Literature Circle Variation 3:
Coding the Text
Once students have become accustomed to leading their own literature discussions by choosing and enacting particular roles during literature circle time, you could have them try other variations that don't involve playing those roles but that still allow them to lead their own discussions of their reading.
One option is to have them code the text while reading (or to return to the text and code it afterward, probably in the minutes right before starting their literature circles). Using a common set of symbols, students mark parts of the text that raise questions, seem important, confirm what they already think or know, or may confuse them. (If students are working with a copy of the book that they aren't allowed to mark up, then they can use sticky notes to mark the text, and they can write their symbols on the sticky notes.)
In the image below, you can see the symbols and what they mean.
Once students have coded the text (either before class or at the start of their literature circles), then they use the codes in their books as the basis for discussion. Students must provide a rationale for their coding to explain their own reading experiences while working towards a better understanding of the parts of the text that confuse or raise questions for them or others.
One option is to have them code the text while reading (or to return to the text and code it afterward, probably in the minutes right before starting their literature circles). Using a common set of symbols, students mark parts of the text that raise questions, seem important, confirm what they already think or know, or may confuse them. (If students are working with a copy of the book that they aren't allowed to mark up, then they can use sticky notes to mark the text, and they can write their symbols on the sticky notes.)
In the image below, you can see the symbols and what they mean.
Once students have coded the text (either before class or at the start of their literature circles), then they use the codes in their books as the basis for discussion. Students must provide a rationale for their coding to explain their own reading experiences while working towards a better understanding of the parts of the text that confuse or raise questions for them or others.
