Literature Circles in Grand Rapids, MI

Last week, I went to visit Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My colleague from our NY studio, Matt, joined me there to film a class of 6th-grade students working together in literature circles. What I witnessed was amazing! First of all, EVERY student was on task. They worked in four groups. Three of the groups listened to the audio and followed along with the print. The fourth group read the book aloud. Then each group would stop and discuss their book using their role cards. I was so impressed by the discussions going on. I heard students say things like, "This book reminds me of another book ..." or "What happened to that character was like something that happened to me." They debated and they shared. These students were PLUGGED-IN! The teacher, Rosanne Wahl, was phenomenal. She told us that in the beginning, she was nervous about the literature circles because she liked to have control of the class. Once she got going, though, she was pleased to see that the literature circles allowed her time to focus on the needs of each student. She saw the progression of her students. They went from depending on the role sheets to being able to take on a role without even looking at their cards. She clearly taught these students "how to." At the end of the class, Rosanne asked her students what strategies they were using. Hands shot up into the air! The answers were incredible: "I used text-to-text connections ... I used text-to-world connections ... We used compare and contrast ... I used visualization." I have no doubt that these students will go on to be life-long readers. What a great trip!