Real Books that Change
Your Life!
“Real books are wonderful. . . Real books rest beside
your bed, clutter the coffee table, and stand on
shelves at the ready - waiting to be lifted, opened,
and brought to life by your reading. Real books…are
written by authors who know how to unlock the
world with words and to open our eyes and our
hearts. Each real book has its own voice - a singular
clear voice-and each speaks words that move us
towards increased consciousness.”
Peterson & Eeds , Grand Conversations. 2007
Why Literature Circles?
o Studies have shown that when students are involved in
authentic conversation about literature, they are more
engaged in their reading (Alpert, 1987; Enciso, 1996)
and they take more risks (Eeds & Wells, 1989).
o Literature circles also promote students’ motivation to
read and have been shown to improve students’
reading levels and performance on tests (Davis, Resta,
Davis, & Camacho, 2001).
“Student-Centered Reading: A Review of Research on Literature Circles” EPS Tanya
Auger 2003
Thinking Together – Arthur L. Costa
o “Learning is a reciprocal process; the individual influences
the group’s thinking, and the group influences the
individual’s thinking.”
o “Instructional techniques that encourage group activities
help students construct both their own and shared
knowledge.”
As we construct meaning using Thinking Maps in our
Literature Circles we meet the National Standards for
Language Arts.
Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts:
o to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the
cultures of the United States and the world;
o to acquire new information;
o to respond to the needs and demands of society and the
workplace; and for personal fulfillment.
o Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and
contemporary works.
As we construct meaning using Thinking Maps in our
Literature Circles we meet the National Standards for
Language Arts.
o Students apply a wide range of strategies to
comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
texts.
o They draw on their prior experience, their
interactions with other readers and writers, their
knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their
word identification strategies, and their
understanding of textual features.
As we construct meaning using Thinking Maps in our
Literature Circles we meet the National Standards for
Language Arts.
o Students develop an understanding of and respect
for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects
across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions,
and social roles.
o Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective,
creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy
communities.
English Language Learners
o According to Peralt-Nash & Dutch (2000), literature
circles provide a low-risk environment for children who
are learning English as a second language.
o Some authors believe that these students are able to
make use of the linguistic resources and knowledge
they posses in order to make sense of the text, to
relate it to their life experience, and to participate in
the group discussion in meaningful and functional ways
(Peralta-Nash & Dutch 2000).
ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication Digest #173 ChiaHui Lin (2002)
Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles Voice and
Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom.
2002
Harvey Daniels,
Literature
Circles Voice
and Choice in
the StudentCentered
Classroom.
2002
Connector
o Finds text-to-self connections:
connects to events and/or
experiences in your own life.
o Finds text-to-text connections:
similar events in other books
and stories, other text on the
same topic, or other text by
the same author.
o Finds text-to-world
connections: similar
happenings taking place in
the school, community, or
world, similar events in other
times or places.
Literary Luminary
o Choose passages
that beg to be read
aloud to the group.
o Look for passages
that are powerful,
memorable,
surprising, or
puzzling.
o Justify your reasons
for selecting the
passage/passages
Set Designer
o Identify the setting and the
specific parts of the setting.
o Add a Frame of Reference
and draw some conclusions
about why the author chose
this setting.
o Identify parts of the setting
that are not specifically
described, but that are
inferred.
o Illustrate and/or cut out
magazine pictures to
capture the setting
described in the text.
"The land was barren and
desolate. He could see a few
rundown buildings and
some tents. Farther away
there was a cabin beneath
two tall trees. Those two
trees were the only plant life
he could see. There weren't
even weeds."
“Nearly everything in
the room was broken;
the TV, the pinball
machine, the
furniture.”
“There were seven cots, each one
less then two feet from the one
next to it.” “Seven crates were
stacked in two piles at one side of
the tent.”
