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Project
#40 May,
1999 Executive
Summary
This research was funded through a grant from the McDowell Foundation. However, the points of view and opinions expressed in project documents are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation. The purpose of the Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research into Teaching is to fund research, inquiry, and dissemination of information focusing on instruction (both teaching and learning)in the context of the public elementary and secondary education system. Specifically, it will:
The Foundation is an independent charitable organization formed by the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation in 1991. It is governed by a Board of Directors with the assistance of an advisory committee of representatives from the educational and business communities. The selection and evaluation of projects funded by the Foundation is carried out by a teacher-led Project Review Committee. Inquiries concerning research supported by the McDowell Foundation may be directed to the following address: Research Coordinator
Telephone: 1-800-667-7762
or 306-373-1660 © 1999 by the Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for Research into Teaching Inc. The research study on "Talking in Circles" was initiated by the staff of the Radius Community Centre for Education and Employment Training in Saskatoon. Radius staff were seeking to contrast and blend their experience with literature circles with that of teachers in a regular school setting. The study represents a process of discussion, evaluation and support that continues to help students and teachers utilize literature circles as an instructional strategy. The teachers involved in this project included the staff of the Radius Youth Re-entry Program, two regular classroom teachers and a research assistant. The purpose of the study was to examine if participation in literature circles helped student achievement in reading and communication. In addition to being consistent with our prior practice in the assessment of student achievement, we videotaped literature circle sessions throughout the year and analyzed the student interactions. Throughout the duration of the study, we met regularly to discuss the information we gathered. The final report includes a summary of our experiences and a profile of our students. The summaries and profiles are included because we are all in agreement philosophically about teaching language, but have very different teaching styles and methods. The inclusion of these unique perspectives demonstrates the flexibility of this strategy across teaching styles and varying student needs. Also included is a summary of the findings that confirmed for us what we previously felt intuitively were the benefits of involving our students in literature circles. Our observations, in addition to student feedback, have reinforced our commitment to this methodology. We concluded that if we analyze literature circles using the criteria of the Common Essential Learnings, their strength as an instructional strategy becomes all the more evident. Literature circles address communication, critical and creative thinking, personal and social values and skills and independent learning. Literature circles bring a meaningful context to the development of these learnings. To find any other single strategy which would be so all encompassing and empowering for both learner and teacher would be difficult. The teachers at Radius are constantly challenged to find ways of encouraging students to participate in classroom learning in positive ways. In response to this challenge they are continually exploring new and adapting existing strategies to better meet their students' needs. The Radius staff initiated this research to blend their experience with literature circles with that of teachers in a regular school setting. It is hoped that this study is the first step in a process of discussion, evaluation and support that will continue to help students and teachers utilize literature circles as an instructional strategy. The teachers involved in this project included the staff of the Radius Youth Re-entry Program, two regular classroom teachers and a research assistant. Given below is a summary of the teachers' experiences and a profile of their students. The summaries and profiles are included because we are all in agreement philosophically about teaching language, but have very different teaching styles and methods. The inclusion of these unique perspectives demonstrates the flexibility of this strategy across teaching styles and varying student needs. 1. Radius Youth Re-Entry Staff: Tim Beyak, Terry Cook, Russ Kushniruk, Gail McKenzie Wilcox, Lori Woelke The Youth Re-entry Program offers a therapeutic environment to children ages 9-13 who require more support than is available in the regular classroom setting. Referrals come to the program from Saskatoon Public and Separate school divisions and the three surrounding rural school divisions. While they are enrolled in the youth program, the children and their families work together with the Radius staff, representatives from appropriate agencies and community members to develop and implement a plan to be more successful in school. Typically a child is enrolled in the Re-entry Program for 8-10 months. The students who are referred to the Re-entry program do not have adequate personal support to deal with the issues in their lives that interfere with successful participation in school. All classrooms in the Youth Re-entry Program are multi-aged and multi-graded. Students work in "teams" of six to eight members. Teaching a multi-graded, multi-aged classroom of students who do not view themselves as academically successful, particularly in the areas of reading and writing, is a challenge. Providing "real life" opportunities for them to practice their plans to interact appropriately in large and small groups is an additional challenge. Our experience has been that the