The Power of Literature Circles in the Classroom. My six-year-old son has finally, really started reading. It's thrilling to watch him grab book after book off his overflowing shelves and read stories he's been hearing for years. Now he wants to take books to school so that during recess, he can entice his friends to sit together and read. He says it will be called the "Reading Club. " "I was in a book club once," I said, explaining how a group of friends read the same novel and then discussed it over dinner. My son loved the idea and immediately started brainstorming who he'd invite, when they'd meet, what they'd read, and what they'd eat. But the rabbit hole of nostalgia that I tumbled into was of my experience as a teacher facilitating literature circles. Why Literature Circles? I promise to provide practical resources on the how, when, where, what of lit circles, but let me first make a case for why every K-12 classroom should institute some version of literature circles.
Resources for the "Who, What, When, and Where" Reflection. Readingk-3. Reflection. What Makes a Good Reader? The Foundations of Reading Proficiency. July 3, 2012 by Martha Burns, Ph.D Have you ever wondered why some children seem to learn to read so effortlessly and others struggle? Have you ever seen a child who memorizes poems, math facts, and the alphabet without even trying? Yet at the same time you might have also known another child who had trouble just remembering their own phone number or address.
There are all sorts of reasons that learning—and reading—is easy for some children and hard for others, and believe it or not, it rarely has anything to do with intelligence. Just as some children are good athletes from the time they are very young, others are great at music or art. It turns out that learning to read also requires some underlying cognitive skills. Memory – Scientists refer to the kind of memory that is important for learning to read as “working memory.” Attention – Learning of any kind requires good attentional skills. Dr. References: Berninger, Virginia. et al. Bishop, Dorothy and Snowling, Margaret. Burns, Martha. Reflection. Assessing Children`s Literature. Assessing Children’s Literature Posted: October 20, 2003 Literature is a powerful vehicle for helping children understand their homes, communities and the world.
Even before young children can read, family members, childcare providers and teachers read them stories about people in far away places, sometimes from the distant past and sometimes about people whose lives are similar to their own. The impressions and messages contained in these stories can last a lifetime. Books, at their best, invite children to use their imaginations, expand their vocabularies and gain a better understanding of themselves and others.
Unfortunately, not all children's literature conveys the messages that we want young people to learn. Checklist For Assessing Children's Literature Here are some things to think about when choosing early childhood children's literature. Story: Are the stories interesting to children? Customs, Traditions and Culture Kimmelman, L. (2000). Pellegrini, N. (1991). Bove, L. (1985). Reflection. NAEYC Position Statement Learning to Read and Write. Reflection.