I am starting literature circles with my 7th graders and am dreading the discussion part of the circles. I know that this part is important and is the focus of literature circles, but structuring the discussion makes me anxious. Full group discussions are fantastic and I feel I can hold everyone accountable to certain standards, but the problem with literature circles is that ideally students discuss on the same day, and then I can't hear all of the conversations happening. My colleagues have recommended that I just discuss with one group each day. This would stop the discussions from getting off track, but also it might distract other students who are in the room silent reading. I don't have a para every hour, so I can't pull my discussion groups either.
I want so much for students to have thoughtful, interesting discussions about their books because I think that is why I love literature so much. Does anyone have ideas for how to hold kids accountable to discussion without doing it on separate days?
When we do literature circles in 6th grade we spend the first couple of days talking about what makes a productive literature circle: everyone is discussing, everyone comes prepared with topics to discuss, etc. We then roll that into in order to have a productive literature circle everyone has a job to do and are expected to come prepared.
ReplyDeleteWe also spent alot of time practicing. As I read aloud, I have students jot down questions, thoughts, predictions, etc. and then we do practice groups where they discuss so that afterwards we can talk about what went well, what could have been better. The consensus among the students is that they always need to stay on topic.
As much as I would love my students to constantly be discussing the books everyday, I only meet with one group a day as the rest of my students are reading and working on journals. They are just learning how to do that independent work and I think throwing them into a discussion on their own is too much for them.
You could start your reading hour by giving all groups 5-10 minutes to discuss their books, but then the rest of the time is devoted to indpenedent work while you also meet with 1 literature circle group. That way you give the groups a chance to quickly talk about their books, but they will have a more in depth conversation when they meet on a designated day.
Sounds like Gina gave some good suggestions. I would also add that you might have one day a week where you just circulate and eavedrop on all the groups with a checklist and then give them each a "grade" for the day--and then stop the class 5 minutes before the end to tell them about their "grades." Then if they know they are being graded, they will do their best!
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be concerned if they know they are receiving points on something. So you can do a quick and dirty rubric on 5 things you are looking for and just on a class roster or in your paper gradebook, give them the grades--or actually grade them in the electronic gradebook. Tell them it's an easy A if they are doing their work.
I do not know much about teaching language arts/literature to a class, but I have a suggestion that might help. First, I am glad to hear that you are reading books as a class or in groups and that they are discussing them in 7th grade in groups. My son is in another school district and in 7th grade and they will only read one book as a class throughout the year and the rest is independent reading.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it would work to have each smaller group have a discussion leader to make sure all have added input and direct the conversation about the book. Then another student could fill out a simple discussion review form/ summary following each discussion. These roles could change each week. The review forms could be turned in to you and you could join a different group each meeting time to see how it is going.