Hello colleagues, Have you ever used literature circles with English learners? I'm giving this a try next week, so I'm curious how teachers have adapted this approach for learners at different levels.
Some members might be interested in reading a blog by Lada Martinez Benesova discussing, "The benefits of literature circles in ESL."
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on using literature circles with adult English learners.
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, AELL CoP
Comments
Hi Sue,
I regularly use literature circles with my intermediate and advanced learners and they really love it! Years ago, I found materials for doing this online with everything you need from Oxford University Press: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15cwiT_qBLkDyeZc5Osxwm3inVcbBso9MFRxfdWSkxIk/edit
For this activity, I have used the simplified novels from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. The package of reproducible materials has a sheet that you can use to explain the different roles the students will take in the reading circles: Discussion Leader, Summarizer, Connector, Word Master, Passage Person, and Culture Collector. It's important to make sure you allot sufficient time to do this thoroughly. I make up a rotating roster using the schedule provided. When I am doing this, I assign more vocal, higher-level students to the Discussion Leader role for the first few weeks. I then give each student the sheet that explains what they need to do for their job. With lower-level classes, I have had the students work during class time in small groups with other students who have the same role to prepare for the reading circles session. This gives me the chance to make sure that everyone understands their role. Usually, after a few weeks, they don't need this any more. With higher-level classes I assign doing the reading and preparation for homework.
Usually the first time we do reading circles I need to circulate to make sure things are going smoothly, but after a week or two, things usually get much easier, everything runs itself and I can just stay off to the side of the activity. Inevitably the first week, there are one or two people who did not do their preparation, however, after they realize how much the group is relying on their input, they become much more motivated in future weeks. If someone is absent, I ask the discussion leader for their group to get the group to do their job together.
As a teacher, I find it very rewarding to see my students working independently in this way. This activity is also great preparation for college classes and the workplace. My students have responded well to having a real novel that they can take home and read - so often the things we read in class are photocopies on pieces of paper!
By the way, my favorite novel to teach in this way is The Death of Karen Silkwood by Joyce Hannam from Oxford University Press. The students like the fact that it is a true story. Also, the trailer from the movie is on YouTube. It's very exciting and I use it on the first day of class to get everyone interested. I bought the DVD with the movie and we watch it on the last day of class.
Jennifer Latzgo
Hi Jennifer and all, It's great to hear how you are using literature circles, Jennifer. Thank you for sharing the handouts, too. It's fantastic that you have adapted this for lower level students. That is something I hope to have the opportunity to try one day. I'm not surprised that learners enjoy learning about a real person. I think it's important to include more non fiction in our classrooms. Biography is a wonderful way to do that.
As you noted, the literature circle process prepares students for transitioning to training programs, college classes and work. They develop many skills while preparing for the circle as well as while participating in the circle as they listen to one another and build on each others' ideas. The different roles target different skills. For instance, learning to summarize is a challenge. Doing so with material read for the literature circle is great practice to learn how to summarize well.
In my class today, we had our first literature circle discussion based on an article we read about Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank. I'm teaching a transition class with advanced students, most of whom have college or advanced degrees from their country. For this advanced group, I asked them to prepare for the discussion--for homework-- by responding to all the roles--I would never expect a lower level class to respond to all the roles at once, but this worked beautifully for this group. They spent an hour today taking turns asking their questions as the Discussion Leader, identifying relevant vocabulary as the Vocabulary Enricher, and making connections as the Connector.
Tomorrow they will continue with the additional roles we are using: Summarizer, Illustrator, and Literary Luminary. My favorite role is the Illustrator. Here are the directions for the Illustrator role:
"For this role, you will draw or find a picture that captures the main ideas of the reading or an aspect of the reading that was particularly meaningful to you. You will talk to your group about the significance of your picture."
I'm amazed at the creativity students demonstrate with this role. They always capture something profound in their illustrations.
For the Literary Luminary role, students select a sentence or short excerpt that was especially meaningful to them in the text. During the discussion, they draw their classmates to the excerpt and explain why it was so important to them. This is also one of my favorite roles because I Iove learning what made an impact on students.
While students are engaged in their literature circle discussions, they are so deeply engaged that I could actually leave the room! But, of course, I want to observe to ensure things are going well and to be available to respond to any questions. Once students are comfortable with the process, I also like to sit in on the conversations, which gives me a chance to do some quiet formative assessment as I listen.
In my view, conducting literature circles is a great way to enhance the rigor of our teaching.
I would love to hear more about ways to adapt literature circles for lower level classes!
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, AELL CoP