Student
Role Sheets
- Leading a Circle Meeting
- Role sheets
Mini-Lesson
*Teacher-Led or Student-Led Discussion
Literature Circle Procedures
- How to choose a book
- What is needed to prepare for a literature circle
- How to start discussions quickly
- How to listen attentively
- How to keep a conversation going
- The role of a discussion group member
- What to write in your response journal
- What are in journal entries
- What to do when you don't understand
- What to do when your group finishes
- How to mediate conflicts
- Responding thoughtfully to others
- How to spice up a lagging discussion
- How to tie extension projects back to the book
Poetry Suggestions for Middle Year Students
Discussion Director - Messy Room by S. Silverstein
Illustrator- Ticklish Tom by S. Silverstein
Passage Picker/Connector - Fear by S. Silverstein
Word Wizard - Road Song of the Bandar-Log
by R. Kipling
Reading Strategies
- Previewing and Predicting
- Reading to see if predictions make sense
- Self-correcting when reading doesn't make sense
- Thinking about what would make sense
- Using what you already know (background knowledge Finding evidence
to support a point
- Comparing/contrasting
- Identifying important information
- Using monitoring strategies to identify unknown words, phrase,
ideas
- Building vocabulary through reading
- creating pictures in your head
- Asking yourself (or the text) questions
- Reading what you don't know slowly and what you do know quickly
- Analyzing, interpreting, inferring
- Distinguishing between fact and opinion
- Use guided reading strategies
- Visualizing strategies
Writing and Response Strategies
- Choosing a topic or focus for your journal entry
- Supporting ideas with information from , your own life, or other
gooks
- Elaborating By using details
- Writing with a purpose and for an audience
- trying out dialogue
- Using figurative , descriptive language
- Using sketches and illustrations to spark or extend ideas
- Developing criteria for effective writing
- Writing a response from a character's point of view
- Incorporating ideas from Post-it Notes into a written response
- Incorporating ideas raised during discussion into written response
Literary Qualities
|
Story
Structure
- Beginnings
- Climax
- Endings
- Problem/Attempts to solve problems
- Beginning, Middle, End
|
Memorable
Language
- Interesting words and phrases
- Action verbs
- Descriptive details
- Alliteration
- Simile/Metaphor/Analogy
- Synonyms
|
Literary Qualities Part 2
|
Literary Elements
- Character,plot, setting,
theme
- Point of view and perspective
- Tone and Mood
- Persuasive devices
|
Genre
Characteristics
- Realistic Fiction
- Historical Fiction
- Fantasy/Science Fiction
- Traditional Literature (myth, legend, tale)
- Poetry
- Biography/Autobiography
- Informational Books
|
Asking Questions
Select a book and model "thinking questions".
- BIG QUESTION - What advice would
you give the character or How would the story be different if the
setting was different?
- Discourage SMALL QUESTIONS - Where
did the character live
Mini-lessons
(Keep
a running list and date.)
Literature
Circle Procedures
[HTML] Discussion Goals - Elements
of Good Discussions
[PDF]
Graphic organizers support a guided reading instructional strategy
Model response expectations with poetry
Reading
Strategies
Writing
and Response Strategies
Literary
Qualities | (Part
2)
Asking
question