Literature Circle Roles

In your Literature Circles, you will be responsible for preparing information for each
meeting according to your role.

Discussion Leader: Your job is to develop a list of questions you think your group
should discuss about the assigned section of the book. Use your knowledge of levels of
questions to create thought-provoking literal, interpretive, and universal questions. Try to
create questions that encourage your group to consider many ideas. Help your group
explore these important ideas and share their reactions. You will be in charge of leading
the day’s discussion.

Diction Detective: Your job is to carefully examine the diction (word choice) in the
assigned section. Search for words, phrases, and passages that are especially descriptive,
powerful, funny, thought-provoking, surprising, or even confusing. List the words or
phrases and explain why you selected them. Then, write your thoughts about why the
author might have selected these words or phrases. What is the author trying to say? How
does the diction help the author achieve his or her purpose? What tone do the words
indicate?

Bridge Builder: Your job is to build bridges between the events of the book and other
people, places, or events in school, the community, or your own life. Look for
connections between the text, yourself, other texts, and the world. Also, make
connections between what has happened before and what might happen as the narrative
continues. Look for the characters’ internal and external conflicts and the ways that these
conflicts influence their actions.

Reporter: Your job is to identify and report on the key points of the reading assignment.
Make a list or write a summary that describes how the writer develops the setting, plot,
and characters in this section of the book. Consider how characters interact, major events
that occur, and shifts in the setting or the mood that seem significant. Share your report at
the beginning of the group meeting to help your group focus on the key ideas presented in
the reading. Like that of a newspaper reporter, your report must be concise, yet thorough.

Artist: Your job is to create an illustration related to the reading. It can be a sketch,
cartoon, diagram, flow chart, or other depiction. You can choose to illustrate a scene, an
idea, a symbol, or a character. Show your illustration to the group without any
explanation. Ask each group member to respond, either by making a comment or asking a
question. After everyone has responded, you may explain your illustration and answer
any questions that have not been answered.

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 3

 Discussion Leader Role Sheet

Name: Book:
Group: Pages:

Your job is to develop a list of questions that you think your group should discuss about
the assigned section. Use your knowledge of levels of questioning to create thought-
provoking literal, interpretive, and universal questions. Try to create questions that
encourage your group to consider many ideas. Help your group explore these important
ideas and share their reactions. You will be in charge of leading the day’s discussion.

Discussion Questions:

Sample question ideas:

• What kinds of conflicts are the characters facing?
• What do you think about the way the author __________________________________?
• What if ______________________________________ had happened instead?
• What would you have done had you been in this character’s shoes?
• What did you think about this event?
• Did this surprise you? Why or why not?
• What do you think will happen next?
Questions that should be revisited the next time the group meets:

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 4

 Diction Detective Role Sheet

Name: Book:
Group: Pages:

Your job is to carefully examine the diction (word choice) in the assigned section. Search
for words, phrases, and passages that are especially descriptive, powerful, funny, thought-
provoking, surprising, or even confusing. Complete the graphic organizer below on the
selected words, phrases, or passages. During the discussion, you can read the words,
phrases, or passages yourself; ask someone else to read them; or have people read them
silently before sharing your thoughts on it.

Why did the author

select this word or
Reason for Selecting phrase? What is the
Word, Phrase, or
Page # Word, Phrase, or author trying to say?
Passage
Passage How does the diction
help the author achieve
his or her purpose?

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 5

 Bridge Builder Role Sheet

Name: Book:
Group: Pages:

Your job is to build bridges between the events of the book and other people, places, or
events in school, the community, or your own life. Look for connections between the
text, yourself, other texts, and the world. Also, make connections between what
has happened before and what might happen as the narrative continues. Look for the
characters’ internal and external conflicts and the ways that these conflicts influence their
actions.

Event from Book Types of Connections: Connection

• Text to self

• Text to text

• Text to world

Event from Book Types of Connections: Connection

• Text to self

• Text to text

• Text to world

Event from Book Types of Connections: Connection

• Text to self

• Text to text

• Text to world

What has happened previously in the Predict what will happen as the book
book? continues.

Discuss a character’s internal and/or external conflict, and the ways that conflict has
influenced or will influence his or her actions.

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 6

 Reporter Role Sheet

Name: Book:
Group: Pages:

Your job is to identify and report on the key points of the assigned section. Make a list or
write a summary that describes how the writer develops the setting, plot, and characters
in this section of the book. Share your report at the beginning of the group meeting to
help your group focus on the key ideas presented in the reading. Like that of a newspaper
reporter, your report must be concise, yet thorough.

Setting
(Consider shifts in the setting or mood that seem significant.)

Plot
(Consider major events that occurred in the assigned section.)

Characters
(Consider how characters interact and how characters have changed.)

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 7

 Artist Role Sheet

Name: Book:
Group: Pages:

Your job is to create an illustration related to the reading. It can be a sketch, cartoon,
diagram, flow chart, or other depiction. You can choose to illustrate a scene, an idea, a
symbol, or a character. Consider how to use color in your illustration for effect. Write a
reflection that explains your graphic, symbolic connections, or connections between
images and the literature. Show your illustration to the group without any explanation.
Ask each group member to respond, either by making a comment or asking a question.
After everyone has responded, then you may explain your illustration and answer any
questions that have not been answered.

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 8

 Double-Entry Journal

While you are reading your Literature Circle novel, you will be expected to record entries
in a double-entry journal. You may include interesting quotations from the text, questions
about the text, and connections between the text and your own life. During your literature
circle discussion, you will trade journals with another group member, and respond to
his/her entry under the Peer Response. You may then use these entries as talking points
within your group discussion.

Text and Page Number Response Peer Response

(Paraphrase or quote a (Analyze the text, form a (Ask another group
meaningful passage.) personal connection, or member to make a
pose a thoughtful comment here.)
question.)

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 9

 Reading Schedule

Now that you have a group and a novel to read within your Literature Circle, your group
will formulate a plan for reading and discussing the book. With the help of your teacher
and the collaboration of your group, decide on the schedule you will follow for reading
and discussion.

Title of Book:

Author: Total Number of Pages:

Number of
Date Assigned Date Due Pages to Read Role
Journal Entries

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 10

 Discussion Notetaking Graphic Organizer

Listening is an important part of a group discussion. Taking notes during group

discussions can help you be an active listener. Use the notetaking graphic organizer
below as your group engages in Literature Circle discussions.

An Interesting Point
Support the Person
Made by a Member of My My Thoughts
Provided
Group

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 11

 Group Meeting Reflection Sheet

This reflection sheet is designed to help you identify what is going well and what needs
to be improved before the next meeting. This is to be completed at the conclusion of each
literature circle discussion. Only one is needed per group, but all members must
contribute to it.

Date: Book: Pages:

Discussion Leader: Diction Detective:

Bridge Builder: Reporter:
Artist:

Challenges Goals

Speaking

Listening

Understanding
the Text

© 2010 by The College Board. All rights reserved. Page 12