Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles

Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles
by Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, Nancy Steineke

Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles
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Book Summary Information

Author: Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, Nancy Steineke
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-07-14
ISBN: 0325007020
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Heinemann

Book Reviews of Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles

Book Review: Readable & Practical!
Summary: 5 Stars

I am a 7th grade language arts and literature teacher, and this book has to be one of the most practical and easy-to-read books I've ever read. I have always feared the "literature cicle" because what do I do with the kids who are slackers? It's not fair to his/her group members, nor is it fair to let a student slide by. After reading this book, I feel confident that I can make the literature circles work in my classroom in a positive way!

Chapters are broken out into what the lesson is, how to teach it, why it works, and what could go wrong. Additionally, it asks you and the students to reflect upon the lesson, and incorporates metacognition right into the lesson as well! The mini-lessons are just that,and the few I've tried so far have been successful in my classroom. The focus in this book seems to be collaborative work where students are responsible for the construction of their own knowledge. Additionally, the mini-lessons reinforce using positive social skills that teach students to work effectively in a group setting. (I've even taken some of the ideas to my teaching team to help us work more efficiently & effectively!) I could easily see these strategies used in ANY class where students need to read because many lessons are not about literature, but they focus on how to effectively work in groups and get through reading.

Finally, as I mentioned before, it is enjoyable and readable. If you're a teacher, you have to have a sense of humor, and this book keeps me amused as I read instead of making me feel as if I'd rather fall asleep, like many other teacher's books do!

Summary of Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles

Harvey Daniels' Literature Circles introduced tens of thousands of teachers to the power of student-led book discussions. Nancy Steineke's Reading and Writing Together showed how a teacher can nurture friendship and collaboration among young readers. Now, Daniels and Steineke team up to focus on one crucial element of the Literature Circle model; the short, teacher-directed lessons that begin, guide and follow-up every successful book club meeting.

Mini-lessons are the secret to book clubs that click. Each of these forty-five short, focused, and practical lessons includes Nancy and Harvey's actual classroom language and is formatted to help busy teachers with point-by-point answers to the questions they most frequently ask.

How can I:
  • steer my students toward deeper comprehension?
  • get kids interested in each others' ideas?
  • make sure kids choose just-right books?
  • help students schedule their reading and meeting time?
  • deal with kids who don't do the reading?
  • get kids to pay more attention to literary style and structure?
  • help special education and ELL students to participate actively in book clubs?
  • get kids to expand their repertoire of reading strategies?
  • make sure groups are on-task when I'm not looking over their shoulder?
  • introduce writing tools (including role sheets) that support student discussion?.
  • help shy or dominating members get the right amount of "airtime?"
  • give grades for book clubs without ruining the fun?
  • use scientific research to justify the classroom time I spend on literature circles?

Each mini-lesson spells out everything from the time and materials needed to word-by-word instructions for students. The authors even warn "what could go wrong," helping teachers to avoid predictable management problems. With abundant student examples, reproducible forms, photographs of kids in action, and recommended reading lists, Mini-lessons for Literature Circles helps you deepen student book discussions, create lifelong readers, and build a respectful classroom community.

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