A Collaborative Twist on Traditional Literature Circles:
Presentation Overview and Summary
By Celeste Mazur, Jennie Sartain and Althea Danielski, Saint Paul College Reading Department
MNADE Annual Conference, Sept. 28-29, 2011, Grand Rapids, MN
Introduction: Literature Circles at Saint Paul College
Literature circles are the academic version of book clubs. Students form groups of 4-7 students,
all of whom have chosen to read the same high-interest fiction or non-fiction book. With our
literature circles at Saint Paul College, the students read the book outside of class, and then meet
three or four times during classes to discuss various parts of the book. Students take on different
roles in their groups, such as Discussion Director, Summarizer, or Connector. They use
worksheets to help them reflect deeply on the text before meeting, and to prepare their roles.
During the literature circle sessions, each person in the group shares the information they have
prepared. The group tackles questions designed to help the students go deeper into the text and
share their various perspectives.
There are two projects that the groups work on concerning their book, as well as one individual
reflection paper. The first project involves examining important vocabulary words found in the
book, and distributing them to the entire class. With the second project, each group creates a
presentation about their book, which they present to the class.
Our Experience
At Saint Paul College, we three instructors were interested in starting literature circles in our
developmental reading classes, but we were daunted by the amount of work needed to get
them started. We wanted to give students as much choice as possible in picking a book to read,
but we still needed to prepare specific materials for each book. Since there were three of us, we
were able to split up the work, making it quite manageable. We were able to pool our ideas,
pick the best ones, and create the materials we needed to start the literature circles for Reading 2
last spring; we expanded with three new books for Reading 1 in the summer term.
Student reaction was very positive: many students reported that the books they chose were the
first books they had ever read all the way through, and that they really enjoyed the group
discussion aspect of the program. We provide these materials to you now: you may use them if
you wish, or use them as a template for creating literature circles with your own book choices.
Aspects of our Literature Circles
Books used for Reading 1 (3 class sessions):
Books used for Reading 2 (4 class sessions):
For One More Day by Mitch Albom
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asegdom
The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang
A Step from Heaven by An Na
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
Roles (students change roles for each session):
Discussion Director
Quote Finder
Summarizer
Vocabulary Finder
Illustrator
Reporter
Connector
Vocabulary Project: Each group collects 8-10 important vocabulary words from their book. For
each word, they provide the context it was found in, the part of speech it plays in that sentence,
the dictionary definition that fits that context, and a new sentence that they created, using the
word. They put this information about all the 8-10 words into an email, and email it to all the
students in the class (D2L provides an easy way to do this). Considering the number of groups
in a class (usually 4-6), this provides students with 40-60 new and interesting words. These
words can be used for various activities in class, as well as on quizzes or tests.
Paper: Students write a 2-3 page reflection paper based on a choice of questions to respond to.
In Reading 2, students are required to quote from the book, and cite it using APA style. For
some students, this is their first experience in using quotes and providing a citation; like the
presentation, this provides a low-pressure opportunity to try out this vital skill, which is likely
to be required when they continue their studies at the college level. This paper is submitted
electronically to D2L, also a first for many students.
Presentation: Perhaps the capstone of the literature circle program, the presentation provides a
chance for students to take their group work to the next level in presenting their book to the
entire class. Each group prepares a PowerPoint or poster presentation about their book; each
student takes on a different job in preparing the presentation, and then the group works to pull
all the individual pieces together into one uniform presentation. For some students, this is the
first group presentation they have ever done, making it a valuable learning and confidence
building experience.
Contact us! If you have questions, comments, or if you’d like to share your own experiences
with literature circles, we’d love to hear from you! You can reach us at:
jennie.sartain@saintpaul.edu celeste.mazur@saintpaul.edu althea.danielski@saintpaul.edu
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Session 1
Session
1
2
3
4
Date
Chapters
Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2
Chapters 3, 4 & 5
Chapters 6 & 7
Chapters 8, 9 & Epilogue
Pages
3-68
69-158
161-223
224-285
Please complete the required reading before the session date, and prepare your
answers to the questions and your role tasks, so you can participate fully in the
discussion. Your discussion role for Session 1 is:
Discussion Director / Facilitator
Connector
Illustrator
Summarizer
Reporter
Vocabulary Enricher
Quote Finder
.
Rate the book!
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=very easy, 5=very difficult), rate the difficulty level of the
reading in this book. Explain your choice.
1
2
3
4
5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1=don’t enjoy, 5=love it), rate your like/dislike feeling of this
book. Explain your choice.
1
2
3
4
5
Vocabulary
Mark new vocabulary words you encounter here to share in the discussion. It’s a good
idea to mark the page number or to include the context so you can find the words again.
In your group together you will choose 3 vocabulary words from this session.
Session 1 Questions
1. What does Malcolm Gladwell mean by the term “outliers?” Who are outliers, and why are
they called that?
2. In the first Chapter, The Matthew Effect, Gladwell suggests that the time of year when a
child was born affected how that child did in playing hockey. Explain his argument.
When were you born? Do you think your birth date has had any effect on your life? Do
you think you would be different, if you had been born at a different time of the year?
3. While you’re reading, mark a passage or quote that made you stop and think, wonder, or
connect with your experience. Write the quote here (or mark it to read during the group
discussion). Read your passage or quote aloud, and share why it made you stop, and
what you thought about when you read it.
4. What is the 10,000 hour rule? Do you think it is real?