Literature circles can be structured in many different ways depending on the age of the students, the make-up of the class or grade, the background the students have and their experiences with literature.

Literature circles can be effective with the whole class reading the same text, small groups or reading with a partner.

The main goal of the literature circles is that the students will interact with the text by reading the material, exploring the text to look for questions and to generate discussions. When students work together and create their own questions and discuss issues from the text related to their own experiences, they will feel empowered in their learning.

The suggestions in this section are modeled on a small group, five to six students who are reading the same text, but the activities can be modified and used for large groups or reading partners.

All four novels are suitable for literature circles.

How to make the groups work

Students can be grouped according to:

• their reading level
• interest in the same topic or the same author.
• sign up for chosen books
• teacher assigned groups

• Students need time to meet on a regular base preferably every day.
• Let the students know ahead of time what their time frame is ( 2 weeks ax)
• Discuss the roles of the members of each group
• Discuss the Rules for working in a group.
• Assign the required activities to each group.
• Outline the expectations