Classroom Climate and Structure for Lit Circles (Ch. 2 and 3)

In Getting Started with Literature Circles, Schlick Noe and Johnson (1999) give suggestions on how to foster a collaborative environment before lit. circles are introduced to the class. They explain that teachers should aim to create “a natural transition to literature circles” (p. 8). This can be built in the class through positive social interaction. The authors see the lit. circle training process as a broad system that is implemented from day one of the classroom experience because so many aspects that are important to lit. circles are also important for the class in general. Schlick Noe and Johnson (1999) stress that students need the skills to be independent, and lit. circles can help students become responsible for themselves and their thinking and learning – I think we all agree lit. circles can help students become active learners if the circles are used with student choice and student-led discussion.

In terms of selecting books for students to read, Schlick Noe and Johnson (1999) give some ideas about helping students select books that hold their interest, but in general, the ideas discussed in this section are very similar to the main points that we read in Harvey Daniel’s book, such as determining how much students should read before each meeting, structuring time for reading, and giving mini-lessons.

The authors comment on the advantages and disadvantages of the teacher as facilitator, but a great deal of emphasis is placed on the teacher in the roles of facilitator, observer, and guide, since this book is aimed toward K-6 teachers and the authors claim that young students need more guidance from the teacher.

I questioned this area because Schlick Noe and Johnson do not warn a teacher to avoid too much structure in the process. I can see some of the suggestions in this book leading teachers toward management of the whole process of lit. circles, rather than letting the students plan a good deal of the process.

Lit. Circle Problems

I have not yet used literature circles in my classes, so I don’t have particular strengths or weaknesses that I can discuss here. I did find the reading material really helpful though (chapters 12 and 14 of Daniels’ (2002) book and the article on fixing problems in a specific school environment). I think these resources are things that I should save for the time when I am using lit. circles in my classes – they would be good sources to use when a problem arises and also give great ideas about how to structure productive lit. circle environments. In particular, chapter 14 of Daniel’s book has so many helpful ideas about fixing problems in lit. circles, and can see how helpful it would be for a teacher who is encountering problems.

Chapter 12 gave me a lot of ideas for the process of assessment for lit. circles. I think Daniels makes a good point about how adult book club members don’t have to create book projects like the ones we require in school. Though I have not yet used lit. circles in my classes and I don’t have examples of assessment for lit. circles, I have made lit. circle plans for the future that did include book projects. These “hypothetical” projects included some of the examples on the massive list on page 91 – things like posters, presentations, artwork, and diaries from characters. But I really do think that Daniels is right that these projects are not something that adults typically do in book clubs. I think that when I do implement book clubs in my classes, I would like to think about using these “hypothetical” projects in some of my classes while doing other types of assessment (the combination of teacher observation, individual student self-assessment, and small group assessment of a videotaped session) in other classes. Then, I think I will compare the two approaches of assessment and see how these approaches impact students’ engagement with books and discussion. It would be interesting to see what impact these two approaches have on students.

I really like the ideas that Harvey Daniels provides for observation forms for both the teacher and the students. I have used group assessment in other group projects in my classes, and I have found that this type of assessment has been really beneficial because it seems to help students divide tasks and keeps students on track with their groups. (If students know that their group members are able to give me input on student participation, they try harder, even when I am not around.)

The article by Clarke and Holwadel (2007) was somewhat shocking to read. I have not yet been in a school environment that so explicitly negative. When I was a student in elementary/middle school, some of the schools I attended had negative group dynamics, but the tensions were usually not so out in the open; students were negative and cruel in the playgrounds/hallways rather than in the middle of the class in direct view of the teacher. This gives me a great deal of ideas I can use if I am ever in this type of environment. Overall, I really enjoyed our reading this week and I think it will help me in the future.