Day 91: 2/7/25 - Intro to Literature Circles & Harry Potter

Homeroom:

          Good Morning. Please sit at your house table &  use this time to get ready for your day.

Do Now:

1. Check that your homework is done
2. Make sure you have all your materials
3. Sharpen pencils

12:10 Dismissal Schedule

8:50 - 8:58         Homeroom/Breakfast

9:00 - 9:27         Block 1

9:30 - 9:57          Block 2

10:00 - 10:27     Block 3

10:30 - 11:00     Block 4

11:00 - 11:30      Lunch

11:36 - 12:01        Specials

12:10                    Dismissal 

ELA Learning Target:    

Today we will learn about literature circles and prepare to read Harry Potter.

Do Now:

• Empty out your ELA Folder
• Write down your independent work
• Pick up a copy of the Title page for Unit 3, a copy of the Hero's Journey, and a glue stick

Independent Work:

• Read the Hero's Journey

To do List:

• Glue in title page and make tab
• Glue in the Hero's Journey
• Glue in Lit Circle Reading Assignments Page
• Glue in Overview of Roles (2 Pages)
• How do Literature Circles work? 
• Day 1 - Reading Day
• Start by reading the chapter (Usually out loud or in small groups)
• While we read out loud, you complete your Lit Circle job
• Finish Lit Circle job independently
• Day 2 - Lit Circle Discussion & Competition Day
• Lit Circle Job Check (Score 1 - 4)
• Engage your group in a discussion about your specific job.
• Participate in Duels:
• The 45 Second Summary Challenge
• The Hero's Journey Challenge
• The Best Question Challenge
• Review the Overview of Roles For Lit Circle Jobs
• Pass out books
• Read Hero's Journey

What are Literature Circles?

Literature circles are a way to collaborate, discuss, and share our ideas about a text. Each member of the group has a different job or role.

The Rules for Lit. Circle Discussions:

1. While we read each chapter you will be expected to complete your job for that chapter. Each member of the group will have a different job, and the jobs will rotate each chapter so you will never have the same job twice in a row.
2. If we do not finish reading a chapter in class it will be your responsibility to finish the reading, and complete your job independently. 
3. At the start of each class the following day you will engage in a literature circle discussion about the reading. 
4. The Discussion Director is in charge. They lead the conversation. 
5. You will take turns sharing, and engaging the rest of your group in a discussion about your topic/job.

The Order for Sharing:
1. The Summarizer
2. The Character Captain
3. The Vocabulary Enricher 
4. The Conflict Evaluator 
5. The Discussion Director

• When you share it is your job to get the rest of the group involved in the discussion. DO NOT JUST READ!
• USE QUESTIONS TO ENGAGE THE REST OF YOUR GROUP MEMBERS! 
• Summarizer - What would you include in a summary? Why? What next? etc. Put the events in order. What are the most relevant details of this chapter? What's the main idea? (USE YOUR BOOK)
• Character Captain - What character do you want to talk about? What did they do, say, think, feel, etc? What did we learn about this character? Who were the most important characters? How did they impact the story? 
• Vocab Enricher - Pick a word. Take your group to the page. Have someone read the sentence. Ask, "What do you guys think this word means?" After everyone takes a guess, share the definition at the end. REPEAT! 
• Conflict Evaluator - What conflicts did you identify in this chapter? Why was this a conflict? How does this conflict impact the story?
• Discussion Director - Read the questions that you have already prepared. You can also ask the three questions below.
1. A Lightbulb Moment!!! - Did anything stand out to you?
2. A Question Mark - Is there anything you didn't understand? Perhaps something that you would want JK Rowling to explain?
3. A Connection - What did you learn (about yourself) from this chapter?

What is the 45 Second Summary Challenge?

In this challenge you will work with the members of your house to write a summary of the chapter. You will have 12 minutes to write. Each person will write their own summary in their notebooks. Your summaries can be exactly the same, or you can write them in your own words.  

Each house will then choose a representative to read their summary out loud. The representatives from each house will have just 45 seconds to read their summary. I will act as the impartial judges and award points for the best summaries based on the criteria below.

The summary will be written on the page right next to your Lit Circle job. (We will set this page up together) 

Your summaries should include:

• 2 Pts - The main idea 
• 6 Pts - The most relevant details
• 2 Pts - Your reflection (Your own thoughts about the events of the chapter)
• 10 Points Total

As you are working I will come around to provide you with support. I might ask you questions like:

• What does your summary need to start with?
• Have you written the main idea?
• What did you write for your main idea?
• What details are you including?
• Why are those details important or relevant?
• Have you used any transitional words to connect your thoughts and sentences? 
• Are there any places where you should use transitional words or phrases.
• What are your thoughts on the events of the chapter? (reflection)
• What do you think about what you read? 
• How do these events show that Harry is a literary hero?
• Capitals, Periods, Grammar, & Sentence Structure

YOU WILL BE EXPECTED TO FOLOW THE RULES OF WRITING. 

• Indent the first sentence
• All other lines are lined up on the margin line
• Words go on the line
• Put spaces between your words
• Proper capitalization
• Punctuation
• Spelling matters (You should not be spelling words from the book incorrectly, especially character's names)
• Neatness

How will I earn points for my Hogwarts House?

Points are at the discretion of the judge but here is an approximation of how the points might work out.

1st Place = 30 pts

2nd Place = 20 pts

3rd Place = 10 pts

4th Place = 5 pts

As we get farther into the unit, the point values will go up.

How will I be individually evaluated?

Your summaries will regularly be written in your notebook as practice. However, three times throughout the unit (Chapters 5, 10, & 15) your summaries will be handed in digitally through google classroom as a quiz grade so I can formally assess your writing. 

What is Best Question?

• When we play "Best Question" your classroom teacher acts as the judge. 
• Each house picks 1 representative to read the question they think is best, and then the student leads the discussion. 
• After all 3 houses have led the discussion for their question the teacher will award house points for the question they think is best.
• The points are entirely up to the teacher, and they may choose to award more or less points based on the strength of your questions.
• Some days all Houses will earn points, while other days only one house might earn points. It all depends on you and the quality of your efforts.