Traditional Lit Circles

In a traditional lit circle, students read a section of a book and write a response. They then share their responses with their group. This reflective piece is important, but can be intimidating for some students when they are put on the spot. Many students have difficulty sharing personal experiences in a group setting or may not feel comfortable as speakers. 

We do not want to replace Lit Circles, because we feel they are very valuable. However we feel that many students would benefit from the addition of some Web 2.0 applications. 

Lit Circles 2.0

Lit Circles 2.0 is traditional Lit Circles with the addition of technology. Students still read a selection of their text and respond to it. Instead of writing their response down, students have the opportunity to contribute to a lit circle blog. They can post written or video responses. Students read each other's contributions and can make comments or ask questions. They then meet in person and discuss further any questions and ideas related to the text.

Here students are posting written and video responses to the lit circle blog.

Here is a sample of students meeting in their lit circle group, discussing what they wrote, read, and thought about.

Student Video Response

Here is a sample of one kind of response a student can do on a lit circle blog:

Students can write response and post. Students can read other posts and comment. Students can comment on comments. Students can also shoot video and post that as their response. With advances in cell phones and digital cameras, many students may have easy assess to technology that enables them to create simple videos.

Benefits of using Lit Circles 2.0

Why use Lit Circles in a 2.0 version?

• it adds an instant reflective step in the lit circle's process that would otherwise not exist
• will allow for greater group connectivity at each member's convenience
• an environmental and sustainable way of learning which means NO PAPER!!!
• teaches students some information literacy skills
• helps connect parents to their child's learning and allows access to the blog which helps parents' involvement in their child's learning
• students that have difficulty sharing in a group, can still share with their group on their own terms (i.e. using a dictionary, spell checking, proofreading, and processing and reflecting time before sharing on the blog)
• discussion is more democratic in that students can share equally and defend and back up their views
• students love using technology and will be more engaged and enthusiastic to complete an assignment
  
• meets the needs of more learning styles and quieter students are given the opportunity to shine in a different learning environment