Literature & Discussion Circles - Notes

Literature circles (Daniels, 2002) are a student-centered approach to discussing fiction in which students meet in small groups to talk about what they are reading. This strategy is designed to enhance student understanding of the piece of literature; to develop skills in the areas of comprehension, text analysis, and oral expression; and to shift leadership of meaningful discussions from teacher to students. The idea of literature circles is easily adaptable to any subject area or kind of text. It is flexible. 

Roles in literature circles

Each student plays a key role (discussion facilitator, summarizer, connector, vocabulary builder, text finder, etc.) in the literature circle, and roles will rotate within a circle over a period of time. Students receive descriptions of role expectations and parameters for the discussions. Typically, students select the books they will read and discuss, so books and discussions will vary across groups.