Discussion Ideas for Literature Circle Meetings

Keep Ponyboy, Darry, Dally, and all the other characters straight in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders by taking down notes on the graphic organizer provided here. Also included are discussion questions for before and after reading that you...

Split the class into two groups for a fishbowl discussion using of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee. The first group initiates the conversation by reviewing the important points of Chapter thirteen while group two members are listening,...

How far do your pupils think we should go in the name of science? Class members respond to questions relating to chapter three of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science and then participate in a four corners...

Get the most out of a class reading of Avi's Crispin: The Cross of Lead with this literature circle resource. Based on Bloom's Taxonomy, these questions help young readers find meaning in this award-winning novel. Additional hands-on...

As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...

Looking to set up literature circles in your class? Use these materials to support pupils when they meet in groups. Pupils take on various roles over the course of reading and meet with their groups to share the work they have done on...

Skilled readers can find the main idea of an informative passage without finding it directly stated. A reading video prompts elementary learners to examine supporting details in several examples, and to infer what the main idea of the...

Use narrative writing techniques to understand idea development and voice. The class reads Marshfield Dreams by Ralph Fletcher, and then practices authentic writing for standardized tests by writing a personal narrative.

First things first. Before writing a personal narrative, young authors must plan out a sequence of events to include in the story. Learners accomplish this by imagining their topic as a movie playing in their mind's eye, moving...

By sharing a summary about their favorite book or movie, your young readers can then discuss the main ideas of their beloved stories. The concept transitions to finding the main idea in poetry. Class members use textual clues in various...