Giver+Reflection

Monique Kuhl  Reflection Literature Circle groups are an incredibly positive experience for students for many reasons. It gives them a reason to make connections, learn more, and interact with their peers. It will ensure they have people who they can speak with and receive help from. I wish I had this type of interactions when I was young because I feel that I would have enjoyed reading school books much more. The first two weeks of the year I will get to know each student’s abilities while reading. It will help me place them in groups that will support their learning. After, I will introduce the different texts that should be read by the end of the year to the students by giving them a taste of each text. The students will then rank the books they would like to read most to least. Between these two factors I will group students into Literature Circle Groups. I would have the students divide up the book similarly like I did to be able to switch my groups around every time. This would ensure that there will never be an inferior group. My students will read both in the class and at home. I would like them to learn that it can be enjoyed in both settings. This will help me because I can do one on one reading as well as guided reading and the students can read at home and possibly receive assistance from their parents. I will have the students take notes on what they have read. They can do anything in their response including asking about vocabulary, asking questions to their group, and pointing out their favorite parts of the book. This response is how I will measure to see if students are reading. By their response I will be able to tell if they have been reading in their book as well as observing their groups and listening in on discussion. For my future students I will use literature circles to fill out my 3 block frame work. For language and word study the students will use these texts to explore language. They will be able to see through their reflections about vocabulary. They will have many different books that they read throughout the year that will be constantly introducing the children to new forms of the English language. Literature circles will support reading workshop because the text I have selected for my students will be something they have read over a long period of time. During their reflections and discussions I hope to see and hear that they have made both personal and textual connections. The discussion my students will have will help support them learning comprehension strategies because if one of the other students think of something they do not it will open the child up to new strategies constantly. Writing workshop will also be supported in my literature circles. When the student’s write their reflections, on each part of the story, I will remind the children to be grammatically correct. If the student’s are struggling I can always have their reflections turn into letters to me. This could help them learn how to use reading and writing for communication. They also can write a paper after they have read each story to demonstrate what they have learned. When my group read the Giver we had an incredible experience. We were able to continually discuss all the different aspects. I loved my group because we were always pointing out different aspects of the reading others didn’t think about. I remember we had a great debate about whether or not being released was death or not. All four of us were actively involved and bringing up parts of the story. We were not able to agree, but I learned a lot more and facts were brought up that I had never thought of. My children will use their literature circles in many ways that I have stated previously. I truly hope that they will enjoy the experience as much as I have. I know I would never have realized as much I did about the Giver without my group mates.