Literature Circles...

As an avid reader myself I have become very interested in the idea of literature circles and how I can use them in my future classroom. Although I don’t remember participating in literature circles in exactly the same way they are today, I do remember loving it when we were grouped into “reading groups.” These groups were more hybrids between literature circles and readers workshops. Particularly in third grade I remember being divided into groups of about 4 or 5 students who were on the same reading level. Within our groups we would have jobs similar to those assigned in literature circles, however we were more likely to complete the different tasks as a group instead of individually. One of my favorite experiences was the class-wide assignment of reading Tuck Everlasting. We had read-alouds, group readings, group and class-wide discussions, and at the end we decided to put on a class production of the story. We were able to create all the costumes, props, scripts, and other accessories that went along with the play, and our parents came to watch the production. We even handed out tickets and served popcorn at the event! It was a really fun way to get more connected with the story and is an experience that still makes me smile when I think about it. Granted our third grade acting skills were short of Oscar-worthy, but our parents seemed to love the effort! This is one area where I feel like literature circles can sometimes fall short- I liked the culminating activity upon finishing the novel.

In Edu 255 last semester we took part in class literature circles in the traditional sense, with each student completing a different job each meeting. I definitely enjoyed the lit circle experience, and participating in one myself gave me great insight into how they can be applied. The class I am observing in (Ms. Bradley’s 2nd grade class at NRE) has just introduced literature circles and it’s been a great experience to see how they progress from the beginning. Ms. Bradley was initially a little concerned that that the students wouldn’t take so well to the whole “you’re on your own!” concept, but they seem to have flourished in their discussions, even without constant teacher intervention. Of course, occasionally a little drop-in is required on Ms. Bradley’s part just to remind the students to stick to the topic, but with a group of excitable 2nd graders this isn’t really surprising. What was especially reassuring though was the great amount of energy and positive discussion going on within the groups. Not to belittle their abilities, but I’ve been so surprised by some of the in-depth discussion I’ve heard going on within the groups! I hope my own students will make me as proud some day!

Assessment...

The way students are assessed in the classroom is definitely changing. For the majority of my classes growing up competency was measured based on a score you made on a test or the letter grade you were awarded for a book report. My recent experience in the classroom as an observer versus a student has indicated that educators are shifting away from test scores toward more hands-on and interactive ways of measuring a student's proficiency with a subject. I can still remember the sinking feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach when vocabulary lists were handed out at the beginning of the week. I knew that come Friday I needed to have the spellings memorized and be ready to spit the words back out on a test. The problem with that kind of learning is that I was simply memorizing the spellings and storing them in my short term memory. Regurgitating them on Friday's test did little to cement my understanding of the word or it's spelling in the long run. I need to do something with them. Use them in a story, find them in literature, illustrate them on note cards... anything that would help connect the words to their meanings and spellings in the long run. I think that is the nature of good assessment. We need to allow students to manipulate the material and create their own understanding of it. I've noticed that many students enjoy hands-on tasks with learning... I mean who really wants to sit in a chair for 45 minutes being lectured to so they can spit the information back verbatim on a test? No thank you. Given the chance I'm sure many more students would pick teaching a mini lesson, discussing material in small groups, or presenting a project to the class.
That being said it is important for teachers to stay up-to-date on the progress of each student, and make sure everyone is following the material. Day to day assessments such as having students write in daily logs, meeting in small groups with the teacher, or debriefing in a larger class setting can help open the floor for further questions. Another way to assess as a lesson progresses is by giving each student a whiteboard that he or she answers questions on. The class can all hold up their answers and a quick scan of the boards lets a teacher know who's got it and who might need a little more help.
Of course all of this sounds like a very "perfect world" scenario.. I understand the continued need for boring old tests every now and then. I just think as a future educator I should also try to use a little creativity in my forms of assessment to keep things interesting and keep students engaged. After all, isn't the Holy Grail of teaching making learning fun?!