How to Create a Classroom Literature Circle

This how-to article accompanies the feature "Classroom Literature Circles Expand Thought."

Teachers who want to try out literature circles need to know one thing -- no two circles look the same.

"It's an approach that's so different in every classroom," says Katherine L. Schlick Noe, an education professor at Seattle University who has written extensively about literature circles. "So many people use them in different ways."

The keys to success are simplicity and adaptability. And although it might seem that the most logical subjects in which to use literature circles are those heavy in reading, such as language arts, history, and English, they can be used in other subjects. A high school science teacher in North Carolina, for example, uses literature circles to help her students understand complex scientific terms.

Noe advises teachers to give students one thing to think about and put the emphasis on the conversation, starting with a five- or ten-minute discussion. Teachers can set up the circles so that each group meets one at a time, with the teacher sitting in, or so that all the circles meet at once, and the teacher circulates among them.

A common mistake is for teachers to give students too much to do, such as a long list of questions or complicated projects. Their energy then goes into the tasks rather than delving deeply into the books, Noe explains. She suggests students use Post-it notes to mark passages or pages they want to discuss, or write down a quote or a thought as they're reading to prepare them for the circle discussion.

Here are a few tips:

Get Around to Circles

To get more information on literature circles and additional tips on getting started, check out these Web resources:

Alexandra R. Moses is a freelance writer in the Washington, DC, area who specializes in education.