 Savor the story, language, events?
 Question the author, characters?
 Analyze, interpret?
 Make inferences?
 Draw conclusions?
 Make judgments?
 Evaluate the book, author, and characters?
 Attend to the author’s craft/style?
 Notice words and language?
 Read passages aloud?
 Look for patterns?
 Draw/illustrate/map sections of text?

Major Roles for Group Members

1) Facilitator (Hill 104)
a) Begins the discussion with a comment or question about the reading. See
handouts previously provided in class for examples of questions, such as the The
Importance of Questioning.
b) Ensures that all members participate and have an equal chance to voice their
thoughts and opinions.
c) Maintains enthusiasm and keeps up a lively pace.
d) Ensures that the group stays on task.
2) Recorder
a) Records the date and names of members present.
b) Writes down the pages the group will read for the next meeting.
c) At the end of the discussion time, with the help of the group, summarizes the
major points, ideas, questions discussed.
 Ideas for Literature Circle Celebrations (Daniels 91, Hill 144-5)
 Posters advertising the book.
 Advertising campaign for the book.
 Create an ABC book focusing on key events, characters, etc.
 Cube: create a six-sided tag board cube focusing on favorite scenes, significant
events, etc.
 Readers’ theatre performance.
 Flannel board story.
 Sequel to the story.
 Read alouds of key passages (with discussion and commentaries).
 Jackdaw: collect artifacts representing events, characters, themes to build a display.
 Time line of the story.
 Map of setting.
 Mural.
 Scrapbook.
 Story or character quilt.
 Story wheel: sequencing of key events with illustrations and writing for each event.
 Debate.
 Reader-on-the-street interview.
 New ending for the book.
 New character for the book.
 Collages representing different characters.
 Piece of artwork interpreting the book.
 Original skit based on the book.
 New cover for the book.
 Diary of a character.
 Impersonation of characters (in costume with props).
 Interview with the author (real or fictionalized).
 Interview with a character.
 Letters to and from characters.
 Part of the story rewritten as a picture book for younger students.
 Plans for a party for the characters in the book.
 Song or dance about the book.
 News broadcast reporting events from the book.
 Family tree of key character.
 Puppet show about the book.
 Board game based on the book.

For more ideas and more detailed explanations and examples, see Extension Examples:
More Complex Projects at the web site:
<http://fac-staff.seattleu.edu/kschlnoe/LitCircles/Extension/morecomplex.html>.
 Possible Assessment Strategies
 Kid watching
 Narrative observational logs
 Anecdotal notes
 Performance assessment
 Checklists
 Students conferences
 Group interviews
 Video-audio taping
 Portfolios/work samples

For more general information on Literature Circles, see the ERIC Digest: Literature
Circles at the web site: <http://eric.indiana.edu/ieo/digests/d173.html> and the
Literature Circles Resource Center at the web site:
< http://fac-staff.seattleu.edu/kschlnoe/LitCircles/index.html>.

References
The Literature Circles concept was developed by Kathy G. Short and Gloria Kauffman
based on Karen Smith’s work with literature studies. Their initial exploration of this
curricular strategy is discussed in Kathy G. Short’s dissertation listed below.

Barnes, Douglas. From Communication to Curriculum. New York: Penguin, 1976.

Calkins, Lucy M. The Art of Teaching Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1986.

Daniels, Harvey. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups. 2nd
ed. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2002.

Harste, Jerome, and Kathy G. Short. Creating Classrooms for Authors: The Reading-Writing
Connection. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1988.

Hepler, Susan. Patterns of Response to Literature: A One-Year Study of a Fifth and Sixth
Grade Classroom. Diss. Ohio State U, 1982.

Hill, Bonnie Campbell, Nancy J. Johnson, and Katherine L. Schlick Noe. Literature
Circles and Response. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon, 1995.

Huck, Charlotte. “Literature as the Content of Reading.” Theory into Practice 16 (1977):
363-371.
“Literature Circles.” Language Arts 2000 Cadre Summer Institute. 2000. San Diego
County Office of Education. 31 March 2003
<http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/promising/tips/tipcircles.html>.

Short, Kathy G. Literacy as a Collaborative Experience. Diss. Indiana U, 1986.

Strickland, Dorothy S., Kathy Ganske, and Joanne K. Monroe. Supporting Struggling
Readers and Writers: Strategies for Classroom Intervention 3-6. Portland, ME:
Stenhouse, 2002.
 Teacher Observation Checklist
Literature Circle Group _________________________________________________________
Name of student _______________________________________________________________

Checklist for social skills

 Prepared for the book discussion
 Attends to the topic
 Stays on the subject
 Participates actively in the group
 Takes turns
 Asks questions
 Makes eye contact
 Leans forward
 Nods, confirms, responds
 “Piggybacks” on others’ comments
 Allows all members of the group to participate
 Avoids dominating
 Pulls other people in
 Takes turns actively listening
 Avoids interrupting
 Speaks directly to each other
 Honors member’s “burning issues”
 Speaks up when he or she disagrees and disagrees constructively
 Supports opinions with evidence from the book
 Helps others find evidence
 Explains what he or she is thinking
 Shows respect for others’ ideas

Checklist for thinking skills

 Makes connections with personal experience, current events, other books, artwork
 Makes pictures in his or her head to visualize the scene, people, events
 Puts themselves into the story
 Rereads to clarify
 Checks and confirms facts
 Savors the story, language, events
 Questions the author, characters
 Analyzes, interprets
 Makes inferences and looks for patterns
 Draws conclusions
 Makes judgments
 Evaluates the book, author, characters
 Attends to the author’s craft/style
 Notices words and language
 Discusses literary elements
 Reads passages aloud
 Draws/illustrates/maps sections of text
 Literature Circle Recorder

Title of book: ________________________________________________________

Members present: ___________________________________________________

Name of facilitator: ___________________________________________________

Name of recorder: ____________________________________________________

Date: _______________________________________________________________

Pages read for today’s meeting __________________

Pages to read for next meeting ___________________

Question or comment used by facilitator to start the discussion:

Summary of today’s discussion (major points, ideas, questions):

Questions or topics (if any) to carry over to the next meeting:

 Book Celebration Presentation Evaluation

Presenters ___________________________________________________________

(1=poor, 2=needs improvement, 3=average/somewhat, 4=good, 5=excellent)

1. Spoke loudly and clearly 1 2 3 4 5

2. Had good eye contact 1 2 3 4 5

3. Looked practiced and organized 1 2 3 4 5

4. Showed creativity 1 2 3 4 5

5. Exhibited enthusiasm for the book 1 2 3 4 5

6. Motivated you to read the book (circle one):

I wanted to read it immediately (after my finals).

I may read the book in the future.

I probably will not read the book.

The best thing about this group’s presentation was:

Additional comments:

EECE 441: Specific Guidelines for Multicultural Literature Circles

1) During each class period, you will spend about 30 minutes in your group discussing
your novel. For each of these sessions, you will choose a facilitator and recorder.
The facilitator will be responsible for initiating and directing the group. The
recorder will complete the form that summarizes the group’s meeting and hand it in
at the end of class. Each session will have a different facilitator and recorder.
2) To prepare for the discussion, each group member will do the reading and write
notes on his or her bookmark. The bookmarks will be handed in after each session.
3) After you complete the book, you will plan a “celebration” that will bring closure to
your group’s work on this book. This will be presented to the class on Wednesday,
April 23 [note change in date from syllabus].
4) Assessment (50 points total). Based on:
 Bookmarks.
 Group’s work based on recorder’s notes.
 Literature Circle Celebration.