Online Literature Circles at TechFiesta 2009

Online Literature Circles

What Makes a Genuine Literature Circle?

• Self selected reading materials
• Small temporary groups
• Different books
• Regular predictable schedule
• Discussion topics come from students
• Open, natural conversation
• Task roles
• Teacher as facilitator

Reading Strategy

• Engagement-build connections, set purpose, and motivate
• Exploration - read, observe, question
• Explanation- react, discuss, answer questions, conclude, write
• Elaboration- reflect, look for connections, reflect
• Evaluation - summarize

Why is this Online Collab Project?

• Research proven to help students become lifelong readers
• Students are engaged in the reading task through this digital communication tool
• Students authentically apply strategy into a setting
• Builds on student’s prior knowledge of internet communication world
• Reluctant writers take more risks and are engaged in the writing process.
  
  • Students that are shy and reticient write when they are online.

Reading Survey

• What is your favorite book? What made it your favorite?
• How do you choose books to read?
• Who are some of your favorite authors? Why
• What topics or subjects interest you?
• What are the titles of some books you want to read?

Source: Guiding Readers and Writers by Fountas and Pinnell

How To Start

• Teacher Responsibilities
  
  • Conduct a reading survey
  • Select books for students to preview
  • Create mixed ability groups
    
    • Experiment with all boys and girls
    • Change group membership after each book. This is important because

Teacher Pre-Circle Check List

• Class divided into small groups of 5 per group
• Books for each group
• Chunks for reading meetings set
• Model with a whole class book.

Roles

• Discussion director - develops a list of questions for group discussion
• Super summarizer

Marzano’s 9

• 7 of the nine, except for generating and testing hypotheses and cues, questions, and advance organizers are addressed.

Rubrics

• Self
• Peer - rate each other

Book Talks

• Using Journal in Moodle
  
  • Students post online book talks to persuade other group membes to choose their book for lit circle
  • Students vote on book selection
  • Students draw for 1st task role, then choose order of other roles.

Examples

• At HS, students read “The Road”
  
  • Students felt anonymous until they had a chance to give their own opinion. The OLC enabled them to accomplish this by allowing them to voice their opinions.
  • Water for Elephants is the book they are currently working on at Brack HS-Flood.
• Dual Language Class -
  
  
  • Students are self-motivated and they go about their business of OLC
  • Reading Tale of Despereaux
  • Students are posting
  • Most teachers are not concerned about spelling
  • Students are encouraged to edit each others work. Students are instructed to encourage other students in their editing/revision suggestions.
  • Non-linguistic representation: They like posting as an artful artist. Students draw their pictures and have to post them.
  • Students are understanding connections between themselves and the task roles. **Students are sharing with themselves.
  • Studnts are using survey (questionnaire)
    
    • I like lit circles
  • I like diff lit roles

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