I use the literature circle for my highest group only. This group consists of gifted students who need more of a challenge and don't require the extra reading time (they spend most of their free time reading anyway), or the extra help on word work. I use the term "literature circle" loosely here. I had every intention of the students really discussing books and completing true literature circle activities. I quickly learned that without direct instruction on literature circle participation, my third graders just weren't going to be able to do it on their own. Since I am always working with small groups during their "literature circle" time, I decided to try something different.
Each week my students read a new book with me during their guided reading time on Monday. I then plan activities for the group to complete based on the book that was read. Sometimes I plan group activities and sometimes I plan individual activities. Activities have included:
*Creating a venn diagram to compare and contrast this week's book to a previous book (or characters) *Make a cause and effect flow chart *After reading a book on wacky inventions, the students brought in materials from home and inventing their own creation. *After reading a book on how different team sports were created, the students had to create their own game complete with illustrations and directions. *After reading a fictional story about space, the students researched astronauts, their training, and how they live in space. They created a PowerPoint presentation to showcase what they had learned. **The students could present this in a variety of different formats or using many different software programs. This one was just easy for my students to use without my help. *After reading the biography of Harry Houdini, I allowed the students to research magic tricks, learn one, and show it to the class.
Currently, my orange group is listening to novels on the iPods. We have a campus and district wide book competition called "Battle of the Books" (BOB). There are ten novels that are on the book list for this competition. In order to compete, each team member must read at least five of the books. I've recorded most of these novels and synced them to my classroom iPods. During literature circle time, the orange group just grabs an iPod and starts listening to the novel of their choice on the BOB playlist.