Lit Circles: First Day

Had our first trial run with our literature circle meetings today. For the most part, they went better than expected, though one class (which will not be named) was a (near-)total wreck.

For those who aren't up on the lingo, literature circles are kind of like book clubs for the classroom. The kids have a lot of choice as to what they read, and they lead book-club-like discussion in small groups, ideally with minimal direction from the teacher. The idea is to teach kids to read like adult readers do: choose books that interest them (and learn how to choose books that interest them), respond to them, and discuss them with colleagues or friends. There's a lot of research out there these days suggesting that this is one of the best ways to turn kids into lifelong readers. It's also a great way to differentiate instruction--kids will generally pick books within their abilities--and give the instructor (me) more time to work one-on-one (or one-on-four) with the kids.

But, man, getting these suckers started is hard! Our kids are so unfamiliar with so-called "student-centered" learning that I already realize I'm going to have to spend at least a couple weeks on teaching students how to ask the kinds of questions insightful readers ask. And as of today, the kids are still terrified of disagreeing with one another, which is something that will have to go.

For the time being, though, I'm satisfied with what went on today. Students read a short story (in class) earlier this week, and at the very least, they're excited to choose their reading for Friday. If I get nothing else out of them this week, I'll consider that a success.

On another note . . . I'm pretty sure my lecture on plot yesterday rocked. We basically all wrote a silly story together (mountaintop, treasure chest, snarling beast) and talked about what all the parts were. We spun off about a dozen different variations at each turning point of the story, and we also discussed a funny secondary story, man vs. society, which involved Mr. Goff wanting to grow up to be a ballerina. Plenty of giggling, plenty of raised hands, plenty of note-taking. All stuff teacher loves to see!