[MOSAIC] Professional Development - Literature circles

[Ann Jernigan]

In response for the literature circle request:



> The best "stuff" I've seen lately on literature circles is through  
> Fountas and Pinnell's book Teaching for Comprehension and  
> Fluency.   Their chapters 18, 19 and 20 - on moving into and  
> engaging students in small-group discussions and book clubs - are  
> fantastic.   There are also some great clips of groups on the  DVD  
> that comes with the book.   Even more exciting are the chapters and  
> emphasis on preparing the students for talking about texts through  
> interactive read alouds.   I heard them in Kansas City in  
> October.   They strongly stressed that kids don't magically know  
> how to talk about books.   Unless we constantly grow that language   
> over time in our interactive read-alouds, our modeling, and shared  
> reading, literature discussions fail, or at best talk about surface  
> issues.  We also have to teach the social conventions of text  
> talk.  - great list on p. 276- 279 of the book.   They suggest that  
> the routines be taught in this sequence before you would every try  
> book clubs or lit. circles:
  	Pair talk
	Threesome talk
	Circle talk in two pairs

I can't talk enough about the wealth of info in this book.    I will  
be learning from it for years.

Ann Jernigan
Literacy Coach
Webb City R-7
ajernigan at mail.wccards.k12.mo.us