Day 22 – English 10 / Literary Circles
We are ready to begin our first Eng. 10 novels, and I am so excited to share some of my favorite books with each of you.
Welcome to English 10 Literary Circles
One of the most important steps in becoming a strong reader is understanding that learning must be student centered (Brooks & Brooks 1993). You as students must be at the heart of the learning process, and must be active participants in your own learning, not passive recipients of information that will not embed itself in the right places of your mind to become useful later on.
What are Literature Circles?
“In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students’ response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author’s craft, or personal experiences related to the story.”
What is its purpose?
“Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response.”
Literature Circles are a powerful process of bringing texts to life. It is built on the notion of the power of conversation to engage, to dig deeper, to connect, to analyze, to synthesize, to create.
Five people will have roles assigned for each in-class reading day. If you have been assigned a role for that day, as we are reading aloud you will need to take notes and complete your role sheet. The following day we will review your role sheets and discuss what was read the day prior before we begin additional in-class reading. Your role sheets will also be graded, so make sure you are doing a complete job on them.
Now, let’s get started reading!