Since I first posted
the Literature Circles page on mrcoley.com, several teachers have e-mailed
me with questions about how I run Lit. Circles in my classroom. I
always love hearing from fellow teachers and enjoy sharing any information I
have that others may find helpful. After receiving many similar
questions, it dawned on me that compiling a list of frequently asked
questions regarding Literature Circles would be a good way to share information. So, here's a list of the most
common questions I've been asked about Literature Circles, followed by my
answers. Please understand that I don't consider my answers to these
questions to be "right" or the only way to run a Literature Circles program.
My goal is simply to share with others what I have found to work well in my
own classroom. If you have a question you don't see listed on this page,
please feel free to ask me by clicking
here. I hope you find this page helpful!
How do you group students?
I group my students homogeneously.
I am fortunate at my school to have access to the
Reading Inventory (SRI), a fantastic reading assessment that quickly and
easily measures students' reading comprehension. Using SRI scores,
called Lexiles, as well as other classroom assessments as a guide, I place students in groups
with readers at similar reading levels. I also try, whenever possible,
to create boys- and girls-only groups. I don't do this throughout the
curriculum, but over the years I've found that students tend to open up more
in their book-based discussions when they are surrounded by others of the
Do students stay in
the same groups all year?
Not necessarily. The goal of
Literature Circles is to match readers to appropriately leveled text, so it makes sense that if a
student shows dramatic improvement in his/her reading abilities, it is
necessary to move him/her to a higher-level group. That being
said, I have found that over the course of a school year, everybody
improves, not just one or two students. As one student develops, so do
the rest. In short, most groups grow together, making it possible to
keep them intact. Of course, if a student is developing his/her skills
at a much faster rate than the rest of the group, a change is necessary.
students select their own books or do you assign them?
Although I approve their selections to ensure that the books are at an
appropriate reading level, groups choose their own books. When
students are first introduced to the Literature Circles program, they are
given a list of all the books available (click
see the list). Next to each title on the list is the book's Lexile
level. By comparing a book's level to the Lexile levels of the
students in the group, students can quickly and easily find an appropriate
It's important to note that when making
book selections, the books' Lexile levels are used as a guideline, not a
rigid rule. I do occasionally recommend books for my students that
don't exactly "match" in terms of the students' and books' Lexile levels.
I have encountered books whose assigned Lexiles, when compared to my
experience with the books, don't seem quite accurate. For example,
Mr. Popper's Penguins has a Lexile of 910, putting it at a high 5th
grade level. I have found, however, this book to be perfect for some
of my struggling 5th grade readers. In fact, when I taught 4th grade,
I used this book as a core novel for my entire class. I guess what I'm
trying to say is, if your experience leads you to believe a book may be a
good match for your students, despite the lack of an apparent match between
the Lexile level of the book and students, don't be afraid to give it a try.
The students will know within a chapter or two if the book is too hard or
How long does
it take for a group to finish a book?
It depends on the group and on the book being read. A shorter book may
be finished by a high-level group in only a week or two, or a longer book
may require a month by students reading at a slower pace.
How are "jobs" assigned?
Each student has what we call a "job wheel." To create the job wheel,
I first give students a circular piece of paper divided into pie-like
sections, each section containing the name of a Lit. Circle job (here are
the uncut job wheels I use for 4-person and 5-person groups). This
piece of paper is then attached to a small square piece of construction
paper by pushing a small brass brad through the center of both sheets of
paper. By drawing an arrow at the top of the
construction paper and rotating the wheel, students are able to determine,
on their own, what jobs they are responsible to complete. Students
keep track of their jobs, reading assignments, and due dates on a
Circles Assignment Sheet.
How do you grade
In my classroom, each job is worth 5 points.
When grading jobs, I look for three things: completeness, effort, and
accuracy. First, I check to make sure the job has been completed in
its entirety, including all of the appropriate headings (e.g. book title,
pages/chapters read). Jobs with incomplete headings are automatically
docked one point, and incomplete jobs are marked down and must be redone.
I then check to make sure the job was completed accurately. For
example, did the Discussion Director write high-level questions (not just
yes/no questions)? Did the Word Finder correctly define the words
he/she looked up? Lastly, I look for effort. It is very evident
when a student has put forth good effort on a Literature Circles assignment,
just as it is very evident when he/she has not. I consistently stress
to my students that if they work hard and do their best, improvement (and
typically a good grade) is bound to follow.
