Artifact 4

Name:
Literature Circles
Literature (lit) circles are reading groups that assign “jobs” to each reader, and allow discussion on what they are reading.

Context:
This lit circle was created for my language arts and reading classes in my pre-service training at ASU. This web page includes an outline for a unit for different reading groups/levels on a specific historical period.

Impact:
This unit meets curriculum goals as outlined by the NCSCS for Language Arts and Social Studies. Competencies met are listed within the unit. As a web page, this unit will be available as a resource for all teachers. Modifications have been made to support learning of diverse learners.

Alignment:
The literature circles web page includes detailed lessons and examples for each “job” that students will perform. The launch for this unit will include a video showing the Depression era, and will use school television resources (Tech. Comp. 10.2). Lit circles provide tasks that require students to locate and analyze information (Tech. Comp. 12.1), such as characteristics and passages. If the children wanted to, they could type up their job instead of just writing it. This unit also demands student involvement and collaboration, as they all have to work together in order to get all the information. The teacher would organize the students into appropriate reading groups for them to work together in (Tech. Comp. 12.5). The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning, and must create learning opportunities that can be adapted to diverse learners by selecting books that are determined by reading levels (Tech. Comp. 12.7), (INTASC #3). This unit contains modifications that teachers can make for students who do not speak English as their primary language (Tech. Comp. 13.3). This unit creates learning experiences that make the subject more meaningful to students by allowing the students to perform jobs that they are responsible for teaching it to their reading group (INTASC #1). Lit circles also encourage active inquiry, collaboration, and interaction by requiring children to teach their information to the rest of the group. Children must work together to get all of the information (INTASC #6).