Lit Circles

Here are the Lit Circle forms:

Literature Circles: A Collaborative Reading Activity

Novel Title: _______________________________

Author: __________________________________

Date: ________

Pages: _______

Discussion Director (s): __________________

Summarizer: ____________________

Vocabulary Reporter: ____________________

Passage Master (s): _______________________

Illustrator: ______________________________

Discussion Director

Name: _____________________ Book: ________________________

Assignment: page ____ to ____

Your task is to develop a list of questions that your group can discuss about this part of the novel. Your questions should be ones which require thought and get everyone talking and sharing their opinions and reactions. The best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings, and concerns as you read. DO NOT write questions that call for a simple “yes” or “no” answer or a factual detail!

Order for Leading Group Discussion

• Call on the Summarizer to read the summary.
• Pose each of your questions to your group for discussion.
• Ask for your group to add their comments or questions about this section of the novel. Lead your group in responding to what each person says.
• Call on the Passage Master. As a group, look at each passage and discuss.
• Call on the Vocabulary Reporter.
• Ask the Illustrator to share their drawing.
• Fill out the Group Record sheet, with input from your group members.
• Collect all worksheets and place in portfolio.

Discussion Questions

1. ____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________
6. ____________________________________________________________

Types of Questions

What did you think about …? (name a specific event, action, or character’s action)

Why do you think that …?

What do you think will happen …? (ask for prediction of events and characters’ actions)

What is happening at the part where …?

What do you think … (event/incident) means?

Summarizer

Name: ____________________________ Book: _________________________

Assignment: page ___ to ___

Your task is to prepare a brief summary of today’s reading. The other members of your group will be counting on you to give a summary that conveys the key points, the main highlights of today’s reading. It is a good idea to jot down the main events on scratch paper before you complete this form. Be sure to write your summary in complete sentences! When you have finished your summary, give it a short title – something that captures the main idea.

My title for the summary: ____________________________

Summary:

My comment or question about this part of the book is: ________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

My group agreed that my summary was complete and accurate: ___yes ___no (if no, edit it to add what is missing)

Word Reporter

Name: _________________________ Book: _____________________________

Assignment: page ___ to ___

Your task is to be on the lookout for a few especially important, interesting, or unknown words. Write them down along with the sentence in which they appear while you are reading. Then, later, look up and jot down their definitions and create an excellent sentence using each word. You should have 4-6 words.

1. Word: ______________ Page: _____ Paragraph: _________

Sentence from the book: _______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

The definition is: ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

My sentence is: ______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

2. Word: ______________ Page: _____ Paragraph: _________

Sentence from the book: _______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

The definition is: ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

My sentence is: ______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Continue with the words you have chosen on the back of the sheet.

My comment or question about this part of the book is: ________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Passage Master

Name: ___________________________ Book: _____________________________

Assignment: page ___ to ___

Your task is to locate three passages of the story that your group should reread, discus, and think about.

*The passages should be important information or scenes that everyone should notice, remember, or think about.

*Choose a variety of passages, not all of the same type. Suggestions:

• Surprising/startling
• Confusing (something you wonder if other people “got”)
• Descriptive writing: figurative language, strong verbs, etc.
• Important (maybe a clue? Foreshadowing?)
• Controversial event: elicits different opinions from group members

During Your Group Meetings:

1. Either read the passage aloud yourself, have someone else read it, or ask everyone to read it silently to themselves.
2. Tell your reasons for selecting each passage; ask for comments. Does the rest of the group agree with your choices?

Page: __________ Paragraph: _________________ The first 3 words of it are: ______________

This is interesting (or puzzling) because:

Page: _________ Paragraph: __________________ The first 3 words of it are: ______________

This is interesting (or puzzling) because:

Finish on the back.

Illustrator

Name: _________________________ Book: __________________________

Assignment: page ___ to ___

Your task is to draw a part of the story from today’s assignment that you think is particularly significant. This can be a passage that drew your attention because it was startling or because you think it holds a deeper meaning for the book as a whole. In addition to drawing the passage, you should include a brief summary of why you choose this particular passage to illustrate.

Page: ______ Paragraph: _________

Event being portrayed: ___________________________________

I chose this passage because:

Daily Group Record Sheet

Name of Daily Director: ___________________ Book: ___________________

Assignment: page ___ to ___

Following the group discussion meeting, the Discussion Director will complete this form with the help of the group members.

1. Two topics which generated the most discussion today were:

2. As a group, we agreed that one of the most important or intriguing passages in this part was about (this may or may not be one that the Passage Master selected):

3. Group participation today: (1) means beginning – OK (2) means developing – better (3) means focused – good (4) means exemplary – excellen

Member’s Completed Contributes Listens to Fulfills Overall ranking

Name reading relevant info group duties

Members

1. ________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________

5. _________________________________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________________________________

7. _________________________________________________________________________