Proudly sponsored by

RELLCO & B.E.S.TSaturday 1st May 2010

Literature Circles and Blogging Discussions. Developing Rich,

Real & Relevant practices in Literacy

Robyn Hurliman

Improving Student Learning OutcomesImproving Student Learning Outcomes

room8owhata.wikispaces.com

Literacy in an e-learning context

• e-fellows

• Criteria

• Release

• Mentoring

• Projects

What does it mean to be literate in the 21st Century?

What does it mean to be literate in the 21st Century?

Why do we teach children literacy skills? What does it mean for our teaching?

21st Century Skills and How do we get there?

“How are the literacy skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed for the 21st century

supported through e-learning contexts?”

My Project

• “Can Literacy Circle Discussions and Blogging create a deeper understanding

with what children are reading in response to what others say.”

Small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth

The discussion is guided by students' response to what they have read

Provides a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books

Students collaborate to reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers

Guides students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response.

Emily Cullen Israel

What are literacy/literature circles?

• Authentic audiences

• Connections to our lives and the world

• Something important to say

• The literacy skills to get our thinking across to others

The Key Ingredients

The Gurus

• Harvey Daniels developed in 1993 but had been working on since 1980.

Lit Circle Resources\11 Key Elements of Literature Circles.doc

• Laura Candler lauracandler.com

The Roles

Questioner

Creates 3 to 5 interesting questions.

Try to think of questions that will get

the group to dig into the book and

share their thoughts and opinions.

Try to make them “FAT” questions.

Israel

Summariser Completes a summary of the story or

the section that has been read.

Remember to include only the

important characters and events.

Don’t try to tell us everything that

happened.

When you’ve read it to the group,

they will let you know if you have

missed out anything important.

Maia

Word Detective

Finds interesting, unusual, hard or

funny words in the story.

Find out what they mean, what the

base word is, any prefixes or suffixes,

antonyms, synonyms…..

Use them in different sentences so

we can understand how to use them.

Don’t forget to tell us why you chose

them.

Emily Eden

Illustrator

Picks out a scene from the story and

draws how they believe it would look.

Pay attention to details about the

characters, setting and mood.

The rest of the group will discuss

how they would have visualised the

same scene, any differences……

any similarities they see.

Jasmine

The Connector

Makes connections from the story to

their own lives, events in the news,

historical events that may relate.

What similarities or differences can

you find in the story to your life.

• Discuss your connections and others

in the group might be able to add any

connections they have found.

Cullen

Character Describer

Tells us what the main characters

are like – traits/personality,

connections to other characters.

• What impact do they have in

the story….?

• Remember to make it clear to the

group why you think that character

is important to the overall story.

Investigator

Researches background information

about the book and related topics.

Uses questions and key words to find

information.

Might find websites and interactive

activities and games to further our

understanding.

Paragraph Picker

Finds exciting paragraphs to

share with the group.

They may be based on language,

imagery, use of synonyms, dialogue,

descriptions of characters….

Remember to tell us why you chose

that paragraph to share.

Travel Tracker

Tells us where the main characters have travelled in the story.

It is like plotting the story on a map.

It needs to be in the order that it has happened in the story.

Book Choice

• Thought provoking• Rich language• Children can make connections with• Have some sort of message

Problems in the beginning•Multiple copies•Ones that engage the children•Meet the criteria I’ve set

Let’s have a goIn a small group

Read story Choose a role

10-15 minutes using the role Share with the group

Compare with another group

Or check out our wiki and my blog

www.room8owhata.wikispaces.com

http://robynse-learningnews.blogspot.com/

Discussions

• Initial discussions (very stilted, round robin or through teacher.

• Dominant Children • Worth Sharing (Thinking Challenged, Thinking time, Change time)

“AHA”

Meaningful Contexts

• Does it really matter if I understand?

“AHA”

Surface Features

• Children becoming more self-monitoring and regulatory of the group.

“AHA”

Making Connections

“AHA”

“AHA”

I have children excited about choosing their books. Rushing into class to tell us about what

they have been reading. Thinking ahead to what their

next book will be….. Why?

How much of what we do is the same…just because we have shifted the

context or environment, have we really made a shift in our thinking? Are we

giving children what they need? Are we doing it any differently?

Children want to move forward. They want to learn new skills and want to be challenged. They can take

responsibility for their own learning. How much do we steer them when they can actually steer themselves? Do we really allow them the chance to choose their

learning steps? Do we give them the right foundation steps to succeed? How much do we still remain in

control?

Is what we are asking children to share really worth sharing? Do we already know what they are going to

say? Do the other children already know what they are going to say? How interesting is that????

How often do we ask children to express an opinion without getting them to base it on

anything?

emilyowhata re: Pre ThoughtsI haven't been camping yet but I am very keen to give it a go.Posted Aug 3, 2009

•Robyn_Hurliman re: Pre ThoughtsAre you still keen to give it a go Emily after reading about Grandma McGarvey's experiences?

emilyowhata re: Pre ThoughtsNot very keen as I was before because a wild pig coming up to you and stealing a sausage off you isn't very pleasant although it isn't based on a true story.

“Not every member must contribute, but all must believe they are free to when ready

and it will be valued.”

Confronting the challenges of Participatory Culture

MacArthur Foundation

“How are the literacy skills, knowledge, and dispositions needed

for the 21st century supported through e-learning contexts?”

• Collaboration – access to people and texts that might not have otherwise been available• Ownership• Interaction with a global, neutral community• Authentic Audiences – it matters what I have to say• Making connections – specialising according to strengths and interests• Being able to review, adapt, modify thinking. Greater choice about how to make meaning of and with texts – removing the laboriousness of editing.•A balance of freedom and constraint

So has it made a difference?Yes!!!!!!!!

Conditions of Learning

Where to next?

• Next group• More mini inquiries• Writing

“Instead of asking the question "What technology skills must a student have to face the 21st century?" should we not be asking "What thinking and literacy skills

must a student have to face the 21st century?"

newliteracy.wikispaces.com

Technology vs Literacy Skills

Questions to ask yourself and your children? What are you doing about it?

E-fellow Photo Story

Resource Help/Discussions

http://rellco.wikispaces.com/Literacy+Circles

http://room8owhata.wikispaces.com