Literature Circles

Literature circles and Harvey Daniels support some of my beliefs pertaining to teaching, like student choice is good, tracking not so much...

Students are able to benefit on a large scale "when given choices, time, responsibility, a little guidance, and a workable structure. Our students were reading lots of good books, thinking deeply about them, writing notes and journal entries, and joining in lively, informed literature discussions. They shared responses with peers, listened respectfully to one another, sometimes disagreed vehemently, but dug back into the text to settle arguments or validate different interpretations. In short, our kids were acting like real readers, lifelong readers" (Daniels 1). Wow, literature circles support and produce outcomes such as this! I was surprised and delighted to read how advantageous literature circles can be. A brief overview of my experience with lit circles, or inaccurately titled activities, closely resembles Daniels's description of the inaccuracies of some learning environments: the student choices were gone and we were executing and producing a very mechanical action. For my one class, we often completed a packet that consisted of many (not open-ended) questions independently, which had to be completed by the next class. Then, during class, we would discuss the novel that we had read, the questions stemming from the packet. We were never encouraged to form a relationship between us and the text and the thought of us ever picking a book of our choosing to read would be ludicrous. What we were doing should never have been called literature circles seeing as it went against everything that this week’s assignment discussed.

Literature groups oppose the tracking idea and are based off of "several people's desire to read the same book or article-- not by reading level, ability grouping, teacher assignment, or curriculum mandate" (19). This appeals to me, because I do not see the benefits of tracking. I believe that students are more successful when they are able to focus on readings that they find enjoyable, rather than being forced to focus upon topics of little to no importance to the reader. I was in a situation in seventh grade where I had to read an article about a ridiculous topic and then answer questions about it. After reading, I could not remember the majority of what I read. I was frustrated. I wanted to scream because I was so angry that I had to read about a topic that was so boring, and I knew the importance of answering the questions (if I performed poorly I would have to stay in a Reading Resource room (even though I had the highest level of reading on the PSSA test) but if I did well, I would be taken out of the class, which I wanted so badly!).

Choice is a key element of literature circles, and having a variety of "books--fiction and nonfiction-- as well as articles, magazines, and other printed materials" is essential (92). I particularly liked this quote because often times I think that teachers focus solely on novels, particularly classics. Classics, classics, classics... blah, blah, blah... However, articles, magazines, comics, and other types of literature can aid in allowing students to choose and learn from a variety of media. If I would have been exposed to texts, other than CLASSICS, I would have been a more active reader, connecting better with what I was reading, better prepared for my college classes...probably better at life in general. But, this is one down-fall to literature circles. The choice of texts to read are often limited and it can be challenging trying to find at least six copies of the same text. It can be done though. I view this task (of finding the proper amount of texts) as reflecting how genuine and determined you, as the teacher, are in amplifying your students learning experience.

One of the teachers featured in Literature Circles, Margaret Forst, was willing to go above and beyond for her students. Her goal was to create lifelong writers and readers, believing that too many students were graduating high school without establishing "regular, engaged, personal reading" (160). So, to fix this issue, she began a new elective that centered on book clubs. Maggie went even further and contacted school employees and asked if they wanted to partake in her class and the literature circles. Long story short, this teacher made this class and her students amazing, because of her willingness and determination to create lifelong readers. Reading her student's responses to the mentoring atmosphere, I feel that I would be so happy and excited if I were their teacher. The students expressed how they have learned so much, and one girl said, "I have learned this year how fun it is to get lost in the words of literature." We lose this a lot in schools today. It is not emphasized, to have fun, enjoy, and just get lost in literature. The students were inspired to read due to this teacher's innovative idea. I would love to be able to incorporate this type of structure into my class. Perhaps I would be able to do this in one of my classes, or even start an after school program, or build upon an already existing one. I participated in an after school program, every Thursday in middle school that lasted about two hours or so. This could be an excellent time to have a group of students and teachers get together and form literature circles. This may be a better alternative than trying to create a class, like Maggie did, especially if the school did not follow block scheduling and only had forty-five minute classes. It can definitely still be done in a short amount of time, but my personal preference would include being able to devote more time to literature circles.

One other teacher that was featured in this book, Teresa Bond Fluth, brings up relevant observations. After finding that her students were not engaged or enthusiastic with her attempt at literature circles, she turned to doing some research rather than quitting this concept altogether. She states that she "studied several different models of book clubs" (153). She liked one model, yet the time that she was allotted would not allow for the exact same components (reading, writing, discussion, and instruction). So, she turned to five different models, adapted them to her classroom, and got started. We need to be observant, search for what others have done successfully, and willing to adapt to what works for our classroom! There is no shame in seeking additional help and we should feel good about looking to others for assistance. If we are 'in a rut' then we need to inquire about some sort of help. I view this as part of my job: going out of my way, above and beyond in order to get my students to the point of being engaged, and perhaps lifelong readers, which can be produced from literature circles.

                                                        

I put this picture here because I can envision myself creating a relaxed, very coffee shop-like atmosphere if I were able to start an after school literature circle club. It could have comfortable chairs, couches, etc with the dimmed lighting like the one section in the book talked about.

"If reading is about mind's JOURNEYS, teaching reading is about outfitting the travelers, modeling how to use the map, demonstrating how to use the key and legend…
until, ultimately, it’s the child and the map together and they are off on their own."

- "Mind Journeys," Mosaic of Thought