structure described by Daniels in Voice and Choice in the Student Centered Classroom is an excellent way to combine the teaching of language arts and group skills. We introduce literature circles using short stories to teach the roles to the students. The number and choice of roles used depends on the group size and the ability levels of the circle participants. We teach the same roles as Cathy and Cheryl, but we have added roles such as Travel Tracer, Character Sketcher and Plot Outliner. The flexibility of being able to create and choose roles according to the students' abilities allows us endless possibilities in individualizing programs. The novels we present for choice are selected according to the theme at the time of the circle. We teach novel selection skills, including reading the story synopsis, looking at the title, looking at the cover picture, checking the print size, and checking the length of the chapters and the book. The students identify their first and second choices and the groups are made up accordingly. If a student chooses a novel that will be difficult for that student to read, a reading buddy (another student, a staff member or a volunteer from the community) is arranged. Each group has a teacher participant. The first meeting is devoted to administrative details. Novels, job (role) sheets and schedules are distributed. We photocopy several pages of each job sheet with a description of the job and put them into duotangs for each student. The most important part of the first meeting is when the students decide on the "rules" for the groups. Examples of common "rules" are: be respectful, be responsible and be dependable. The amount of input from the teacher is dependent on the dynamics of the group. Often the teacher participates in the group with the same jobs and responsibilities as the students. This provides an excellent opportunity for modeling many different skills and interactions. Each literature circle meets for three 45-minute periods per week. Another period is left open on circle days for the students to complete their reading and jobs. 2. Cheryl Erlandson: Westmount Community School My name is Cheryl Erlandson. I have been teaching in Saskatoon for approximately fourteen years. I have long held the belief that children learn to read by reading, and they learn to write by writing. I believe in "whole language"; when we dissect a piece of literature, such as a novel, into small pieces through a chapter by chapter reading, we sometimes lose sight of the whole. We lose the meaning of the book and what it can teach us about ourselves and our world. I believe that if I can engage my students, if I can get them excited enough about books and reading that they become readers, then I can more effectively teach them about the technical aspects of writing, such as plot and characterization. I believe we need to provide students with a "real" setting where they can read, discuss, and write about the books they have read and what they have learned from them. Literature circles give students these opportunities. At the time of this study I was teaching in an inner city school in Saskatoon. I team taught in a grade six, seven and eight classroom with an enrollment which fluctuated between forty and forty-five students. Most of my students were significantly below grade level in reading and mathematics as indicated by CAT II test results. I had three students in grade six who had significant learning disabilities and had spent between two and three years in a special program for students with learning disabilities. I also had one grade six student who had been in an integrated special needs classroom and was a non-reader; his attendance was sporadic. I had two other students in grade six who had significant attendance problems. I had one grade seven student with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome who had significant communication problems. This student had been in an integrated special needs classroom, but was pulled from this program by his father for social reasons and placed in my classroom. In addition to these students who had been identified as having significant learning disabilities, many students in my classroom came from homes where parents or guardians were too busy dealing with survival issues to place much emphasis on education. Many of my students independently made the decision to attend school, and if I wanted to have them in class, I had to provide them with programs that were relevant, interesting and, most important to my students, provided them with some degree of choice. I use literature circles because I believe they fulfill these requirements for my students. In addition, in a classroom with such varying ability levels, literature circles allow me to individualize programming and still teach the skills of group discussion and interaction. I began teaching my students about literature circles by using short stories that were centered on the theme of relationships. I taught the roles by providing mini lessons on the roles of discussion director, vocabulary enricher, and passage picker using short stories. While studying each of the short stories, the entire class took on one role, and we then used this role to engage in a group discussion of the short story. I employed a different strategy for teaching the roles of summarizer and illustrator. I used a jigsaw with six different short stories to give students practice in completing these two roles. I provided a mini lesson on how to complete the role of summarizer and illustrator by referring back to the novel we were reading orally in class. I structured the initial group to include students from each of the grade levels and included at least one strong student in each group. The initial group read the short story together and worked on their summaries and illustrations. This enabled the students to provide support for one another in picking out the significant events in the stories and choosing one of these events to illustrate. The second group of students