Conclusions
In my study, students worked in literature circles in hopes to increase their enjoyment, engagement, and achievement of reading. Students were able to pick from three third grade level books each rotation that they wanted to read. Each child completed a role sheet while reading the weekly section of the book. Groups met each Friday for a student-run discussion of the book. The process began very scaffolded and gradually allowed the students more responsibility and freedom. It was my goal to document students’ experiences in these literature circles while paying particular attention to their enjoyment, engagement, and achievement levels. As the semester of study came to a close, I closely looked for quantitative and qualitative trends in student responses.
As the school year began, I became concerned that it would be difficult for me to balance my roles of teacher and researcher. I worried that I would become so overwhelmed with collecting data that I would not be able to get to know my students properly. Although there have been many moments where I have felt overwhelmed, I feel like this process has allowed me to actually get to know my students better. It has forced me to be more in tune with them and to adjust my teaching accordingly. I also think that this process has helped my students be able to verbalize their own learning better, a hard skill for a third grader to acquire.
Throughout this semester we have had our share of ups and downs. I believe that it would have been impossible to achieve the level of our successes without the amount of initial scaffolding offered to the students. At the beginning the concept of literature circles was so foreign the children needed a lot of assistance along the way. In Daniels book Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups, he goes into great depth about the need for scaffolding for young children who are beginning to work in literature circle groups. “Many teachers feel that some kind of transitional device like role sheets are needed when kids venture from familiar teacher-directed, whole-class activities to decentralized small-group work that requires much more student responsibility.” (2002, p.71) After reading this chapter in Daniels book I knew that I would need to introduce literature circles in a way that was comprehensible and not overwhelming to my students. This slow process helped us achieve a level where the students will be able to respond more freely to their reading.
Reading Moving Forward with Literature Circlesover the summer, I wasn’t sure I was quite convinced that I would see as much excitement as was described in the book in my classroom. Day comments, “Literature circles are motivating to children for a deceptively simple reason: Talking about what you learn in fun” (2002, p. 21). To someone who has never seen them in action, this seemed to good to be true. But even the skeptic in me cannot deny the overall excitement I have seen with the introduction of literature circles into my classroom. Each cycle the students were eager to find out what books they would be choosing from and couldn’t wait to get their hands on the books. Their pride as they finished these chapter books was visible in their eyes and smiles.
In addition to the students’ excitement over their literature circle books, they were also engaged on a daily basis with reading. The rigorous schedule of reading and completing a role sheet Monday thru Thursday in order to be prepared for a Friday meeting helped set standards for the students. They worked hard to finish so they could attend each meeting ready to discuss. As I reflect on the many meetings I have witnessed throughout the semester, I think many factors could have contributed to the students’ enjoyment of these meetings. The opportunity to discuss how a book connects to a student’s prior knowledge and life experiences enables the students to develop a deeper understanding of the text. In addition, asking a third grader which book they would like to read offers them an independence they may not have felt before. Finally, allowing the students to meet in small student run group provides ample time for all students to talk without feeling the pressure of a teacher watching over their every move. Samway and Whang perfectly describe literature circles as a way to integrate life knowledge and school learning. They state in their book Literature Circles in a Multicultural Classroom, literature circles “offer students opportunities to explore books in ways that draw on their intellect and experiences, unlike the skills sheets that often accompany reading sessions” (1996, p. 87). From sharing family stories to comparing characters to classmates to solve playground disputes, these connections have helped the students continually stay engaged in their reading.
Finally, the increase in reading levels that my class has experienced this year is very striking. As stated earlier, our unique school environment could have contributed to some of this progress. Another factor could be that students are held accountable by their peers to read and attend weekly meetings. This demanding reading schedule helps the students focus in a way that promotes more reading. With more quality daily reading taking place in the classroom it is only natural that reading levels would increase.
