Background+Information


 * What Are Literature Circles? **
 * A small group of students exploring and discussing a piece of literature in depth.
 * Structured reading activity that allows powerful, high ordered discussion and thinking to go on around good books.
 * Learner-centered where the learners are actively engaged in reading through making choices, discussing, and constructing meaning.[[image:bookdrop.gif width="309" height="662" align="right"]]


 * Goals and Outcomes **
 * Enthusiastic, natural, informal conversation that encourages a life-long love of reading.
 * To guide students to deeper understanding of what they read.
 * To have student lead collaboration with diversity and self-choice.


 * What Student Behaviors will Occur? **
 * animated talk
 * seriousness
 * passion about novels
 * notes and drawings that reflect readers' ideas
 * searching and open-ended questions
 * reading aloud of favorite passages
 * stopping to talk about difficult and powerful words
 * constant revisiting of the text
 * Using specific passages to prove points and settle disagreements
 * laughter

**How is it Organized?**
 * Students read independently
 * Meeting times are regular and predictable
 * Group size is about 4 or 5 students
 * Each student will have a specific role
 * The roles will change each time the students meet

[|Literature Circles]