Overview

Literature circles are a widely used reading response activity in current language arts classrooms. Divide students into discussion groups of three to five students. Assign each member of the group a specific role to fulfill during the discussion. For the activity, you should expect that students demonstrate they have fulfilled their roles. In this case students will be processing a discussion of part one of the novel. If you are unfamiliar with literature circles and how they work, you can find directions at the following website:
http://www.studyguide.org/lit%20circle%20handout.htm

Student Objectives

Students will:

• Discuss a part of Beloved
• Organize, write, and present one of five discussion roles
• Respond to the presentations by fellow students during the discussion

Skills Attained

Students will be able to:

• Read of the text of Beloved and related readings closely
• Analyze Beloved in the broader context of the history of slavery and the Jim Crow system

Materials needed:

• Hard copies of all readings
• Literature circle role report sheets

The Lesson

Anticipatory Set

Introduce students to the concept of a literature circle and the five roles, below, in this particular activity. You can do a practice run of a discussion if students are unsure of how to proceed.

1. Discussion Director
2. Passage Master
3. Illustrator
4. Recorder
5. Connector

Procedures

1. Assign the reading passage.
2. Divide the class into circle groups.
3. Hold a literature circle activity immediately after students complete the reading assignment. (Twice during part one. Once during parts two and three of the novel.)
4. Collect the literature circle role report sheets following the activity.
5. Discuss the success of the project and how the process could improve.

Assessment

Literature Circle Rubric

Assign points based on the completed literature circle role report sheets following these guidelines:

• Student completed the role as described in the job description.
• Student attended meeting.
• Student filled out his or her forms completely.
• Student participated in discussions and group activities.
• The content of the role report is of high quality.
• The report is neat and legible.
• The questions written or passages selected are meaningful to the discussion or activity.
• The role report represents the student's best effort.
• The connector provided relevant connections and explained them well.
• The recorder created a complete record of the group's activity.

Job Description: Develop a list of no more than three questions, which are thought provoking and are relevant to the reading assignment that your group can discuss. You may generate your own questions or select from the list your teacher provides. Your job is to make sure that all members of the group get to participate.

Name: ________________________ Circle Name: __________________

Date of Discussion__________________ Discussion #__________

Passage from the book: page ____ to page ____

List your discussion questions below:

1.

2.

3.

Job Description: Locate three short passages from the reading. Reread the passage for the group or ask for a volunteer to read it. Encourage the group to discuss and think about each passage. Passages should contain important things for everyone to notice, remember, or respond to. Select passages that are important in some way. The following are examples of the kind of passages you might choose: selections that:

• Connect with the history of slavery in America;
• Are surprising/startling;
• Are confusing (something you wonder if other people "got");
• Use descriptive writing: figurative language, strong verbs, etc. (identify literary devices);
• Are important (maybe have a clue, foreshadowing?); or
• Contain a controversial event (elicit different opinions from group members).

Name: ________________________ Circle Name: __________________

Date of Discussion__________________ Discussion #__________

Overall Passage from the book: page ____ to page ____

Passage # 1: page ____ to page ____
I selected this passage because:

Passage # 2: page ____ to page ____
I selected this passage because:

Passage # 3: page ____ to page ____
I selected this passage because:

Job Description: Your job is to record who attends the discussion and how they participate.

Name: ________________________ Circle Name: __________________

Date of Discussion__________________ Discussion #__________

Passage from the book: page ____ to page ____

Group Attendance: List which group members were in attendance at the discussion.)

1. ________________________	Role: ________________________
2. ________________________	Role: ________________________
3. ________________________	Role: ________________________
4. ________________________	Role: ________________________
5. ________________________	Role: ________________________

Record who responds to each discussion question.

Question 1:
_______________________________________________________________________

Question 2:
_______________________________________________________________________

Question 3:
_______________________________________________________________________

Record who responds to each passage.

Passage 1:
_______________________________________________________________________

Passage 2:
_______________________________________________________________________

Passage 3:
_______________________________________________________________________

Job Description: Locate three short passages from the reading. Reread the passage for the group or ask for a volunteer to read it. Encourage the group to discuss and think about each passage. Passages should contain important things for everyone to notice, remember, or respond to. Select passages that are important in some way. The following are examples of the kind of passages you might choose: selections that:

• Connect with the history of slavery in America;
• Are surprising/startling;
• Are confusing (something you wonder if other people "got");
• Use descriptive writing: figurative language, strong verbs, etc. (identify literary devices);
• Are important (maybe have a clue, foreshadowing?); or
• Contain a controversial event (elicit different opinions from group members).

Name: ________________________ Circle Name: __________________

Date of Discussion__________________ Discussion #__________

Overall Passage from the book: page ____ to page ____

Passage # 1: page ____ to page ____
I selected this passage because:

Passage # 2: page ____ to page ____
I selected this passage because:

Passage # 3: page ____ to page ____
I selected this passage because:

Job Description: Your job is to connect this passage of Beloved to the history of slavery and the Jim Crow system. Try to find at least three connections for the passage and present them to the group.

Name: ________________________ Circle Name: __________________

Date of Discussion__________________ Discussion #__________

Passage from the book: page ____ to page ____

Connection One:

Connection Two:

Connection Three:

Job Description: Find or draw at least three images or pictures that relate to the passage selected for this discussion. You can find pictures on the web or from other sources, or you may draw your own. Share your pictures with your circle and then add them to the class art gallery for the whole class to see.

Images on the Web: Jim Crow Image Gallery

Name: ________________________ Circle Name: __________________

Date of Discussion__________________ Discussion #__________

Passage from the book: page ____ to page ____

The following are possible question prompts you can give the discussion leaders of the four Literature Circle discussion activities. You should require each discussion director to write questions themselves, but they may need some help. Encourage discussion directors to write questions of their own design. You may prefer to provide a more guided approach by substituting questions you have selected.

Part One

• Literature Circle Discussion One


1. Discuss questions relating to Toni Morrison's use of symbolism in Beloved.


• Literature Circle Discussion Two


2. Discuss questions relating to how the narrative style of Beloved compliments the story Toni Morrison is telling.

Part Two

• Literature Circle Discussion Three


1. Discuss questions relating to the cultural and behavioral issues this novel raises.

Part Three

• Literature Circle Discussion Four


1. Discuss questions relating to comparisons of this work and other novels.

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Rick Vanderwall is the Chair of the Language Arts Department at Malcolm Price Laboratory School in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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