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Literature circles

World War II: A Study of Perspectives

Literature Circle

Kristin Oliver

October 26, 2009

Method for selection of literature circle books

Tennessee curriculum standards met (5^th grade reading):

Content Standard 1: The student will develop the reading and listening skills for word recognition, comprehension, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and appreciation of print and non-print text. Through the various roles in the literature circle, the children will accomplish this standard

Rationale for book choice:

The books for this literature circle were chosen to represent a more narrative look into the events and impact of World War II. All of the books chosen were historical fictions discussing multiple facets of WWII. Although fictional, many of the books are based on a true story or historically accurate information. By reading historical fictions, the students receive a more personal account of the issues in WWII.

Even though it is the overall theme, the books were not selected solely because they depict events during World War II. Instead, much deliberation was taken to ensure that each book portrayed the event from a different cultural perspective. One of the books depicts the events of Pearl Harbor from the view of a young American soldier. Another depicts the aftermath of the atomic bomb that the United States dropped in Hiroshima. The third book shows readers the perspective of a Jewish girl during the Holocaust. The fourth, and perhaps the most difficult to find book, depicts the war from the eyes of a German boy that became one of Hitler’s youth.

Selecting Groups:

Students will be presented with the books through a book talk. Each book will be presented explaining the title, author, reading the back, and clarifying the perspective from which each book is written. Students will then self-select a book and form four literature circles with at least 5 members. The groups are named by the location of the main characters: Holland, Germany, America, and Japan.

Selected books with brief summaries

	· Holland: The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss: Annie de Leeuw, an eight-year-old girl, lived in Holland during the German occupation. Since Annie was Jewish, she was forced to hide in a cramped upstairs room belonging to a Gentile family with her sister throughout the war.
	· Germany: The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti: Seventeen-year-old Helmuth was once a member of Hitler’s youth. However, he is now imprisoned after becoming dedicated to showing the German people the truth about Hitler and the war.
	· America: A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor by Harry Mazer: A boy in Honolulu was fishing when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. Despite the turmoil of the attack, Adam has added terror because his father was on the USS Arizona which was hit with bombs. Adam is forced to make sense of the situation and figure out what happened to his father.
	· Japan: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr: Sadako, a young girl in Japan, becomes sick due to the affects of the A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima when she was a baby. There is a legend that says that if a sick person folds a thousand paper cranes that the gods will make you healthy. Sadako starts folding paper cranes.

Whole class schedule

Literature Circle Schedule
Groups		Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Holland	9:00	Literature Circle	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills	Literature Circle
Holland	9:30	Read	Read	Read	Read	Book Review
Germany	9:00	Read	Read	Read	Read	Literature Circle
Germany	9:30	Literature Circle	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills	Book Review
America	9:00	Read	Read	Read	Read	Literature Circle
America	9:30	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills	Literature circle	Book Review
Japan	9:00	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills	Literature Circle	Literature Circle
Japan	9:30	Skills	Read	Read	Read	Book Review

Individual Group Schedules

Holland: The Upstairs Room
Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00	Literature Circle	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills (Seat)	Literature Circle
9:00	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Journal prompt on board.	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Vocabulary activity at desk	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book
9:30	Read	Read	Read	Read	Book Review (Seat)
9:30	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Use handout to create a book review at desk

Germany: The Boy Who Dared
Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00	Read	Read	Read	Read	Literature Circle
9:00	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book
9:30	Literature Circle	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills (Seat)	Book Review (Seat)
9:30	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Journal prompt on board.	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Vocabulary activity at desk	Use handout to create a book review at desk

America: A Boy at War
Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00	Read	Read	Read	Read	Literature Circle
9:00	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book
9:30	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills (Seat)	Literature Circle	Book Review (Seat)
9:30	Journal prompt on board.	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Vocabulary activity at desk	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Use handout to create a book review at desk

Japan: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
9:00	Journal	Literature Circle	Skills (Seat)	Literature Circle	Literature Circle
9:00	Journal prompt on board.	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Vocabulary activity at desk	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book	Have role sheet completed and be ready to discuss the book
9:30	Read	Read	Read	Read	Book Review (Seat)
9:30	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Silent reading for 30 minutes	Use handout to create a book review at desk

Overview of roles for the literature circle

Discussion Director:

Responsibility:

Discussion directors are responsible for guiding the discussion.

