Response Strategies Using Discussion
Discussion is the most natural form of response to any experiences. Middle school students love to talk and if given a structured approach can learn much from each other. They can learn to listen respectfully to others' ideas, evaluate these ideas, and then refine their own evolving ideas about pieces of literature and practice oral skills. They can begin to see the need to create a credible argument to support their points of view. They are responding to an audience of their peers, their most important audience.
Literature Circles
Literature circles take many forms. They can be face-to-face or online. Most often they are small, temporary discussion groups of students who have chosen to read the same work of literature. Each member of the group is assigned or takes on a specific role. The circles meet on a regular basis, and the discussion roles often change. The teacher's role is one of observing, not participating. After finishing a book, the group chooses a way to respond and publish its response for the rest of the class.
Literature circles work best with heterogeneous groups. They are particularly valuable for at-risk students because students exercise their choice in selecting books with real characters working their way through real lives. Students receive support from peers. Their method of response is oral, not written, a medium they enjoy. Literature circles build group skills and give students experience working together towards a commonly defined goal.
Sites That Matter
Check out the sites below for more information on response strategies using literature circles.
Pathfinder Literature Circles is a good place to start your search for information on literature circles. It is a list of online sources for literature circles with a bibliography of books and articles.
www.wsd1.org/PC_LMS/pf/literature_circles.htm#Websites
Literature Circles Build Excitement for Books! is a brief article summarizing literature circles. It discusses definition, discussion roles, individual needs, setting up, and links to other online literature circle materials.
www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr259.shtml
Responding to Reading is designed for middle-grades teachers as an introduction to different ways to respond orally to literature. It includes literature circles, teacher resources, student resources, examples, role templates, and basic information about how literature circles work.
www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/mla/read.html#respond
Literature Circles Resource Center provides an overview of literature circles through definition, role in a literacy program, and differences from a teacher-centered classroom.
fac-staff.seattleu.edu/kschlnoe/LitCircles/Overview/overview.html
Literature Circles offers an introduction to this response methodology. It provides middle school handouts to help modifying for individual needs and literature circle rubrics. It also provides student role handouts: Director/Facilitator, Literary Luminary/Alternate Facilitator, Connector, Character Captain, Artful Adventurer, and Vocabulary Enricher.
litsite.alaska.edu/uaa/workbooks/circlereading.html
Reader Response Questions is an excellent list of questions to use in literature circles. Some of these questions are from You Gotta Be the Book by Jeffrey Wilhelm.
www.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/cyberenglish9/
Gen_Info/questions_about_literature.htm
Online Book Clubs
Online book clubs offer students an informal yet highly motivating way to discuss books with students outside of their own classroom and even with authors. These clubs generally use a discussion board format where students can write brief responses to discussion questions and see them posted online. Teachers need to be aware of the safety issues involved in any online experience. All of the sites listed below represent educational publishers or institutions that have moderators who read all materials before posting.
Sites That Matter
Check out the sites below for more information on response strategies using online book clubs.
Scholastic Authors and Books provides a literature bulletin board to talk about the selected book with other children across the country who want to share their thoughts too. After a week, the actual author will join in the discussion; students pose questions directly to the writer.
www2.scholastic.com/teachers/ authorsandbooks/
authorstudies/authorstudies.jhtml
E-pals provides an online book club popular with students. Students choose a book or teachers initiate online discussion for their students.
www.epals.com/projects/book_club/
Children's Literature—Internet Discussion Groups compiles a list of online sites that let students e-mail or join a list serve. It also provides information about an e-mail book discussion list and book review lists for students.
www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/discuss.html
Book Raps from Queensland University of Technology is a great place to broaden your students' network of young people to correspond with and have them discuss books with children from New Zealand. Some Book Raps may include special events such as author involvement, illustrators online, access to content area experts, and live chat sessions.
rite.ed.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/projects/book-rap
Whole-Class Discussions
Whole-class discussions that use questions model the process of responding to literature. Questioning is a critical strategy that helps readers make meaning of literature by promoting critical thinking about what is being read. Questioning occurs as a natural part of the classroom routine as teachers encourage students to pose, discuss, and answer questions. Questions can be generated by the reader, a peer, the teacher, or curriculum developers. Any of these kinds of questions can be answered by the student individually, after discussion with others, or in collaboration with a peer. While most require having the text available, others might not. Questions with different purposes can be asked and answered before, during, or after reading. All of these kinds of questions require different levels of processing. Check out the examples at this web site:
www.springfield.k12.il.us/resources/languagearts/
readingwriting/tchrques.html
There are four key types of questions:
- "Right there" questions (text explicit). These are literal questions where the answer is in the text itself.
- "Think and search" questions (text implicit). The answer is implicit in the text but the student must synthesize, infer, or summarize to find the answer. Think and search questions tend to be more open-ended without set answers.
- "Reader and author" questions (text implicit or experience-based). The answer needs the reader to combine his or her own experiences with what the text states, i.e., the knowledge presented by the author.
- "On my own" questions (text implicit or experience-based). The reader needs to generate the answer from his or her prior knowledge. The reader may not need to read the text to answer, but the answer would certainly be shaped differently after reading the text.
Sites That Matter
Check out the sites below for more information on discussion questions.
Reading: Teaching-Learning Strategies provides teachers with help leading large- and small-group discussions using Sample Question Guides for Reading Prose Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Plays, and Media.
aquilo.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/ela20/teach5.html
Lively Discussions summarizes the book of the same name, which offers insights into what constitutes a productive discussion and summarizes different literature-based discussion techniques.
www.education-world.com/a_books/books018.shtml
Questions Derived from the Different Perspectives on English Teaching offers a literary system of questions. Included are questions based on personal growth, cultural heritage, and functional and critical literacy. (Scroll a little bit down the page.)
www.discover.tased.edu.au/english/askquest.htm
Strategies for Teaching Reading offers an overview of two approaches to teacher questioning.
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