Zaqwondra McKnight

Dr. Hicks
EDUC 323
February 15,2015

Instructional Strategr: Literature Circles

Literature circles engage students in rich conversations about shared readings. Students
can express their opinions, predictions, and questions about a text in a productive, structured

way. The teacher may ask students to take on specific group roles, such as summarizer or
director, which are designed to develop reading, speaking, and thinking abilities. As the students
become more skilled in literature circle conversations, they can move beyond specific role
assignments.

Literature Circle Roles

The narrator develops questions about the text's "big ideas." For example, the director
might ask, "How did you feel while you were reading this part of the book?" or "What do you
think the most important parts were?"
The investigator locates sections in the text to read aloud. This helps the group
remember the most interesting, funny, powerful, or even puzzling parts of the text.
The summarizer writes a short pr6cis of that day's reading. It should contain the main
ideas and/or the most important moments.
The connector helps the group connect what they're reading and the world outside by
sharing his or her own connections.
The vocabulary enricher finds words that are puzzling, unfamiliar, or special, then
looks up the definitions and reports them to the group.
The illustrator draws something related to the reading -- a sketch, cartoon, diagram,

flow chart, or even a stick figure

scene.