The story line and events in the selection determine the point at which these comprehension skills are taught in context. Students work closely with the teacher and in teams through writing, rewriting, revising, and editing activities until they are comfortable enough to use the writing process on their own. During independent reading activities, students are asked to read a book of their choice every evening for at least 20 minutes. Parents are encouraged to discuss the readings with their children and to initial forms indicating that the students have read for the required time. Parents are shown how to conduct these literacy events at home.
Students earn points for their team if they submit a complete form each week.
Independent reading and book reports replace all other homework in reading and language arts. Findings Qualitative and quantitative data from this study suggest that CIRC is an effective classroom management tool for bilingual and ESL content instruction. The strategy of spending 2 weeks studying a piece of literature and doing related writing in the native language followed by 2 weeks studying the literature and doing related writing in English provided a solid base for developing proficiency in two languages. In writing, the English language learners in the 12 experimental CIRC classes outperformed regular English students in the control classes. For example, students wrote longer and more comprehensive narratives with much more detail and accuracy of events.