Before the Circle:

Discussion director prepares four “fat” questions to guide discussion.

During the Circle:

Discussion director asks the prepared questions, stimulating students’ thoughts, reactions, and concerns concerning the book. The student can guide students in sharing their role.

Word Wizard:

Responsibility:

Word wizards are responsible for sharing unusual words in the reading.

Before the Circle:

Word wizard finds at least 3 unusual words in the book, guesses their definition, then finds the actual definition.

During the Circle:

Word wizards share their words and read the sentence from the book that has the word. Then, share the definitions with the circle.

Connector:

Responsibility:

Connectors are responsible for making connecting between the book and the real world, personal experiences or the experiences of others, and other literature.

Before the Circle:

Connectors make connections to the book using three categories: the real world, experiences, and literature and media.

During the Circle:

Connectors share the connections with the circle.

Summarizer:

Responsibility:

Summarizers are responsible for creating a brief summary of the reading and identifying the key points.

Before the Circle:

Summarizers create a brief summary of the reading. They also identify the key points.

During the Circle:

Summarizers start the literature circle by sharing the summary with the circle.

Illustrator:

Responsibility:

Illustrators are responsible for artistically depicting an aspect of the reading.

Before the Circle:

Illustrates create an illustration of the reading. Illustrations can be sketches, cartoons, diagrams, etc. They can have to do with a character, a setting, a scene, or a depiction of how the illustrator connected with the reading.

During the Circle:

Show your illustration to the circle. Have them guess what the picture is about then discuss the picture.

Predictor:

Responsibility:

The predictors are responsible for predicting what will happen in the next section of the reading.

Before the Circle:

Predictors make predictions and explain why they predicted that event would occur.

During the Circle:

Share why you predicted an event and have the other group members guess the event that made you think that.

Passage Picker:

Responsibility:

Passage pickers are responsible for selected at least 3 passages that they think are important, funny, confusing, etc.

Before the Circle:

Passage pickers select their passages and explain what they say and why they picked the passage.

During the Circle:

Passage pickers share the passages with the circle.

Discussion Director

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to develop a list of questions that your group might want to discuss about this part of the book and direct the discussion by asking each member for their input based on their current role. Don't worry about the small details; your task is to help people talk over the "big ideas" in the reading and share their reactions. Use the “fat question” cards if you need help. Usually the best discussion questions come from your own thoughts, feelings and concerns as you read, which you can list below, during or after your reading.

Possible discussion questions or topics for today:

1.__________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

3.___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

4.___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

5.___________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

Word Wizard

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to be on the lookout for a few words that have special meaning in today’s reading selection. If you discover words that are unusual or unfamiliar, mark them while you are reading. You may lightly underline the word with a pencil as your read. After you read, copy the word and the sentence or phrase the word is in. Make your own guess about what the word means. Then look up the word in a dictionary. When your circle meets, help members find the words and predict the meaning. Discuss why the words are important to the story and share the definition with your circle.

Word Sentence/Phrase

Page:

Guess:

Dictionary:

Word Sentence/Phrase

Page:

Guess:

Dictionary:

Word Sentence/Phrase

Page:

Guess:

Dictionary:

Connector

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to connect the contents of the reading selection to current or past real world events and experiences. You will also connect the reading to other forms of literature, music, art and/or media.

Real World Connections: Relate current reading to real situations.

_____________________________________________________________________

Experiences: Relate current reading to real experiences you or others have had.

_____________________________________________________________________

Literature and Media Connections: Relate current reading to other books, movies art, television, music and other media. ______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Summarizer

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to prepare a brief summary of today's reading. Your group discussion will start with your 1-2 minute statement that covers the key points, main highlights, general idea and essence of today's reading assignment.

