Looking into literature circles

Streaming video - 2014

Book clubs are forming in classrooms everywhere, with small groups of students from kindergarten through high school leading their own lively literature discussions. This promising movement has drawn many of its key ideas and management procedures from Harvey Daniel's book, Literature circles: voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups. But teachers who are new to literature circles sometimes have questions that no book can quite answer: What do the groups look like? How do they operate? What kinds of questions do students raise when running their own discussions? What is the atmosphere in the room during literature circle meetings? And what is the teachers' role in all of this?Looking into literature circles fills that gap..., providing a window into book clubs in action. Rather than focusing on management details, this video conveys the feel, the atmosphere, the climate, and the energy of literature circles at work. About the author: Harvey "Smokey" Daniels received all of his degrees--B.A. , M.A. and Ph. D. --from Northwestern University, which finally urged him to leave campus and get a real job. He began teaching at Westinghouse Vocational High School on Chicago's West Side, later moving to Lake Forest High School. Smokey is currently on leave from National-Louis University in Chicago to work with schools and teachers around the country on literacy-centered school improvement projects. In these efforts, he serves as a guest teacher in classrooms, leads seminars and workshops for teachers, and consults with school leaders on long-term change efforts. Smokey has authored or coauthored thirteen books on language, literacy, and education. Among these are Literature circles: voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups and Teaching the best practice way. more