52 Science and Children

Ideas and techniques to enhance your science teaching

Literature Circles for ScienceMini book clubs enrich student discussion and increase student understanding of a wide range of science texts.

A ll science learning expe-riences, from hands-on inquiry to textbook-based

learning, are enhanced if students are motivated and engaged in pur-poseful discussion. We’ve found a way to encourage this—with literature circles, a popular reading strategy that emphasizes student interest and conversation.

Literature circles are similar to your monthly book club meeting, except students need not all read the same book, and each partici-pant takes on a specific, rotating role—everyone comes to the group with notes needed to perform that job (Daniels 1994). Several of these roles have become staples of literature circles, including: Ques-tioner, Literary Luminary, Illustra-tor, Summarizer, Researcher, Word Wizard, and Scene Setter. There have been creative adaptations of these roles to extend their applica-tion to other disciplines, including science (see Figures 1–3 for role descriptions). The primary goal of literature circle roles is to promote meaningful student participation in small-group discussion. Here’s how to get started.

Promoting Meaningful DiscussionGroup meetings aim to be open, natural conversations about books; personal connections, digressions, and open-ended questions are wel-

By William Straits and Sherry Nichols

come (Daniels 1994). It is important to make this explicit to students and to teach them how to have a produc-tive discussion. Brainstorming with students often leads to a complete listing of discussion etiquette. When appropriately involved in discussion, students are focused, us-ing good posture and eye contact; active, responding verbally and nonverbally to others; questioning, asking for clarification; respectful, talking one at a time, responding positively, and encouraging oth-ers to contribute; and constructive, expanding on the ideas of others, disagreeing politely, and support-ing ideas with information from the text (Hill, Schlick Noe, and Johnson

2001). It’s also productive to provide students with prompts for con-tributing to the conversation. Hill, Schlick Noe, and Johnson (2001, p. 34) encourage teachers to offer the following discussion starters and post these cues for easy student reference during discussion:

• “I’d like to add….• “I disagree because…• “I agree because…• “I don’t understand what you

mean by… and • “I’m confused about…”

Literature circle discussions are prompted and guided by partici-pants’ roles but are not limited to

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simply reading from role sheets. The suggested roles are meant to enrich conversations, not delineate them. Reviewing role sheets as well as observing discussion can serve as a means for assessing students’ preparation for and participation in group discussions.

Two Kinds of Literature Circles There are two primary ways to organize literature circles: topic-focused and text-focused. Roles common to both topic-centered and text-centered circles include Discussion Director, Illustrator, Summarizer, and Passage Master (see Figure 1).

In topic-focused reading groups, students identify topics of interest; students with common interest form a literature circle. Group members read different books all related to the common topic (e.g., sharks, the tropical rain forest, electricity, etc.).

A major benefit of topic-focused discussions is that the books, like the students who choose them, do not have to be on the same reading level. Students can read at their own levels about topics of interest and then actively contribute to the group discussion—involvement is not limited by reading ability. Con-trary to what labels suggest, “lower- level” readers are no “lower” than others in their ability to amass great stores of information from various sources and effectively share this information. Roles such as Science Translator, Science Bi-ographer, and Fact Finder (Figure 2) are helpful in this type of circle to guide students toward greater science learning. These roles are

Figure 1.

Roles common to both topic-centered and text-centered literature circles.Discussion Director: As you read, write ideas or questions that your group might want to discuss.

Illustrator:Draw a picture about something you read or something that the book made you think of.

Summarizer: Your job is to write the main ideas in the reading.

Passage Master:Your job is to locate a few special sections of the reading that are interesting, confusing, funny, or important.

Figure 2.

Roles for topic-centered literature circles.Science Translator: As you read, look for new science words. Write the page number, the word, and the definition. Share your findings with the group.

Science Biographer: As you read about different people doing science, write their names. Then use the library and internet to find more information about that person. Share your findings with the group.

Fact Finder: Find out information about the ideas in the book. You can use other books and the internet to find out more information.

Figure 3.

Roles for text-centered literature circles.Word Wizard: As you read look for new words, especially science words. Write the page number, the word, and the definition. Share your findings with the group.

Everyday Life Connector: Your job is to find links between events, ideas, characters, objects, etc., in the read-ing and those that are part of our current, everyday lives.

Science Sleuth: Find out information about the science ideas in the book. You can use other books and the internet to find out more information.

54 Science and Children

specifically designed to encourage students to explore and discuss together the meaning of science vocabulary, the lives of scientists, and science content.

In text-focused groups, each group member reads the same student-selected book. Teach-ers present a group of books for students to choose from, but stu-dents still get to make a choice. And, the book does not always have to be nonfiction. Some fic-tion books with science themes make good springboards to sci-ence learning because narrative texts encourage students to form deep connections with the text as they vicariously step into charac-ter roles.

