Literature Circles

Sorry this one did was lost in the drafts folder for a while. I hope it did not inconvenience anybody too much with homework.

Every year teachers are supposed to try something new. I usually do, but there are some things that I always keep thinking, "I'll read more about it and try it next year." I've said that for years about Literature Circles. Well, I figured with the great class I had this year, this was finally the time to jump in. And, metaphorically, the water is great!

Literature Circles, if you are unfamiliar with them, is a way to allow students to read and discuss books in small groups. It's a bit like what adults do in book clubs. Of course, being children, they do need a little help to focus their discussing and keep on task. Yesterday I gave the students the titles of six books and described each one a bit. I asked them to list the books in order of preference. I went through those lists and matched students to books, trying to make the groups roughly as even as possible and to make sure that the books were not too easy or too hard for the individual student. Astonishingly, only one or two students did not get their first or second book choice.

Today the students met in small groups to read and begin discussing their book. You can see one of those groups below:

These students are reading a charming chapter book called The Fish in Room 11. After reading about 15 to 20 pages, the students shared the strategies they had applied while reading. Each student was in charge of recording how all the member of the group had used one strategy.

After recess - and after lunch, too since it ended up taking way more time than I intended - the students painted the sculptures they made on last Thursday. Many of these are really beautiful as you can see below.

Homework: (1) Do the spelling crossword. (2) Do "Read, Write Fractions," Math, pages 316-317. We did not a chance to really discuss this, but this lesson is third grade review anyhow.