Literature Circles are small groups of
students who meet together to talk about
books they have read.
• Each member of the group has a job with certain
responsibilities.
• If the group is to work effectively, each person
must do his job.
• Participation and self-control are important
ingredients in successful Literature Circles.
Discussion Director
Your job is to develop a list of questions that
your group will want to discuss about the
piece. Don’t worry about the small details;
your job is to help people talk over the big
ideas in the reading and share feelings.
Usually the best questions come from your
own thoughts and ideas as you read.
Sample Questions
•What was going through your mind as
you read this piece?
•What was the topic or theme?
•Did anything surprise you?
•How did you feel about
the characters?
Character Analyzer
Your job is to choose a character and write a
response about him/her. Does this character
remind you of anyone? What is your opinion
of the character? What does he look like, and
what does he do? Identify some of the
character’s traits and give evidence from the
story to support your ideas.
Artful Artist
Your job is to draw anything about the
piece you liked. You may also draw
something as a response to the reading.
-Character
-Setting
-Problem
-Exciting Part
-Surprising Part
When your group meets, don’t say what
your drawing is. Let them guess and talk
about it. Then you can tell them about it.
Text Connector
Your job is to connect
the text to something in
life or to another text.
Does this story remind
you of anything?
Identify whether your
connection is text to
text(TT) or text to life
(TL).
Summarizer
Your job is to write a
brief summary of
the story. That
means that you are
retelling the key
points in a shorter
version. Include the
main ideas, but leave
out small details.
Word Finder
Write down any words you don’t know. Also write down
words the author used that you think are especially
interesting or vivid. Use a dictionary to find word meanings.
When your group meets, help your group members talk
about the words you have chosen.
Passage Picker
Your job is to pick parts of the piece that
you want to read aloud to your group. You
might choose a:
- Good Part
- Interesting Part
- Confusing Part
- Funny Part
- Important Part
- Surprising Part
- Scary Part
- Good Description
-Good Writing Sample
Remember:
• Do your job with excellence!
• Do your part to enable your
group to have a meaningful
conversation about your book.
• Stay on topic as you talk.
• Share your ideas and enjoy
the conversation.