“The barn…was pleasantly cool in
summer when the big doors stood
wide open to the breeze. The barn
had stalls on the main floor for the
work horses, tie-ups on the main
floor for the cows, a sheepfold down
below for the sheep, a pigpen down
below for Wilbur, and it was full of
all sorts of things that you find in
barns…”
Uncle Zuckerman’s Barn
Charlotte’s Web
by E.B. White
Character Captain
o Identify the major
characters in the piece.
o Describe revealing
personality traits.
o Justify those traits with
examples of the behaviors
and/or actions of the
character/characters
o Show character change
over time.
o Compare and contrast the
protagonist and antagonist.
 Upset
 Happy
happy
 Angry
 Sad
 Nervous
 Scared
Summary Expert
o Summarize the passage,
chapter, or book.
o Do not retell the entire
sequence of events, just
focus on the important
parts.
o Summarize in pictures,
phrases or sentences.
o Describe the mood or tone
of each event .
o Create a plot line including
the climax and resolution.
?
Vocabulary Visionary
o Look for memorable language: strong verbs, figurative
language, interesting words/phrases, and vivid
descriptions
o These examples should be puzzling, funny, vivid,
unfamiliar, used in an unusual way, repetitive and/or
important to the story.
Composer
o Identify the genres of
music that would make up
the soundtrack of this
story.
o Choose one scene in the
novel that MUST have
music, choose a specific
song and justify the
reasons for your choice.
o Choose a song for each of
the major characters in the
text and describe the mood
that the song creates.
strong
Charlotte
proud
“Respect”
confident
joyous
Illustrator
 Draw a picture related to the text you have just read.
 Draw a picture of something that you were reminded of
in the story.
 Draw a picture that illustrates a mood or feeling you got
from the passage.
 Label the parts of your picture.
 Frame your illustration with one of the following
questions: “What does the picture mean to you?”
“Where did the idea for this picture come from?” or
“What does this picture represent to you?”
Discussion Director
o As a group “frame” your thinking with Aha’s,
Big Ideas, “Fat” Questions, or Wonderings
How did this story change
your thinking about…?
Taking it off the maps…
o Posters advertising the book
o TV movie critic-style reviews
o Panel debates
o Diary of a character
o Interview with the author (real or fictionalized)
o A new ending for the book
o Performances of a “lost scene” from the book
o Family tree of a key character
o ABC Book
o Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles Voice and Choice in the StudentCentered Classroom. 2002
Adaptations for the primary
grades (K-2)…
o Books appropriate for emergent readers (wordless books,
picture books, big books etc.)
o Books are often read aloud to the children
o Children typically read entire book prior to discussion
o Record responses in drawing or writing at their own
level.
o Two phases : sharing & discussion
o Teacher present in meeting
o Bookmarks used to “hold” special places in the story.
Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles Voice and Choice in the
Student-Centered Classroom. 2002
 Campbell Hill, B., Schlick Noe, K. , Johnson, N.
(2001). Literature Circles Resource Guide: Teaching
Suggestions, Forms, Sample Book Lists and
Database. Norwood, Massachusetts: ChristopherGordon Publishers, Inc.
 Daniels, H. (2002). Literature Circles: Voice and
Choice in Book Clubs & Reading Groups. Portland,
Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.
 Hyerle, D., Yeager, C. (2007). A Language for
Learning. Cary, North Carolina: Thinking Maps, Inc.
 Peterson, R., Eeds, M. (2007). Grand Conversations:
Literature Groups in Action. New York: Scholastic,
Inc.
 Rogers, W., Leochko, D. (2002). Literature Circles:
Tools and Techniques to Inspire Reading Groups.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Portage & Main Press.
“Learning to think begins with
recognizing how we are thinking –
by listening to ourselves and own
reactions and realizing how our
thoughts may encapsulate us.”
Arthur L. Costa
Thinking Maps, Inc.
California Consultants
Sarah McNeil
smcneil@thinkingmaps.com
Leanna Brown
leanna@thinkingmaps.com