Chapter 4 is all about choosing books for your literature circle. The beginning of this chapter seems pretty duh, but I suppose it should be repeated that a good book will be meaningful, have substance, and offers something worth talking about. Pretty obvious, right? But what is also important is mechanical stuff. How many pages does the book have? Is it broken by chapters? You may also want to choose something that explores multiple tones and moods, the characters are realistic, and if it's a younger class, make sure the pictures are vibrant and they support the story.
It is good to start with what is available in the classroom. Sure, it might be ideal to base a book off of your desired outcomes, but sometimes schools just don't have the resources we need, and so you will want to ensure that all of your students will have access to the book being read. Also, consider multiple items as literature, don't just limit yourself to books. There are journals and articles that can be photocopied. In this newer day and age, video clips, songs, websites and more can all be considered literature, and those things might be more easily accessible. The book gives a great resource for literature circles: http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html. One question that is asked is how to obtain multiple copies of a piece of work. A couple ideas include sharing book sets with other teachers, use bonus points when ordering books, work with libraries, obtain grants, and search garage sales or other used book sources. One of my personal favorites is Savers because they actually arrange the books by category.
I really liked the suggestion that teachers should let go of the idea of reading at grade level. I think this is especially true with inclusive classrooms, and it's not to say give a bunch of 12th graders Dr. Seuss for the entire year, but the idea is that even with a range of readers at different difficulty levels, the students will help each other understand concepts.
I will leave you with this final thought. Let go of harping on finding the perfect book and let your students enjoy what you have.
Yes, I like Seuss books. I think that our school is focus on what level the reader is at. I agree with you. During reading, some 7th graders walk to 2nd grade for their reading. Think of how the student feels with 2nd grade students. I don't agree with this but that's the program we have.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am having my kids read in groups I do tend to always make it reading levels because my students are in 1st grade and just learning how to read. I think you make a good point here though that the teachers should use things other than reading levels to give kids books. It makes me think of my higher readers. Sometimes they do want to read books that are lower than their reading level because it looks interesting to them. This is reminding me that I should also divide students by interest level.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mention using other pieces of literature, such as video clips, songs, etc. I attended a great workshop this summer where the presenter used many different forms of literature to teach a unit, I honestly haven't been good at doing this in my own classroom much yet, but it's something I definitely want to incorporate.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Natalia in commending you with using other forms of media to display the content. Last week we had a story about a girl playing an accordion. For me it was no big deal. My great-grandmother performed under the name 'Diamond Lil' and had a one woman accordion show. But my students had never seen nor heard of one before, Thank goodness for youtube. Sometimes we take for granted our experiences and it's good that you found other ways to present the information.
ReplyDeleteThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a 7th grade level book, but my CT started out 8th grade reading this book. It was something that started as an easy read to get the students interested in the school year, then we gradually raise the level with books such as Bless Me Ultima and Power by Linda Hogan.
ReplyDeleteAs far as other literature is concerned, I have a Chicano Lit teacher use Mexican Ballads (corridos) throughout the semester as a different type of literature. A great one was El Corrido de Joaquin Murrieta.
Great ending to your post! I think we do try to find that perfect book for our classroom and for our students. We probably waste more time doing that then maybe using what's already out there and available to us. I love the idea of sharing books between teachers because not only do we expand our library but we can also expand our ideas of lessons and curriculum based on the book. That can be a great start to some collaboration between staff.
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