Literature Circle Discussions Back to the Reading Power Home Page

Some Reading Power groups decide to form literature circles as a type of discussion group. During literature circles, students read the predetermined portion of text while preparing to take specific responsibilities for the upcoming discussion. Each participant comes to the group with notes taken during or after reading to help facilitate the discussion. Roles are rotated among the group.

Each group should have a Discussion Director. The discussion director's job is to create questions about the book that the group might want to discuss. It is the discussion director's job to guide the discussion and make sure each member is able to participate. The Passage Picker's job is to locate a few special passage of the text that the group might like to hear read aloud. The literary luminary can choose different kinds of passages--funny, interesting, powerful, or puzzling. Another job is that of the Connector. The connector should find connections between the book and the "real" world. Events, problems of the characters, or places in the book may relate in some way to the world outside of the book. The connector tries to find them. The Word Wizard must be on the lookout for unusual, puzzling, or unfamiliar words which he or she writes down and tries to determine the meaning of before the group meeting. The Illustrator's job is to draw one or more pictures that come to mind from reading the text. Or the illustrator can create a mind map of the story. The pictures or map should be shared with the group. The Summarizer writes a brief summary to share with the group.

• Discussion Director
• Passage Picker
• Connector
• Word Wizard
• Illustrator
• Summarizer
• Literature Circle Job Assignment Sheet