Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
Standard 2.3
Literature circles are an ideal setting for exploring literature and for building social/community skills such as discussion, cooperation, delegation of responsibility, and respecting the ideas of others.
English Curriculum Standards (ACARA)
Inquiry unit
Central idea: We can connect with other people's ideas through a variety of texts.
Transdisciplinary skills: Communication, Thinking and Social
Student profile: Communicator, Thinker
Attitudes: Cooperation, Confidence, Commitment, Respect and Tolerance
PYP Organising Themes: How we express ourselves
Unit title: Literature circles
Subject focus: English
Inquiry into:
Unit concepts and generalisations
Unit objectives
As a result of the unit, the students will know:
As a result of this unit, the students will understand that:
As a result of this unit, the students will be able to:
Instructional strategies used include:
Lesson 1: Introduction to literature circles (1class)
Lesson 2: Asking thoughtful questions (3 classes)
Lesson 3: Find big ideas (1-2 classes)
Lesson 4: Putting it all together (some class time over a two week period)
Lesson 5: Adjusting and tweaking (some classes over a 2 week period)
Lesson 6: Unit assessment (1 class)
Assessment
Students are assigned to one of the following assessment tasks, differentiated to accommodate different readiness levels in regard to abstract and complex thinking.
Level 1 Task
Choose two of our five unit generalisations. Provide support for each of them using several examples form the book you read. You must provide at least four examples for each generalisation. Be sure to think about your literature circle discussions.
Level 2 Task
Our class learned to share responsibility for learning by participating in literature circles. How are the choices made during the literature circles and the responsibilities required during them related to the stories we heard or read during this unit? To remind you, we heard stories about Julian and his little brother, and Sandy and his sisters, and you read a book with your group. What do these characters and our class have in common? Give at least five specific examples.
As necessary, allow students who need support with writing to have one-on-one learning opportunities, to dictate their responses, or to tape record their responses.
Reporting
Students can present their work during student led conferences. A 'book gallery walk' can be set up in the classroom and students can introduce their book of choice to their parents. Students can discuss their assessment piece with parents.
- Make connections between the ways different authors may represent similar storylines, ideas and relationships (ACELT1602).
- Discuss literary experiences with others, sharing responses and expressing a point of view (ACELT1603).
- Use metalanguage to describe the effects of ideas,text structures and language features of literary texts (ACELT1604).
- Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tension (ACELT1605).
- Use interaction skills such as acknowledging another’s point of view and linking students’ response to the topic, using familiar and new vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch and volume to speak clearly and coherently (ACELY1688).
- Create literary texts by developing storylines, characters and settings (ACELT1794).
- Read different types of texts by combining contextual , semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge using text processing strategies for example monitoring meaning, cross checking and reviewing (ACELY1691).
- Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning to expand content knowledge, integrating and linking ideas and analysing and evaluating texts (ACELY1692).
Inquiry unit
Central idea: We can connect with other people's ideas through a variety of texts.
Transdisciplinary skills: Communication, Thinking and Social
Student profile: Communicator, Thinker
Attitudes: Cooperation, Confidence, Commitment, Respect and Tolerance
PYP Organising Themes: How we express ourselves
Unit title: Literature circles
Subject focus: English
Inquiry into:
- How we apply strategies and skills to read and write.
- How we apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
- How we make inferences, draw conclusions, make generalisations, and provide support for ideas by referencing the text.
- How we make connections with text through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
- How we apply strategies and skills to create oral, written and visual texts.
Unit concepts and generalisations
- Responsibility, choice.
- Responsibility and choice are interrelated.
- We all have responsibilities.
- We are required to make choices all the time.
- Choices can have both good and bad consequences.
- Making thoughtful choices is part of being responsible.
Unit objectives
As a result of the unit, the students will know:
- Elements of characterisation, including description, emotion, tone of voice, and actions.
- The tasks of specific literature circle roles.
- Criteria for asking and writing good questions.
As a result of this unit, the students will understand that:
- People share responsibility for success when they work together.
- Passages from texts can reveal a character’s personality.
- Accepting responsibility shows maturity.
- Making thoughtful choices is part of responsible behaviour.
- Choices can have both good and bad consequences.
As a result of this unit, the students will be able to:
- Plan and carry out personal responsibilities for group discussions.
