Teaching With Books of Choice: A New Kind of Literature Circle

The Next Generation ELA Standards open many doors to encourage students to become lifelong readers. As educators, we know the importance of choice in reading material to get students actively engaged. This workshop will demonstrate a new kind of discussion-based reading assessment, one that draws from Socratic Seminar, Literature Circles, and Book Clubs. Students choose to read a book from a list of quality contemporary and classic literature and then participate in a structured conversation leading to an understanding of universal themes. The unique feature of the Books of Choice Circles is that the students have all read different books. Also included will be poetry, editorials, and informational articles.

Target audience: English Language Arts, Reading, and Special Education teachers, grades 6-12.