Customer Reviews

Getting Started With Literature Circles (Bill Harp Professional Teachers Library)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am new at starting Literature Circles in my classroom, and this book gave me very practical suggestions that I could implement right away. I especially liked the examples given of charts that a teacher could use in his or her classroom. The book gives hints all the way from focus lessons and good books to begin with, to ideas for reading responses. A reader can take this book and go step by step in creating Literature Circles for his or her students. It was one of the most helpful books on this subject that I have read.

I have been using various approaches to Literature Circles for about 7 years, and this is one of the best books I've read on the subject. Instead of teaching one specific technique, the authors present a variety of methods for implementing Literature Circles. Many of the strategies were new to me, and all of them were very practical and appear easy to implement. One theme that runs through the book is the need to find out what works in your classroom. The companion book, Literature Circle Resource Guide, is also extremely useful as it provides many time-saving forms and handouts. I can't wait to start using these strategies in my classroom.

I was disappointed in the book. I came away with a few parctical suggestions, but a 5 page essay could have given me the gist. The rest of the book was repetitious and superfcial.Having mentioned something important, for instance, lke evaluating the readability of a book, they then simply referred the reader another book. The authors seemed to spend time every chapter stating that how a teacher uses their information will depend a great deal on the teacher and his/her students. Of course it does. Just say it once. It was almost as if they were hedging their bets. Compare this to a literacy book written by Lucy Caulkins and it really seems elementary.

This is the best book on how to implement literature circles in your classroom. I have read every book out there on literature circles plus every article published on literature circles and this still is my absolutely favorite resource. I have used if for 10 years in my college courses and my students (classroom teachers) have said it was easy, practical and a quick read. Kindergarten through eighth grade teachers will gain exactly how to do literature circles from other classroom teachers. Each chapter closes with a simple checklist and things to do. There are photographs, figures and tables throughout that are helpful.

I completely disagree with one of the reviewers comments which spurred me to write. Don't waste your money buying any other book on literature circles.