was determined by the students themselves, but had to be composed of one student from each of the initial groups. The students then had the opportunity to discuss their stories with the group by sharing the illustrations and summaries of the story they had read. This was their first "literature circle" meeting. Although the students had all read different stories, there was a common theme and the students were able to meet and discuss literature with a group they had chosen while they practiced social group skills such as turn taking, asking questions for clarification and using encouraging comments. As a group we discussed literature circles and how they were to be conducted. I gave students a copy of the reading contract (see Appendix A) and explained that once they had selected a book, they would need to complete the contract. The students were told that they would have four weeks to complete their books so they would need to divide their books into four manageable sections. I gave a short book talk on each of the ten novels I had selected. The novels were all related to the theme of relationships and ranged in reading levels from grade three to grade nine. The students were given an opportunity through the course of the day to meet with me and select a novel. I met privately with each of my weakest students and told them they could pick whichever book they wanted, but there would be one book that would be read aloud by an adult. This book was at a grade five reading level. Most of my weaker students selected this book. I continued to meet with students in small groups and removed the easier books as I continued up the grade levels. The next day I gave students a copy of the self-evaluation form (see Appendix A) which we would use following each meeting. I spoke to students about some of the projects they would be able to choose after they had finished reading the novel and then as a group we determined how the marks would be allocated for each component of literature circles. Role sheets were to be completed each week by Friday and the group would meet on Monday or Tuesday of the following week. Many students in my classroom have difficulty with social interaction. Therefore, I felt it was necessary to have an adult present to guide, but not lead, the meeting. I have used the resource room teacher, the teacher librarian, a teacher associate, and/or a volunteer to assist with the meetings. At the conclusion of each meeting, the students filled out their self-evaluations and had them initialed by the adult present. If there was some discrepancy between the students' perception of their performance and the perception of the adult, this was discussed. In general though, the students were honest in their appraisals. The way the circles functioned varied. Some circles read the book orally as a whole group and completed their roles cooperatively, others read orally in pairs or triads; and yet others read the book and completed their roles independently, only coming together for the meetings. Students had approximately 3-4 hours of classroom time per week to read and complete their roles. As with any assignment, the amount of time needed varied, but groups who completed their novels and meetings early devoted extra time to their projects or selected another book to read. We completed our first literature circles in November/December using novels that focused on the theme of relationships. In May/June we used literature circles with novels that focused on the theme of survival. The method I have outlined above remained the same for both sessions of literature circles, although I did not teach the whole group how to complete the role sheets in May. Rather, I provided mini-lessons for small groups of students who were new to the strategy of literature circles or who needed assistance in completing the roles. 3. Cathy Klombies: Silverwood Heights School My name is Cathy Klombies. I have taught in Saskatoon elementary schools for the past eight years. My position at the time of this study was with a grade three class of twenty-two students, at Silverwood Heights School. This school is located in a middle-class suburban neighborhood in Saskatoon. I first encountered the concept of Literature Circles in l995. A fellow member of the English Language Arts (Grade 1-5) Subcommittee was enthused about Harvey Daniels' new book, Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom, and we worked together to implement the strategy of literature circles in our classrooms. We also produced a videotape showing students and literature circles in action, in order to present a session at our school system's Winter Institute. My objectives in using literature circles were:
To introduce my students to the concept, we read Ian Wallace's The Sandwich as a group, over five days. Each day I introduced a new role, and every student practiced the accompanying task. The roles I used were:
I then offered a choice of five or six novels, describing each, commenting on the possible level of reading difficulty, and showing if there were illustrations included. Using a large sheet of paper, students then "signed up", indicating their first and second choice of novels to read. Using these requests, and accounting for personalities that did not work productively together, I made up a group of four to six students for each novel. Using laminated "role cards", students prepared for the upcoming meeting, then rotated roles after each meeting. Notebooks were used to record the book and the role and to do preparation work. Literature circle sessions were usually held three times per week, and although occasionally the students in a group felt they would prefer to use the time to prepare for the next meeting, most groups liked to be "ready to meet" by the next scheduled time. In the classroom there could be four or five meetings happening at once. I encouraged quiet voices, and circulated to observe and assist. At the end of the meeting time, each Discussion Director reported the group's reading target and plan