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Lesson Planning

The following materials were a linchpin for building routines around our reading circles.  These resources were developed in good faith to access a wide range of experiences and promote a high level engagement.  Furthermore, they more closely hewed to California standards around active and collaborative discourse (CCSS SL.7.1).

Question Prompts

Each student had the floor for 2-3 minutes to discuss what they’d read for the week.  Other students were allowed to ask questions or make observations during this time, but the goal was to feature one title/student for the duration.  Tables were designated to start the rotation, and students were prompted to start with their “A-B-Cs.”  The first two questions were revisited week after week to develop a habit for reflection, but the final question was often tailored to align with other content goals for the week.

That's a good question.

Sentence Starters

Similarly, students were provided a bank of question prompts and sentence starters to buoy the conversation as needed.  These tried to be as open-ended as possible to provide flexibility across genres and text formats (e.g., non-fiction titles).

Aha! So what you're saying is...

Lesson Plan

Click the button to start planning your own reading circles!  Of course, adjustments will always need to be made to meet the needs and temperament of your students, but I've include some helpful tips and observations that guided me along the way.  This helped us integrate our independent reading within the ongoing curriculum, as well as promote a habitual space where students lead the conversation!

Sample Lesson

HOW-TOs

ASSESSMENT

REFERENCES