Summary:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Points:
1. ______________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________

Illustrator

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to draw some kind of picture related to the reading. It can be a sketch, cartoon, diagram, flow chart or stick-figure scene. You can draw a picture of something that's discussed specifically in your book, or something that the reading reminded you of, or a picture that conveys any idea or feeling you got from the reading. Any kind of drawing or graphic is okay - you can even label things with words if that helps. Make your drawing on this paper. If you need more room, use the back. When the Discussion Director invites your participation, you may show your picture without comment to the others in the group. Individually, they can predict what your picture means to connect the drawings to their own ideas about the reading. Once everyone has shared their predictions, tell the groups what your picture means, where it came from, or what it represents to you.

Predictor

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to develop a list of predictions you think will happen later in the book. Begin with “I predict that” and then write down something you think will take place later on in the story. Then explain why you made this prediction beginning with because … If this is the end of the book, predict what you think would be included if the author wrote an additional chapter. When you share with your group, begin the “Because” statement and have your group members guess your predictions. After a few guesses, share your actual predictions.

1. I predict that...

Because...

2. I predict that...

Because...

3. I predict that...

Because...

Passage Picker

Name: _______________________________ Date:__________________
Book: ________________________________ Assignment: pages _____ to _____

Your job is to locate a few special sections of the text that you think your group would like to read aloud. The idea is to help people remember some interesting, powerful, funny, puzzling, or important sections of the text. You decide which passages or paragraphs are worth hearing, and then jot plans for how they should be shared. You can read the passages aloud yourself, or ask someone else to read them, then discuss them as a group.

Location	Reason for Picking	Plan for Reading
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________
Page _____ Paragraph _____	_______________________	_______________________

Possible reasons for picking: important, funny, controversial, surprising, informative, and confusing.

Evaluation Method

The literature circles will be assessed on a group and individual level. Each of these levels will be assessed by both the students and the teacher using rubrics. This approach allows the teacher and the students to evaluate both the cohesiveness and successful discussion of the literature circle as a whole while also holding each individual group member accountable.

Group Evaluation:

Teacher:

A rubric is used by the teacher to evaluate the group on criteria specific to the success of the literature circle as a whole.

Student:

The same rubric is used for the students to evaluate their literature circle.

Individual Evaluation:

Teacher:

A rubric is used by the teacher to evaluate each individual member focusing on discussion, role fulfillment, and reading.

Student:

Each student will be presented with the same criteria as the teacher’s individual evaluation. The student evaluation will also evaluate discussion, role fulfillment, and reading.

Additional Assessments:

Journal:

Students complete a double entry journal involving events and their reactions to the book. Assessment involves a check plus, check, and check minus scale.

Skill (vocabulary):

Students create picture definitions using selected vocabulary from the book.

Book Review:

Students complete a book review handout involving their selected book.

Teacher group evaluation 36 points	Journal 17 points
Student group evaluation 36 points	Skill 17 points
Teacher individual evaluation 36 points	Book review 22 points
Student individual evaluation 36 points	Total possible: 300 points

Group assessment

Name:______________________________________ Score:_____/36

Literature Circle (circle one): Holland Germany America Japan

Directions: Circle the number that best describes your group using the key below

1 group did poor

2 group could do better

3 group did ok

4 group did great

Preparation
Group members were prepared for the discussion.	1	2	3	4
Discussion
Everyone participated and shared in the discussion.	1	2	3	4
The discussion stays on topic.	1	2	3	4
Group members ask questions for clarification or elaboration.	1	2	3	4
Individual roles contributed to the discussion.	1	2	3	4
Circle is energetic and enthusiastic.	1	2	3	4
Life Skills
Group members actively listened to other members.	1	2	3	4
Group members were supportive of other member’s ideas and comments.	1	2	3	4
The discussion showed the group’s personal best.	1	2	3	4

Comments:

Individual Assessment

Student Name:________________________ Score:_____/36

Literature Circle (circle one): Holland Germany America Japan

Directions: Circle the number that best describes your group using the key below

1 group did poor

2 group could do better

3 group did ok

4 group did great

Preparation

I completed my reading before each literature circle

I completed my role requirements before each literature circle

I brought my book to each literature circle

Discussion

I participated in the discussion by contributing my ideas.

I successfully fulfilled my role in discussion.

I asked questions when I needed clarification on a topic.

Life Skills

I actively listened to other members of the group.

Download in Word format:

Literature circles

Contact

Kristin Oliver

kristin.oliver@my.maryvillecollege.edu

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