strategy 3:Literature Circles
What is it? Student-led literacy groups, containing 5 students, a Discussion Director, the Literary Luminary, the Illustrator, the Summarizer, and the Creative Connector. Purpose? A key element is the role and responsibility of each child. These come into play during the reading and responding steps that follow. Taking part in child-led groups encourages children to work collaboratively with others as they read about and discuss challenging situations in children's literature. When children learn to work productively with their peers in small groups, they can apply these real-life skills outside the classroom. Implementation: Students analyze a book, find the 'problem' within the story, discuss it, and work together to come up with solutions for addressing it. Steps 1. Before reading. The teacher introduces a book, presents a behaviour or stressor the book focuses on, and guides a discussion with children about nurturing ways to address it. 2. Reading. The children read the book independently or with a parter, with each child ideally having his or her own book. For children who are not yet readers, read the book loud to the group or provide a recording for the group to listen to. 3. Responding. Invite children to share their responses to a book through a whole class discussions by asking, "What did you think?" Encourage children to connect the characters and situation in the book with their own experiences and come up with ways to problem solve an issue that is relevant to their situation. 3. Exploring. With the whole group, present a mini lesson about story structure or provide information about the genre or the author of a book. 4. Applying. Children, in their small groups, usually complete a culminating project, such as a story quilt, and then share their projects and books with the class. This is a good opportunity for students to engage in critical, higher-level discussions. |
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