1. Literature Circles

2. Literature Circles are small
groups of students who meet
together to talk about books
they have read.
• Each member of the group has a job
with certain responsibilities.
• If the group is to work effectively,
each person must do his job.
• Participation and self-control are
important ingredients in successful
Literature Circles.

3. 3

4. Discussion Director
Your job is to develop a list of questions
that your group will want to discuss about
the piece. Don’t worry about the small
details; your job is to help people talk
over the big ideas in the reading and
share feelings. Usually the best questions
come from your own thoughts and ideas
as you read.

5. Sample Questions
•What was going through your mind as
you read this piece?
•What was the topic or theme?
•Did anything surprise you?
•How did you feel about
the characters?

6. Real-Life Connector
Your job is to connect
the text to something in
life or to another text.
Does this story remind
you of anything? Identify
whether your connection
is text to text (TT) or
text to life (TL).

7. Summarizer
Your job is to write a
brief summary of the
story. That means
that you are retelling
the key points in a
shorter version.
Include the main
ideas, but leave out
small details.

8. Literary Luminary
Your job is to pick parts of the piece that you want to
read aloud to your group. It may help students by
spotlighting something in the text. Share your reasons
for picking the selections you did.
You might choose a:
- Good Part
- Interesting Part
- Confusing Part
- Funny Part
- Important Part
- Surprising Part
- Scary Part
- Good Description
-Good Writing Sample

9. Illustrator
Your job is to draw anything about the
piece you liked. You may also draw
something as a response to the reading.
-Character
-Setting
-Problem
-Exciting Part
-Surprising Part
When your group meets, don’t say what
your drawing is. Let them guess and talk
about it. Then you can tell them about it.

10. Word Seeker
Write down any words you don’t know.
Also write down words the author used
that you think are especially interesting or
vivid. Use a dictionary to find word
meanings. When your group meets, help
your group members talk about the words
you have chosen.

11. Travel Tracer
• In a book where characters
move around a lot and the
scenes change frequently, it
is important for everyone in
your group to know where
things are happening and
how the setting may have
changed. The setting is a
very important part of the
story. Your job is to track
where the action takes place. 11

12. Character Analyzer
Your job is to choose a character and
write a response about him/her. Does
this character remind you of anyone?
What is your opinion of the character?
What does he look like, and what does he
do? Identify some of the character’s
traits and give evidence from the story to
support your ideas.

13. Remember:
• Do your job with excellence!
• Do your part to enable
your group to have a
meaningful conversation
about your book.
• Stay on topic as you talk.
• Share your ideas and enjoy
the conversation.