for the next session (whether it was to be a meeting time or preparing time). The amount to read and the decision to use the next time for meeting or for preparation were up to the group. When actually doing the reading, students had a choice of reading with others or alone. When the book was finished, students then chose a "sharing project" through which they would share their book with the rest of the class. Sometimes this was an individual choice, and sometimes it was a group choice. Many of the choices involved drama or art activities, providing a spirit of "playfulness" in the classroom. While working with literature circles, I noticed an increase in the amount of time spent reading by students. During the scheduled "Literature Circle" time in the classroom, students were amazingly focused and on-task. The final project was anticipated and enjoyed by most students, and it was also beneficial in supporting our identity as a "community of learners". A choice of books helps accommodate a range of student ability levels, as does the option of reading and working with others. During this school year, I did have two integrated special needs students in my class. Most mornings they attended a special program in which their language arts and math learning was provided. I did not, therefore, include them in the literature circle groups. On the few occasions they were present in the classroom, another student would volunteer to read to them from the novel they were currently reading. Research Questions
Research Methods 1. Student Reading Consistent with our prior practices, we assessed student reading levels at the beginning of the school year. All teachers reviewed students' previous report cards, consulted standardized test results, if available, and/or administered The Alberta Diagnostic Reading Level Inventory. During the school year, assessment of students' progress in reading was curriculum based and included assessment tools, such as student self-evaluation, interviews, teacher observation, and teacher evaluation of daily work, assignments and projects. Students completed:
2. Student Communication Literature circles were videotaped throughout the school year and were analyzed for the following:
We met regularly to review data collection and analyze both the data and the process. 3. Student Skills The data related to the effect of literature circles on student skills in planning, organization and completion of assignments was collected by:
Research Results 1. Student Reading In Cathy's classroom (see Appendix C), 100% of the 18 students, tracked from January through to June, indicated that they held a positive attitude toward reading in June; 11% of these students indicated that their attitude toward reading had become more positive, and 33% reported a less positive attitude toward reading. Of the students who reported a less positive attitude, 66% reported no decline in their reading frequency. In Cheryl's classroom (see Appendix C), 75% of the 24 students, tracked from November through to June, indicated that they held a positive attitude toward reading in June; 17% of these students indicated that their attitude toward reading had become more positive, and 21% reported a less positive attitude toward reading. 57% of the students who indicated that their attitude was less positive still reported an increase in the frequency of their reading. In the Radius classrooms, ten students were tracked. Four students indicated a positive attitude toward reading both times they completed the questionnaire. Four students indicated that their attitude toward reading had become more positive because they liked the activities involved in literature circles. Although they reported that the reading and writing was "hard" or "boring", they also reported they liked the novels they read. Two students consistently reported a strong dislike of reading. The following comments are representative of the comments made by all students on the questionnaires: Positive Comments
"I like doing the projects"and "I like the books we read" were the positive comments made most frequently. Negative Comments
The two negative aspects mentioned most frequently were "I don't like the role sheets" and "I don't like the writing assignments". 2. Student Communication Communication Averages Per Session
*52% of the off task behaviors counted during Westmount circles can be attributed to one child. This child did not attend school regularly. Examples of higher level questions/discussions include:
3. Student Skills We observed students planning and problem solving to deal with a variety of challenges successfully. The videotape of one of the circles in Cathy's class shows one of the students repeatedly hitting the other students with his book. He is expressing his concern with their deviation from his perception of Cathy's instructions on how to proceed with the circle. The other members of the circle proceed successfully with the discussion and, collectively, are able to "ignore" his distraction and prevent a disruptive escalation. Even though the disruptive child chose an inappropriate method to communicate his concern, his behavior can be interpreted as a demonstration of commitment to "doing the circle right". Students at Radius became frustrated with two members of their circle who disrupted their circle when they attended erratically and did not complete their circle jobs. They suggested to the teacher that they could explain their frustration to the two students and ask them not to attend that particular circle again. The teacher agreed and the circle members successfully conducted a discussion with the disruptive students. Students in a circle at Westmount gained more understanding of the cultural differences within their group in dealing with significant life events during a discussion about death, grieving and funerals. Students in all three classrooms accepted responsibility for completing their assignments. Students most frequently identified reading the books and completing the projects as the