Novel Studies and Literature Circles

Integrating Reading Power into

Novel Studies and Literature Circles

Adrienne Gear

IMPORTANT:

•This is an opportunity for students to APPLY their understanding of the Reading Power strategies to the books they are reading THEREFORE direct instruction in the Reading Power strategies FIRST is critical forsuccess.

PLANNING MY YEAR: Suggestion

TERM ONE:

Reading Power strategies are taught (or reviewed) using picture books

TERM TWO:

Whole class novel – Teacher guides students through format
Students still meet in small groups weekly, but all are discussing the same book.
Teacher provides “mini lessons” for each additional activity

TERM THREE:

Lit. Circles – students are grouped according to reading level, each group has a different book
If possible, chose books connected to a similar theme – ie. Children in War; Social Justice; Overcoming Adversity
Students work more independently because they are more familiar with the format and activities

GETTING STARTED:

•Group your class into three or four ability groups, based on reading assessment (R.A.D., D.A.R.T., D.R.A., Whole Class Reading Assessment, etc.)

•If possible, arrange with your resource teacher or T.L. to be involved (take one of your groups)

•Block off two 1hr. Blocks in your weekly schedule for Lit. Circle

•Select appropriate leveled novel for each group (read them!)

•Divide each novel into 6-8 (depending on how long you wish to spend) even sections (note page numbers) to ensure everyone finishes their book at the same time. Some books divide by chapters, others by pages.

ie:

Lemonade War

Week 1 – pages 3-15

Week 2 - pages 16-28

Week 3 – pages 29-36.

Recommendation: Ideally, Lit. Circle groups should have between 5-7 students in them. Depending on your class size, it is recommended that you have a maximum of 5 groups.

Weekly Reading Schedule

Divide each novel into 8 (or 6) sections. Record the pages for each section and give this schedule to each Lit circle group to copy.

NOTE: This schedule is based on an 8 week Lit. Circle study. In addition to the 8 weeks of reading, you should allow one week for an introduction to the unit, and one week at the end for the students to complete all the activities. This equals 10 weeks (approximately one term). If you wish to make your unit shorter, then divide the weekly schedule (above) into SIX weeks rather than EIGHT.

Lit Circle Groups

Group 1 (high level)
Title: ______
Students:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______/ Group 2 (mid-high level)
Title: ______
Students:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Group 3 (Mid level)
Title: ______
Students:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______/ Group 4 (mid – low level)
Title: ______
Students:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
Group 5 (low level)
Title: ______
Students:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______/ Group 6 ( ) ?
Title: ______
Students:
______
______
______
______
______
______
______
______

Title: ______Group 1

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8
Pgs/Chpt:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______

Title: ______Group 2

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8
Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______/ Pages:
______to ______

Title: ______Group 3

Title: ______Group 4

Title: ______Group 5

Title: ______Group 6

Lit. Circle Lessons

LESSON One

•Each student receives Lit. Circle booklet, small stack of post-it notes.

•Teacher explains format of literature circles and explains expectations:

Weekly assignments for students:

1)Read assigned pages of your novel according to your weekly schedule.

2)While reading, pay attention to your thinking (connections, questions, etc.) Using a post-it note, mark one passage where you found yourself thinking about the story. You may want to jot down a few ideas on the post it note that you will be sharing during Lit. Circle discussion time.

3)Complete one“Weekly Thinking Page” from your Lit. Circle Package

4)Add 1-3 new words to vocabulary page

5)Work to complete one additional activity per week

Assessment will be based on:

1)Weekly written work and Lit. Circle booklets (teacher marks)

2)Preparation and discussion during Lit. Circles (teacher keeps track of student progress on Lit. Circle Discussion Record)

•Students receive their novels and complete page one of booklet: Question/ Prediction page

•Students record their weekly reading assignments on their sheet.

ADDITIONAL Lit. Circle ACTIVITIES (Introduce one new activity per week)

•Characters I Will Meet– as new characters are introduced, students record their names, who they are, a picture and personality traits describing them.

•Character VENN – students compare themselves with the main character. Words should include both descriptors of themselves – ie: girl, student, only child, plays hockey AND personality traits – ie: brave, funny, kind, determined.

•Setting Map– students draw, label and color a map of the setting of the book. Students brainstorm places in the story to include on their maps first, ie: school, house, park, store, church, friend’s house. This should be done as a semi-bird’s eye view. (teacher can model)

•Photo Album–“You are the illustrator of this book. Choose 5 moments/events/images from this book that you would like to capture. Draw and color your illustrations and include a caption and page number”

•TRANSFORMING MyThinking– students complete this sheet. They will need to have had some previous background and practice in this strategy. Remember to include how their thinking has changed now that they have finished reading the book.

•Letter to the Author – students write a letter to the author. The letter should include – an introductory paragraph introducing themselves to the author, their response/reaction to the book, the parts they liked and why, their personal connections. Included should be questions they would like to ask the author and a closing.

•Vocabulary page – students record any new words they encounter during reading. Definitions and sentences for each word should be included.

•Title Page – create a front cover for their package. Include the title of the novel (block or 3-d lettering is encouraged), THEIR name, a border and some colored coloured illustrations. Remind them they are not to copy the pictures from the original cover of the book.

