Essay on Mechanic: Question and Literature Circles

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S AMPLE MATE RIAL

Literature Circles Lesson Plan and Materials
Gateway High School, California

Topic: Adolescent Literacy
Practice: Engaging Text Discussion

Gateway High School teacher Rebecca Wieder uses literature circles in her ninth-grade Humanities classroom to engage students in meaningful discussions about literature. Her lesson plan shows the logistics for using literature circles during classroom teaching. Also included here are student handouts. One describes the students’ roles in literature circles, clarifying the job of each participant; the sentence starters provide discussion prompts for students who are unsure how to start talking about a text; and the reflection sheet helps students prepare for the literature circle beforehand and to evaluate their experience in the group after the discussion. Literature Circles Lesson Plan and Materials—Gateway High School, California

Objective 1: Continue to develop discussant skills; deepen understanding of characters, themes, symbols.

Objective 2: Understand the purpose of writing an essay after reading a book; remember what an essay is and does; begin to formulate ideas for essay, building on prior knowledge/discussion.
Like Water for Chocolate

Literature Circles Lesson Plan and Materials—Gateway High School, California

Humanities 9- Literature Circles

What are Literature Circles?
Literature Circles are small student-led group discussions in which each group member has a specific role and has prepared for the discussion according to that role. For Like
Water for Chocolate, we will have multiple Literature Circles; for each one, you will have a different role.
Before the Literature Circle, students complete a reflection on their preparation for the Literature Circle and what they hope to discuss and accomplish during the activity.
After the Literature Circle, students complete a reflection on their group members' preparation, what their group did/didn't do well, and suggestions for improving the discussion during the next Literature Circle.
What do I have to do to prepare for Literature Circles?
Read the assigned chapters, track themes, and complete homework and class work.
Complete the preparation for your assigned role (see below)
Literature Circles Roles

Summarizer: Your job is to write a summary of at least one page covering all the important

events from the assigned reading and explaining why these events were significant. How did they change the characters? How did they develop themes?

Discussion Director: Your job is to write down at least five questions for discussion. These

questions should be open-ended (not "yes/no" questions) and designed to spark interesting discussion. Questions that are controversial or require students to think about what they would do in a situation that relates to the story are good conversation starters. You also must write a 3-5 sentence response to each of your questions to share with your circle after they have had a chance to answer.
During the discussion, your job is to encourage all group members to participate by involving them in the discussion, to ask follow-up questions when conversation lags, and to be sure that every participant has a chance to present his or her preparation.

Connector: Your job is to find at least four connections between the story and the world/present. These connections might relate to current events, personal experiences, movies or other books, or anything else that relates to the story in some way. Write a paragraph explanation of each connection (4-8 paragraphs total).
During the literature circle, present each connection to your group, and ask them if they can provide additional connections for this section of the text.

Literature Circles Lesson Plan and Materials—Gateway High School, California

Illustrator: Your job is to create or find an image that relates to the assigned reading.

Consider drawing a