- Ask thought-provoking questions.
- Listen actively.
- Draw conclusions.
- Make predictions based on textual clues.
- Analyse character actions and statements.
- Respond to literature through writing.
- Participate in student-led discussions.
- Relate literature to personal and community events.
Instructional strategies used include:
- Brainstorming
- Differentiated discussions
- Journal prompts based on student interest and readiness
- Mini-workshops
- Small group discussions
- Tiered assessment
- Tiered assignments
- Unit Overview
Lesson 1: Introduction to literature circles (1class)
- Overview of literature circles (10 minutes)
- Introduction of the Discussion Director role (10 minutes)
- Read-aloud and role modelling (20 minutes)
- Small group discussions using prepared questions (15 minutes)
- Standard evaluations of group discussions (5 minutes)
- Journal responses based on student choice (10 minutes)
Lesson 2: Asking thoughtful questions (3 classes)
- Review and introduction of ‘thoughtful questions’ (20 minutes)
- Brainstorming/refining thoughtful questions based on short text (20 minutes)
- Small group discussions using class generated questions (25 minutes)
- Journal prompt and whole group discussion (15 minutes)
- Individual/small group discussions for students who struggle with writing
- Introduction of the Character Creator role (10 minutes)
- Differentiated tasks based on readiness (40 minutes)
- Roles within groups differentiated based on readiness
- Small group discussions with student generated questions (35-45 minutes)
- Evaluation of group work (10 minutes)
Lesson 3: Find big ideas (1-2 classes)
- Class discussion of responsibility (10 minutes)
- Read-aloud modelling reading comprehension strategies (15 minutes)
- Partner work based on reading (20 minutes)
- Introduction of the Literary Luminary role (5 minutes)
- Journal prompts based on student interest (15-30 minutes)
- Sharing journal responses (10 minutes)
Lesson 4: Putting it all together (some class time over a two week period)
- Book selection and literature circle group assignments, based on readiness and student choice (30 minutes)
- Individual work to read and prepare for the first round of literature circle discussions (2-3 classes, 30 minutes per session).
- Mini workshops to address literature circle role responsibilities, reading comprehension strategies, and time management (2-3 classes, 30 minutes per session)
- Literature circle discussions differentiated by reading skills, roles and levels of tasks, and student choice of books (35-40 minutes)
- Evaluation of literature circle discussions (10 minutes)
- Debriefing on the literature circle process (10 minutes)
Lesson 5: Adjusting and tweaking (some classes over a 2 week period)
- Development of literature circle ground rules (15 minutes)
- Individual work to read and prepare for the second round of literature circle discussion (2-3 classes, 30 minutes per session)
- Mini workshops to address literature circle role responsibilities, reading comprehension strategies, and time management (2-3 classes over 30 minutes per session)
- Literature circle discussions differentiated by reading skills, roles and level of tasks, and student choice of books (35-45 minutes)
- Journal prompt based on student choice (15 minutes)
- ‘A Few Thoughtful Questions’ activity (15 minutes)
- Individual work to read and prepare for the third round of literature circle discussion (2-3 classes, 30 minutes per session)
- Literature circle discussions differentiated by reading skills, roles and levels of tasks, and student choice of books (35-40 minutes)
Lesson 6: Unit assessment (1 class)
- Tiered assignment based on readiness (35-45 minutes)
Assessment
Students are assigned to one of the following assessment tasks, differentiated to accommodate different readiness levels in regard to abstract and complex thinking.
Level 1 Task
Choose two of our five unit generalisations. Provide support for each of them using several examples form the book you read. You must provide at least four examples for each generalisation. Be sure to think about your literature circle discussions.
Level 2 Task
Our class learned to share responsibility for learning by participating in literature circles. How are the choices made during the literature circles and the responsibilities required during them related to the stories we heard or read during this unit? To remind you, we heard stories about Julian and his little brother, and Sandy and his sisters, and you read a book with your group. What do these characters and our class have in common? Give at least five specific examples.
As necessary, allow students who need support with writing to have one-on-one learning opportunities, to dictate their responses, or to tape record their responses.
Reporting
Students can present their work during student led conferences. A 'book gallery walk' can be set up in the classroom and students can introduce their book of choice to their parents. Students can discuss their assessment piece with parents.