things they liked the most about literature circles. After reading Clear Cut, a circle of five Radius students worked together to create a model of the forest before and after a clear cut. The project, a major undertaking involving a papier maché base, overlays, and a water filled lake, was completed on time. Discussion When asked in the questionnaire whether or not they would like to do literature circles again, 78% of the students gave a positive response. Our research has confirmed for us that literature circles empower our students, teach our students skills in social interaction and enable us to modify programs to meet individual needs. Analyzing the questionnaires of at risk students indicated that their attitude toward reading improved and the time they spent reading increased. Frequently, the students at Radius comment that they have never read a whole book before participating in a circle. This improvement occurred within the regular structure of literature circles without further modification of the program other than having an adult read the book to the child. The literature on improving reading skills confirms that increasing the frequency of student reading will result in improvement in reading skills. Based on the positive reports about attitudes toward reading and reading frequency, we believe that the improvement we have seen in our students' reading skills can partially be attributed to the inclusion of literature circles in our language arts programs. We also confirmed for ourselves that participating in literature circles does contribute to the development of students' skills in social interaction. In their responses on the literature circles questionnaire, most of our students identified sharing ideas with others as a valuable feature of literature circles. The students built relationships among the members of their groups by sharing their personal connections to a piece of literature. The video data indicated developing skills in social interaction: speaking in turn, listening to others, sharing personal and cultural values, and cooperating with others in order to accomplish group and individual goals. The students' sense of teamwork was reinforced as they developed a way of presenting their novel to the larger group. This focus on teamwork contributed to the sense of purpose for the students in reading and writing. They were aware that their group was counting on them to be ready for the meeting. These are important life skills that our students need in order to succeed in any setting. Responses on the Literature Circle Questionnaires highlighted another positive aspect of literature circles for our students. They consistently identified choice as one of the most positive aspects of literature circles. Students began to take responsibility for their own learning, both in selecting their novels and in the methods by which they chose to report on the novels. Whenever we provide students with "real" choice by allowing them to select their own novels and decide on how they will respond to what they read and how they will be evaluated, we demonstrate to them that they are able to direct their own learning. This is an important first step in giving our students the skills they need to begin taking control over other aspects of their lives beyond the classroom. As with any other teaching and learning strategy, there are difficulties. Fortunately, in our experience, they have been few. One of the biggest problems we found with literature circles was managing the meetings. With some students, an adult must be present in order to encourage discussion. A suggestion for classroom management is to have all meetings at the same time in the library so that the teacher can circulate and encourage discussion. The teacher then can participate in a limited way in a number of different meetings, or have a teacher-librarian or resource room teacher assist with the meetings. As noted earlier, students identified writing, the completion of all the roles, and the choice of books as negative aspects. Further, irregular attendance poses the greatest obstacle to including at risk students in literature circles. We have appended to this report some suggestions and modifications that we found helped to mediate some of the difficulties we experienced (see Appendix D). We all will continue to use literature circles. The benefits that we felt intuitively would result from their use were confirmed for us in the analysis of our data. Our observations, in addition to student feedback, have reinforced our commitment to this methodology. If we analyze literature circles using the criteria of the Common Essential Learnings, their strength as an instructional strategy becomes all the more evident. Literature circles address communication, critical and creative thinking, personal and social values and skills, and independent learning. Literature circles bring a meaningful context to the development of these learnings. It would be difficult to find any other single strategy that would be so all encompassing and empowering for both learner and teacher. Date: ______________ This is an agreement between Mrs.Erlandson and the following students:
Student Signature _________________ Date: ______________ Name: ______________ Topic: ______________ Rate your participation using the following scale:
Appendix B - Student Questionnaire 1. How much do you like reading?
2. How often do you read?
3. Are you a good reader?
4.. I like reading best
Literature Circle Questionnaire Name: ______________ 1. Would you like to do literature circles again?
Why? 2. What is a literature circle? If you were a teacher what would you do? What would you tell the students to do? 5. What do you like best about literature circles? 6. What do you NOT like about literature circles? Frequency Rating Siverwood Heights
Attitude Rating Silverwood Heights
Frequency Rating Westmount Community School
Attitude Rating Silverwood Heights
Appendix D - Adaptations and Modifications
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