Customer Reviews

Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom

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Harvey Daniels' book, Literature Circles, allowed me to start lit. circles in my classroom. I never would have tried this cutting edge educational technique without his book. He gives advice and worksheets, but also lets real teachers talk for themselves and how it works in their classrooms. The book also details, through real life examples, how lit. circles can work in the K-12 curriculum of any classroom, and in any school. This is an excellent book for lit. circle beginners.

In this book, Harvey Daniels provides a step-by-step approach to implementing Literature Circles in any classroom. After experimenting with many different approaches to book discussion groups, I found this book and everything just fell into place! My students were very enthusiastic when I began to implement the techniques described by Harvey Daniels. I was amazed to see them discuss books with such excitement and genuine interest. They enjoyed choosing books according to their interests and leading their own discussion groups. I have recommended this book to many teachers since I discovered it last year. It is the most comprehensive and well-written book I have found on the topic of Literature Circles.

This easy to read book provided me with the perfect jumping off place for a student centered reading program. Lit. Circles have been easy to start and manage...and best of all ALL of my readers love them. This is a must read for all teachers

A tremendous help if you are considering introducing lit circles into your reading program. Especially important were templates for discussion group roles and a most helpful FAQ section. This book is all you need to get started. Easy to understand and implement.

After years of struggling with lit circles, I checked this book out from my new school's library. I didn't have to read the whole thing to find what I needed -- a really great step-by-step guide on how to implement lit circles into my classroom while still maintaining good classroom management. I used Daniels' techniques in a third grade class and it went very well. I was very impressed.

Excellent book on how to implement literature circles in your classroom. Lots of room for personal choice in how to implement, and also targets various grade levels. Examples from classrooms are provided.

2009 Wisconsin State Reading Association conference. Harvey Daniels himself told me in person NOT to buy this version of the book because it contains errors, things he regrets are circulating among educators. He said absolutely to buy the newer edition, the one with the dark pink cover. Here's the link: Literature Circles

This book, along with William Zinsser's Writing To Learn, provides great tools for a teacher's toolbox. Student voice and choice, according to research, results in better PROCESS and PRODUCT. Daniels is a practitioner--not merely a theorist--and his book shows this to be true as he provides practical, hands-on approaches to using literature circles in the classroom. These alternatives to "drill-and-skill" and "stand-and-deliver" approaches will result in renewed learning that will increase student engagement and motivation. Yes, your classroom will have to be student-centered to use these strategies. It might be a little noisier...and much more engaging.

Glenn Drysdale

This book was a great help as I started to use literature circles in my classroom. I think the concept would be great to use at any level. I visualize a language/science or language/social studies team teaching where the classes work together using this method. I had great success in my classroom with my fourth graderts. We had great discussion and enthusiasm for reading.