Student: / Date: / TOTAL:
Passage /5
Selection:
Individual /5
Sharing:
Group /5
Participation:
Comments:
Student: / Date: / TOTAL:
Passage /5
Selection:
Individual /5
Sharing:
Group /5
Participation:
Comments:
Student: / Date: / TOTAL:
Passage /5
Selection:
Individual /5
Sharing:
Group /5
Participation:
Comments:

Lit. Circle Assessment Rubrics

NAME: / NY / A / M / FM / Ex
Comes to Lit. Circle prepared with a thoughtful passage to share and readily contributes to the group discussions.
Applies a variety of comprehension strategies while reading his/her novel, such as making connections, visualizing and questioning.
Demonstrates both a literal (“re-tell”) and inferential (“re-think”) understanding of their novel.

Each student in your class will need a Lit Circle Package which includes all of the weekly activities to go along with their novel.

Pages 10 – 21are the pages you will need for the IntermediateLit Circle Student Package. (The first page of the package is a blank cover page) When making copies for your class, please note that you will need to include multiple copies of some of the templates (see note in top right corner of page)

Name: ______

Literature Circles

Name: ______Grade: ______

Title: ______

Author: ______

Number of pages: ____ Publication date: ______

Before you begin your novel, study the cover closely.

Look at the illustration and read the title. What are you wondering about this book? Record your questions below:

I’m wondering…

______?
______?
______?
______?
______?
______?
______?

Now choose one of your questions and try to predict the answer. What do you think?

Question #____

Maybe…______

For each chapter you read, you are responsible for completing the following…

One “thinking page” per week
1-3 new words added to your vocabulary sheet
Choose one passage from the chapter where your thinking voice was loud. Mark it with a post it note and be ready to share your passage and your thinking when we meet in our Literature Circles.

Passage selection /5
Sharing your thinking /5

Participation in Lit. Circle discussion /5

Other Activities:

Weekly Activity / NM / M / FM / Ex
Characters I Will Meet
New Words
Character Venn
Setting Map
Photo Album
Letter to the Author
Transforming My Thinking
Title Page
Before and After Thinking

( X 6 or 8 copies) Weekly Thinking Page

Chapter: ______Pages: _____

So far… (tell briefly what happened in this chapter) / This reminds me of… (tell about any connections you have to the story or character)
I’m wondering… (write 3-4 deep-thinking questions you have about this chapter) / Maybe… (answer one or two of your questions by inferring or predicting)
My strongest image: (sketch one image and label or write a sentence telling about it. / I think… (make a prediction of what you think might happen in the next chapter. Explain why you think this)

( X 2 copies) Characters I Will Meet

Name of character:
______
Who is he/she? ______
Personality traits: (describe what this character is like)
______
______
______/ Draw and color a picture of this character:
Name of character:
______
Who is he/she? ______
Personality traits: (describe what this character is like)
______
______
______/ Draw and color a picture of this character:

Character Trait Word List

Positive Traits / Negative Traits
artistic
athletic
ambitious
beautiful
brave
bold
capable
calm
caring
cautious
clever
charming
carefree
courageous
confident
creative
curious
determined
easy-going
empathetic
friendly
funny
gentle
good worker
good friend
happy
hard working
helpful
honest
hopeful
humorous
imaginative
independent
insightful / intuitive
kind
level-headed
likeable
loyal mysterious
mischievous
motherly
optimistic
organized
out-going
out-spoken
passionate
persuasive
pleasant
polite
practical
proud
resourceful
respectful
responsible
reasonable
self-reliant
shrewd sensitive
sensible
skilled
thoughtful
thorough
thrifty
tireless
tough
trustworthy
wise / aggressive
aloof
angry
argumentative
arrogant
awkward
belligerent
bitter
boring
boastful
bossy
clumsy
cold
confused
cowardly
cranky
cruel
dependent
devious
dishonest
disorganized
evil
follower
foolish
fussy
gloomy
grouchy
hateful
helpless
hesitant
jealous
lazy
liar
lonely / mean
miserable
moody
nervous
nuisance
obstinate
obnoxious
outspoken
pessimistic
quick tempered
repulsive
reckless
rude
ruthless
sad
sassy
shrewd
shy
sly
sneaky
snobbish
spoiled
solemn
stubborn
stupid
talkative
thoughtless
tough
unfriendly
unforgiving
violent
wicked
weak
worried

( X 4-6 copies) NEW WORDS

Title: ______Author: ______

New word: ______page: ______

Definition: ______

Sentence: ______

New word: ______page: ______

Definition: ______

Sentence: ______

New word: ______page: ______

Definition: ______

Sentence: ______

New word: ______page: ______

Definition: ______

Sentence: ______

Character Venn

Create a Venn diagram, comparing yourself with the main character of your book. Include basic information such as gender, family, school, age, interests, talents, as well as personality traits.

Me ______

Setting Map

In the space below, design a map showing the setting of your story. Include the important places that are included in the book. Color and label your map.

Photo Album

______

Letter to the Author

Once you have finished reading your novel, write a letter to author about their book. Your letter should include:

Date
Greeting
Brief introduction to yourself (name, age, school)
The title of the book you read and how you came to read it (read it in class in a lit circle)
Your opinion about the book
Your favorite part and why
Your favorite character and why
Connections you made to the story
Something that surprised you
Questions you would like to ask the author
Closing (thank author for writing, etc.)
Signature

______

Dear ______,

______

Transforming My Thinking

Title: ______Author: ______

At first I thought this novel was about…
But then I realized that it was really about…
I think the author wrote this book because he/she wanted us to think about…
I already knew that…
But this book has changed the way I think about…

My first thoughts about…

My transformed thoughts about…