Page 146 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade6_Flipbook

Stepping into the Literature Circle
aCTIvITy 2.11
Learning Targets
• Analyze elements of the structure and content of a text using text evidence with a Literature Circles strategy.
• Evaluate Literature Circles as a strategy to facilitate close reading and collaborative discussion of meaning in a text.
Introducing the Strategy: Literature Circles
A Literature Circle is made up of a group that all reads the same text and then participates in a discussion of that text. Each person in the group takes on a different role, with the roles rotating to each group member. The group discussion roles are Discussion Leader, Diction Detective, Bridge Builder, Reporter, and Artist.
Literature Circle Roles
Each role within a Literature Circle group has specific responsibilities. Performance of the roles rotates so that each person in the group has an opportunity to serve in each role.
Discussion Leader: Your job is to develop a list of questions you think your group should discuss about the assigned section of the book. Use your knowledge
of Levels of Questions to create thought-provoking interpretive and universal questions. Try to create questions that encourage your group to consider many ideas. Help your group explore these important ideas and share their reactions. You will be in charge of leading the day’s discussion.
Diction Detective: Your job is to carefully examine the diction (word choice) in the assigned section. Search for words, phrases, and passages that are especially descriptive, powerful, funny, thought-provoking, surprising, or even confusing. List the words or phrases and explain why you selected them. Then, write your thoughts about why the author might have selected these words or phrases. What is the author trying to say? How does the diction help the author achieve his or her purpose? What tone do the words indicate?
Bridge Builder: Your job is to build bridges between the events of the book and other people, places, or events in school, the community, or your own life. Look for connections between the text, yourself, other texts, and the world. Also make connections between what has happened before and what might happen as the narrative continues. Look for the characters’ internal and external conflicts and the ways these conflicts influence their actions.
Reporter: Your job is to identify and report on the key points of the reading assignment. Make a list or write a summary that describes how the setting, plot, and characters are developed in this section of the book. Consider how characters interact, major events that occur, and shifts in the setting or the mood that seem significant. Share your report at the beginning of the group meeting to help your group focus on the key ideas presented in the reading. Like that of a newspaper reporter, your report must be concise yet thorough.
my Notes
Unit 2 • The Power to Change 119
LearNING STraTeGIeS:
Literature Circles, Discussion Groups, Collaborating
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