Pride and Prejudice
Frankenstein
How Green Was My Valley
Literature Circles Project
Have you been thinking to yourself lately, “Man, I wish I had more control over the discussions that
happened in English class!”? Well, even if you haven’t, now is your chance for independence.
What are Literature Circles?
Literature study provides opportunities to discuss how authors create and craft quality
literature. By choosing the literature and by recording your responses and insights as you
read, you take ownership for your learning. This will allow you to participate in reflective
discussions about literature within supportive group environments.






Purposes
to develop personal responses to a text
to experience peer sharing of understandings, interpretations, and comments about a text
to extend students' comprehension of literary selections
to involve students in discussion, negotiation, compromise and decision-making in a group
setting
to develop appreciation of authors' styles
to develop good reading strategies
Journaling
A journal is a place where you can record your reactions to the novel you are
reading. You can write about your feelings, thoughts and ideas about the text.
You will construct meaning as you write about and discuss the story with others.
Journal writing is rarely done to communicate with others, but is used to
explore ideas and to communicate with oneself.
 Note – I will be checking your journals 3 times during the Lit Circle process. These will
count as QUIZ GRADES, so take them seriously.
Journal Prompts
There are many ways you can utilize journals during the reading of your novel. My first suggestion
is that you use the note taking style I taught you at the beginning of the year (look back in your
notes or ask for a reminder). Listed below are some other suggestions for journaling.
 Summarize the events of the chapter.
 Describe character relationships.
 Describe the mood.
 Predict outcomes.
 Talk about the story problems and look for solutions.
 Compare to personal experiences.
 Compare a character in this story to another character about whom you have read.
 Explain/tell some of the hidden meanings you have found.
 Explain whether or not the characters have changed throughout the story.
 Critique the writing.
 Reflect on the author’s use of language.
**These are just some ideas. Either way, I expect you to be making journal entries pretty much
every night (depending on your reading assignments).
Literature Circle Days
You will meet with your literature circle groups 3 times in class during the reading of your novel.
During these times you are responsible for one of 5 jobs (Director, Illuminator, Connector, Word
Watcher, Summarizer. These positions will rotate for every meeting, so that nobody is doing the
same job twice.
Each job has a corresponding worksheet (attached). This will also be collected and checked as a
QUIZ grade.
Although there is a group director, groups should try to reach a consensus of opinion on how to
operate. Try to come to consensus on the following:
 How much to read daily
 When to have reading completed
 Who will do what job (as described below) during each meeting
 How to create productive discussions
Discussion Director: Your role demands that you identify the
important aspects of your assigned text and develop questions your
group will want
to discuss. Focus on the major themes or “big ideas” in the text and
your reaction to those ideas. What interests you will most likely
interest those in your group. You are also responsible for facilitating
your group’s discussion.
Illuminator: You find passages your group would like to/should hear
read aloud. These passages should be memorable, interesting,
puzzling, funny, or important. Your notes should include the
quotations but also why you chose them and what you want to say
about them. You can either read the passage aloud yourself or ask
members of your group to read roles.
Discussion Director/Illuminator Questions
• What were you thinking about as you read?
• What did the text make you think about?
• What do you think this text/passage was about?
• How might others think about this text/passage?
• What would you ask the writer if you could?
• What are the most important ideas/moments?
• What do you think will happen next—and why?
• What was the most important change in this section?
Discussion Director/Illuminator Questions
• What were you thinking about as you read?
• What did the text make you think about?
• What do you think this text/passage was about?
• How might others think about this text/passage?
• What would you ask the writer if you could?
• What are the most important ideas/moments?
Connector: Your job is to connect what you are reading with what
you are studying or with the world outside of school. You can connect
the story to events in your own life, news events, political events, or
popular trends. Another important source of connections is books
you’ve already read. The connections should be meaningful to you and
those in your group.
Word Watcher: While reading the assigned section, you watch out
for words worth knowing. These words might be interesting, new,
important, or used in unusual ways. It is important to indicate the
specific location of the words so the group can discuss these words in
context.
Summarizer: Prepare a brief summary of the day’s reading. In some
cases, you might ask yourself what details, characters, or events are so
important that they would be included on an exam. If it helps you to
organize the information, consider making a numbered listed or a time
line.
• What do you think will happen next—and why?
• What was the most important change in this section?
Connector Questions
• What connections can you make to your own life?
• What/who else could you compare this story to?
• What other books might you compare to this one?
• What other characters or authors come to mind?
• What’s the most interesting or important connection?
• How does this section relate to the ones before it?
Word Watcher Questions
• Which words are used frequently?
• Which words are used in unusual ways?
• What words seem to have special meaning?
• What new words did you find in this section?
• What part of speech is this word?
• What is the connotative meaning of this word?
• What is the denotative meaning of this word?
Summarizer Questions
• What are the most important events in the section?
• What makes them so important?
• How do these events affect the plot of characters?
• What changes did you notice when you read?
• What questions about this might appear on an exam?
• What might be a good essay topic for this section?
To do well on this unit you need to:
 Complete all the required reading
 Complete all journal responses (as required)
 Complete all the roles sheets
 Participate in the discussions
 Demonstrate appropriate behavior skills
 Uphold the high academic standards set forth by the combined class.
At the end of this process you will evaluate your own work and that of your group, stating who you
thought had the most positive impact on the group and whether or not there was anyone who didn’t
rise to the occasion.
Important dates:
April 5th – First group talk
April 16th–Second group talk
April 20th – Third group talk
April 23rd – Lit circle paper due