Differentiated Instruction I: Using Literature Circles

Differentiated Instruction I: Using Literature Circles

Differentiated Instruction involves providing students with different avenues to learning content so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability.

Literature Circles is a language activity where students think critically about literature, express their ideas in oral and written forms, and enjoy their literacy experiences. While originally designed for young readers, it can be adapted for students of any age and at any proficiency level. It can be an extremely useful instructional technique when students have varying degrees of language proficiency, especially when some students are fairly competent speakers of the language (i.e., heritage language learners) but lack literacy skills while other students may have more appropriate grammar and vocabulary usage or better literacy skills (i.e., domestic language learners) but lack confidence in their oral language proficiency.

Types of Literature to Use:

Fiction, non-fiction, picture books, newspaper/magazine articles, etc. that meet the following criteria:

  • Comprehensible to students of different abilities and interests
  • Reflects students’ language needs and skills
  • Addresses issue/topics relevant to students’ lives
  • Provokes students’ thinking and discussion

Assigned Roles for Literature Circles:

Discussion Director – The Discussion Director’s job is to write a list of questions that the group will want to discuss about the assigned reading. The best discussion questions are “fat” questions. Think of these questions starters: “Who…” ,“What if…”, “How…” The Discussion Director is also the facilitator for the group’s discussion.

Connector – The Connector’s job is to find connectors between the assigned reading and their world and the outside world. The Connector can make connections to: 1) other novels, 2) their life, 3) happenings in school or neighborhood, etc.

Illustrator/Artful Artist/Artistic Adventurer – The Illustrator’s job is to share an artistic representation of their reading. It could be a drawing, a poem, collage, song, mobile, etc.

Vocabulary Enricher – The Vocabulary Enricher’s job is to look for especially important vocabulary words in the text. Words could be important, unfamiliar, different, puzzling, funny, used in an unusual way, or interesting within the text.

Summarizer – The Summarizer’s job is to prepare a summary of the reading. They don’t retell the whole story, but instead focus on the important points.

Character Captain – The Character Captain’s job is to share observations about the main character(s). The Character Captain will select 3 adjectives for the character and support his/her selections with examples from the text.

Literary Luminary – The Literary Luminary’s job is to select passages from the text that were either surprising, pivotal events, descriptive, scary, thought-provoking, funny, etc.

Sharing and Discussion:

After all members of the group have completed their reading and role preparation, they should come together and begin their discussion. The Discussion Director facilitates the discussion by asking one member to share his/her job. Group members are encouraged to ask and answer questions as each role is being shared.

(Note: Assigned Roles should rotate each time a new literature circle is formed).

Real Classroom Ideas has excellent resources for using and adapting literature circles including assignment sheets for each role and assessment rubrics.

http://www.realclassroomideas.com/4.html

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