In Literature Circles students exchange perceptions, interpretations and questions about the literature they read. Students who are reading the same literature gather to discuss the selection and work together to construct meaning from the text, and students who are reading different books gather to compare themes, writing styles, and selections by the same author. Personal responses, insights and questions can be recorded in logs or journals during reading, then shared during group sessions. Initial Literature Circles may be teacher-led, but students who are truly engaged in the literature selection can conduct their own sessions.
Literature Circles offer readers the opportunity to become literate.
We want our students not only to love reading but also to think actively and critically about what they read. In literature circles readers become critical thinkers as they engage in ongoing dialogue about their reading. Readers begin to see pieces of literature as part of a larger whole and become aware of diverse perspectives on similar topics in their search for connections among the books circle members have read.