Reflection+1

==== The term “literature circles” as been used in all of my Education classes from the very beginning; however, we were never able to get past the definition. I, personally, never participated in one in elementary school, and had never had the chance of seeing one done in the field. This left me with the feeling of, “Why do literature circles? They do not seem to be that horribly important.” Therefore, when the term cam up again this semester, I was ready to dismiss it yet again; however, I thankfully left my mind open and experienced the true wonders of literature circles. In my circle, I had the joy of watching // The Tale of Despereaux //, written by Kate DiCamillo, come to life in a way that I never thought possible. If it could illuminate the text this way for a college student, I can only imagine the inspiration it could spark in a fourth or fifth grade student. ==== ====  Literature circles have an interesting process that should be followed in order for its maximum benefit to shine. A main step in this procedure is introducing the books to the readers. It is out job as the teacher to make each book sound even better than the next; we want our students to have an extremely tough time picking which book they are going to read. In the case of // The Tale of Despereaux //, I would read aloud Chapter 10 to the class. This short chapter is filled with excitement and suspense. In this selection, Despereaux is placed before the Mouse Council for his previous actions (including, his birth, reading human books, and talking to humans), watches his family do nothing to save him, stands up for what he believes in, and faints just as the chapter comes to a close. These elements combined will draw the reader in and leave them wanting more – the perfect recipe for introducing a book. ==== ====  Other elements to literature circles to consider is: How will the students be grouped? Where will they read this novel? How will they respond to the reading? And, how will you evaluate them? In my future classroom, students will be grouped by reading level based upon the book that they choose. All books will be at the average reading level of the class; therefore, students can choose from any of the books offered. Once the books are chosen, I would break the groups up so that they are split with members with both a higher and lower level reading ability. This set-up would allow for diversity in the groups (especially when the “not one person always starts first” rule is put into effect). I would also have these groups set up so that the students do most of their reading at home. This allows for the lower level students to truly take their time with the text and hopefully get the full support that they need (as given to them by their parents or guardians). I would have the students respond similar way to that of what we did in class – simply ask for a written response with no length or requirements. Then I would evaluate on a more personal level by assessing each student individually – maybe advising one student to write a bit longer of a response next time while advising another student to try responding more to characters instead of events. Also, I would evaluate by having the groups give a final presentation on their book; this presentation could be anything from an original board game to an originally scripted scene to a puppet show. I would really want to see the students’ creativity and originality shine through. ==== ====  It is also important to work these formed literature circles into Fountas and Pinnell’s “Three Block Framework” – language and word study, reading workshop, and writing workshop. For the language and word study block, I would like to try doing an interactive read aloud. Each week, I would pick one chapter from each of the different literature circle books to read aloud to the entire class, furthering the entire class’s interest in wanting to read each of the books presented. The different mini-lessons for the week would all spin off of the chapter read to the class earlier in the week. The reading workshop block students could conduct a literature study on their book. Students would study the different literary elements (i.e. the genre of the book or foreshadowing) in their book. The writing workshop block would be defined by the responses that the students write each night. This type of guided writing will allow students to grow into better writers and reviews. ==== ====  I enjoyed this experience greatly. I loved meeting with my literacy circle each class period to discuss // The Tale of Despereaux //. It was so fascinating to see how one book can be interpreted in so many different ways. Together as a group we would debate our favorite characters, what we thought was going to happen next, the style of the writing, the aid of pictures in chapter books, and so much more. Also, the way that we had to respond was so enlightening. I loved to mix up what I wrote about. My first entry was about what I thought of the writing style, my second journal focused on plot point, my third entry examined all of the characters, while my last writing focused on the themes of the book. The only constant in each of the writings was the length of about one full page and the small drawing of my favorite scene at the bottom of the page. His free spirited system allowed me to truly express what I wanted at the end of each of the four sections. Again I will state, if it could illuminate the text this way for a college student, I can only imagine the inspiration it could spark in a fourth or fifth grade student. I cannot wait to use some of the techniques that I have discussed in this paper in my future classroom. The tools that are seen above are ideas that are forming in my head as to how I could use literacy circles to their full potential in the classroom. ==== ====  In conclusion, I want to state just one more time just how much I enjoyed this adventure with literature circles. This concept was finally able to come to life for me and allowed me to see its full benefits. From the excitement it boosts in students to read to the great discussions that it creates to the wonderful writings that stem out of it, literacy circles are just a perfect tool. I truly cannot wait to use them in my classroom one day. // And, on a side note, my current fifth grade students just finished doing their literature circles, one of which was //The Tale of Despereaux//. That group was so excited when they found out that Mr. Oliveti was reading the same book that they were. They could not wait to show me a scene from the book that they had been working on. It was the scene where Despereaux is sent to the dungeon. They did a fantastic job! // ====