How often do
you meet with your Literature Circles?
My students meet in their Literature Circle groups once a week, typically on Fridays. The other
four days of reading instruction are
spent in our district-adopted reading series and/or a core novel unit.
In past years, I've had students meet twice a week (on Tuesdays and
Fridays), but I've found once a week more to my liking for two reasons.
First, it allows me to devote more time to our reading series, and second,
since there is more time between meetings, students are able to read
larger portions of their books, thus enabling them to have deeper
discussions when they meet in their groups.
Where did you get
your Literature Circles books?
I have been fortunate enough to build my Literature Circles library almost
entirely by using bonus points from book clubs like
Beginning in about my third year of teaching, I began putting all of my
bonus points toward new Lit. Circles books. By adding two or three new
sets of books each time I place a student order, I've been able to build a
pretty substantial collection. Click
see my list of available books.
How do you find Lexile levels for your literature circles books?
Lexile.com has a fantastic
database of over 100,000 books from more than 450 publishers. Each
time I get a new book, I search the database using its
book search feature to find the book's Lexile level.
In what grade
levels can you run Literature Circles?
I have run Literature Circles in both
my 4th and 5th grade classrooms and know of teachers who have run them in
higher grade levels. 3rd graders may not be ready for the freedom and
responsibility that come with a full-blown Literature Circles program, so I
would recommend a modified program with more teacher involvement at this
grade level. When I taught 4th grade, I used to wait until around
January to begin the program. Since student responsibility is
imperative for the program to run successfully, I always waited until we got
a little deeper into the school year. This gave students more time to
strengthen their independence and responsibility before we got started.
Now that I teach 5th grade, I typically introduce the program in October.
How do you monitor groups?
During each session, I typically move throughout the
classroom, spending a little time with each group. I'll sit down and
listen to the discussion and sharing that's taking place, make sure the
group is on task, and then move on to another group. I also make it a
point several times a year to spend sessions with each group from start to
finish. This enables me to see group dynamics for a complete session
and not just during a random five-minute block of time.
Literature Circles effective?
I have found them to be extremely
effective. My students' comprehension and vocabulary scores have
consistently risen as a result of the program. But what thrills me
more than improved test scores is the fact that Literature Circles make my students
excited about reading. They look forward to their group meetings each
week, and are always disappointed when something like an assembly forces the
rescheduling of a Literature Circles session. Here's some
research on the effectiveness of Lit. Circles.
Can I use your job sheets with my own
Please feel free to download and use my job
sheets and other handouts with your students. If you have a classroom
website and decide to post the sheets on your site for your students to
download, please include a link back to the Literature Circles page of my
Any tips for getting
Make sure you take the time to thoroughly train your students on exactly how
you want your program run. Before I even split my class into groups, I
typically spend two or three weeks on things like:
introducing the concept of
Literature Circles. Here's the
PowerPoint presentation I use to help introduce the program to my
students must display in order for Literature Circles to be effective.
going over Bloom's
six levels of
questioning, highlighting the need to use higher-level questions during
discussing and modeling each job.
"Things to Look For" chart detailing the requirements for each job.
job wheels and
modeling the procedures of a
Literature Circles session (what you do first, second, etc.).
Also, I highly recommend being strict with your expectations early
on so that bad habits don't develop (I'm speaking from experience here).
In terms of jobs, I've found that when I've accepted less than a student's
best effort in the beginning, I was more likely to continue to receive work
that didn't always reflect what the student was capable of producing.
Finally, Literature Circles only work
when everyone comes to the group prepared. A group can't have a
discussion if the Discussion Director doesn't do his/her job. Students
must be responsible for the program to work. Comments like "I didn't do my job" or "I left my
job at home" can doom a Lit. Circles session. I have, in the past, had
problems with students not completing jobs on time. I've found that
the best way to ensure that students complete their jobs on time is to make
the penalty for not doing their jobs severe. In my class,
students know that if they don't complete their assigned job, they must
then complete all five jobs during recess and lunch. Simple "benching"
during a recess has not, for me personally, proven to be enough of a
deterrent. I tell my class, "Take the time to do one job well, so you
don't have to spend a lot more time doing all five." Strict? You
bet. But you know what? It works. Plus, I let my students
know that if they don't do their jobs, they aren't only letting me and
themselves down, they are letting their group mates down as well.