Identifying with characters in-creases students’ motivation to ex-plore topics encountered in the text. Books such as Judy Moody Saves the World (McDonald 2002), Julie of the Wolves (George 1972), Island of the Blue Dolphins (O’Dell 1971), and The Same Stuff as Stars (Paterson 2004) can be used to generate inter-est in and expand understanding of science topics. Additionally, the Magic Tree House series (Osborne 1992–2006) includes fictional stories with nonfiction companion texts. Reading fiction and related nonfic-tion texts in tandem can encourage greater student exploration of sci-ence concepts related to the adven-tures of fictional characters with whom students identify. Specific

roles, such as Everyday Life Con-nector, Word Wizard, and Science Sleuth can be used to focus discus-sion on the science included in the story (see Figure 3, page 53).

Sharing With the ClassUpon completion of the text, students in each literature circle collaborate to design a creative presentation representing their understanding of the topics/texts explored. These final presentations take on many forms (Figure 4). For example, after reading and sharing information about sharks, your stu-dents may want to role-play a trial with prosecuting attorneys depict-ing sharks as cold-blooded killers with as many as 3,000 serrated teeth, and defense attorneys informing the jury (classmates) that less than 10% of all shark species are known to attack humans. Different witnesses might include a seal, a whale shark, and a marine biologist.

The presentations are intended to achieve three goals. First, pre-sentations require students to organize information in unique ways. As such they serve as oppor-tunities for higher-level learning, demanding students synthesize a representation of their learning quite different from the text(s) and discussion which served as sources of information. Second, presenta-tions provide an opportunity for assessment. Depending on the students’ intentions, the text(s) read, and your own goals, differ-ent criteria can be used to evaluate student learning as represented by the presentations. While certainly the breadth, depth, and accuracy of science content included in pre-

Figure 4.

Presentation ideas.

• Performances of a “lost scene” from the book;• A sequel to the story;• Videotaped dramatizations;• A time line of the story;• Reader-on-the-street interviews (live or videotaped);• A new ending for the book;• An original skit based on the book;• An advertising campaign for the book;• An impersonation of a character from the book (in costume, with props);• An interview with the author (real or fictionalized);• The story rewritten for younger kids as a picture book;• A news broadcast reporting events from the book;• A gravestone and eulogy for a character; • A puppet show about the book;• A map representing a character’s journey—illustrating important events,

settings, and themes;• A CD cover, including cover art, list of songs, lyrics, liner notes, etc.; and• An “ABC Book” focusing on key events, characters, ideas, and

information from the book.

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1996. National science education standards. Washington, DC: Na-tional Academy Press.

Nystrand, M., and A. Gamoran. 1997. The big picture: The language of learning in dozens of English les-sons. In Opening dialogue: Under-standing the dynamics of language and learning in the English class-room, ed. M. Nystrand, 30–74. New York: Teachers College Press.

O’Dell, S. 1990. Island of the blue dolphins. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Osborne, M.P. 1992–2006. Magic Tree House book series. New York. Ran-dom House.

Paterson, K. 2002. The same stuff as stars. Boston, MA: Clarion/Hough-ton Mifflin.

Schlick Noe, K.L. 2004. Extension projects. Seattle University, The Literature Circle Resource Center website: http://fac-staff.seattleu.edu/ksch lnoe/web/Li tC i r c l e s/ Extension/extension.html.

http://science.nsta.org/earlyyearsblog.

Visit The Early Years Blog!

Discuss primary-level science with fellow educators at

sentations can be assessed, other objectives such as oral and written communication skills, cooperation and teamwork, and artistic expres-sion and creativity may also be im-portant and should be considered during assessment.

Finally, the presentations can arouse the interest of other students in the topics/texts presented. After the presentations, students can choose new topics/texts, form new groups, and begin another round of literature circles.

A Natural LinkThe link between literature circles and inquiry science is natural. Con-sider the best practices in a literature circles classroom, which include asking authentic, open-ended ques-tions; incorporating students’ words and ideas into classroom discourse; responding positively to student responses; and using students’ responses to further discussions (Nystrand and Gamoran 1997). These practices mirror quality in-quiry science classroom practice. While emphasizing science ideas included in either expository or narrative texts, inquiry science ac-tivities can readily be linked to read-ing topics. A key benefit is that the reading and performing of science in tandem more accurately reflects how science is actually conducted. Moreover, with this integration, student interest snowballs; reading generates curiosity in science, and doing science promotes enthusiasm for reading.

William Straits (wstraits@csulb.edu) is an assistant professor in the Department of Science

Education at California State University, Long Beach in Long Beach, California. Sherry Nichols ( s n i c h o l s @ b a m a e d . u a . e d u ) is an associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University o f A l a b a m a i n Tu s c a l o o s a , Alabama.

ResourcesDaniels, H. 1994. Literature circles: Voice

and choice in book clubs and reading groups. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

George, J.C. 1972. Julie of the wolves. New York: HarperTrophy.

Hill, B.C., K.L. Schlick Noe, and N.J. Johnson. 2001. Literature circles resource guide: Teaching suggestions, forms, sample book lists, and data-base. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.

McDonald, M. 2002. Judy Moody saves the world. Cambridge, MA: Candle-wick Press.

National Research Council (NRC).