Literature Circles and Basal

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Home : 2002 : August : 18

Literature Circles and Basal
By Debi

Annie-
Last year was the first year that I attempted literature circles in a formal way and I was very pleased with the way it went. I teach 6th grade.
I did something similar- I took the first 6-8 weeks to teach
the children about the different story elements, as well as the literature circle roles. We used selections from the basal as well as short stories/selections I found in various 'teacher' books.
I started with the elements of plot, setting, characterization, theme,conflict, point of view, etc. After using a basal selection for a while I would often choose a short story or selection

and ask them to identify the elements for homework or for an in class quiz- this not only gave me a grade, but it helped me to tell if they were ready to move on.
I then started to present some of the more common literature circle roles, now that they had something concrete to talk about. They were surprisingly good at it. This time was so well spent, even though it seemed like we would never actually get to the literature circles themselves.
By the time we started our first circles, they really knew what they were doing. Ultimately, I really only used the basal for nonfiction, poetry, skills etc.
I did get some help from a couple of good books on the subject. Right now, I am not at school, so the titles escape me, but one was particularly good in terms of the roles. I will post again after I have a chance to look through my things this week.
A piece of advice- don't skimp on the time to they need to learn the elements, roles etc.- I will more than pay off in the end if they really learn them well. My kids thoroughly enjoyed it and some were planning to hold their own circles to discuss summer reading!
What books are you thinking of doing in lit. circles this year? We ended up doing:
Maniac Magee
Hatchet
Shipwreck
Year of Impossible Goodbyes
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
The Fear Place
I think that is all- my brain is mush!
Good luck.