Literature Circles: Something Old, Something New

Motivating students to read is an important aspect of Reading researchers have determined that activities focusing on reader response, such as literature circles, dialogue journals, and classroom discussions are ways of connecting students' life experiences to texts, increasing understanding of texts, shaping subjectivities, and building communities of learners. Literature circles are a literature-based instructional strategy employed in literacy classrooms today as a way to encourage students to talk about literature. The concept of literature circles, including a description and an explanation of how the approach is most commonly used in classrooms today is presented, followed by the research evidence that delineates the critical benefits students received from literature circle participation. The article concludes with a brief look into literature circles for the 21st century.