Teaching Strategies
Literature Circles
In my classroom, Literature Circles are student-driven as much as possible. Although Harvey Daniels emphasizes “a spirit of playfulness and fun,”[210] I have found that students need structure for groups to function. I begin by giving students a list of books to choose from. Students identify the two books they are most interested in reading, and then I create groups informed by student choice with consideration for potential conflicts. Each group reads a different book. Initially, students meet with their Literature Circle groups to create a reading schedule across eight discussion sessions. Some groups divide the reading evenly, while others read longer sections over weekends. Once groups establish their schedules, students decide on the order in which they will rotate through the four or five roles. Each student takes each role at least once, and the roles guide how the students respond to the text in preparation for the discussion. Because class sizes vary, some groups have four members with students choosing between Illustrator or Poet, and other groups have five students with Poet and Illustrator as separate roles.
Before class, students complete the assigned reading and task for their role. I provide instructions for each role and exemplars based on a novel read earlier in the year. If a student comes to class unprepared, it hamstrings the group’s conversation. Therefore, I communicate with students and families in advance about the importance of being prepared for discussion. I inform stakeholders that if a student misses two of the eight literature circles in the unit, they will be removed from the group and given an alternative assignment. I allow at least one day between each Literature Circle discussion, so students have at least two nights to complete their reading and role.
On a discussion day, the Discussion Facilitator begins the conversation. They read the higher-order thinking questions they created and take notes on their group members’ answers. Then, they share their response to the question they chose to answer. The order is purposeful; if the Discussion Facilitator reads their answer first, the other group members will simply agree. Next, the Analyst shares their work. The Analyst has chosen a passage from the text that demonstrates the author’s style and has written a bullet-point list commenting on some elements of style. Again, the Analyst shares their style elements first, takes notes on the group’s observations, and finally shares their own ideas. The Discussion Facilitator and Analyst share first because these roles are required to take notes. Speaking first ensures that they have enough time to do so.
Next, the Context Director, Illustrator, and Poet share their work in any order. The Context Director has chosen a topic from the text to research and has written a paragraph about it, along with a citation. They share their findings and explain how their research helped them understand the text. The Illustrator has created an image (drawing, painting, collage, etc.) representing an important scene or aspect of the reading and has written a paragraph explaining how their artistic choices connect to the text. The Illustrator shows their visual representation to the group and shares their paragraph. The Poet has written a poem of six to ten lines representing an important scene or aspect of the reading and has written a paragraph about how their poetic choices relate to the text. The Poet reads their poem to the group and then shares their paragraph.
Socratic Seminar
Like Literature Circles, Socratic Seminars are student-led discussions with the teacher as facilitator. Students read texts and prepare questions before class. During class, they use the questions they created to guide their conversation. In my classroom, I arrange desks in two concentric circles. Students are paired so one partner sits in the inner circle to participate in the conversation and the other partner sits in the outer circle observing and coaching. After a few minutes, partners switch places so each gets a chance to speak and observe.
The teacher’s role is to reinforce the procedures and expectations and to monitor time, but the students choose which questions to discuss, how long to spend on each question, and when to move on to a new question. For this unit, I might guide students to frame their questions around broad themes common across all the memoirs, such as reinvention, identity and belonging, language, generational differences, racism, kindness, or family. During the discussion, I track each student’s participation. I observe how often they ask or answer a question, refer to text evidence, and justify their thinking. I also look for collegial behavior like inviting a quiet classmate to speak and avoiding side conversations.
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