Reading Circles

• newEditor
• Engels
• Secundair onderwijs
• Technisch secundair onderwijs
• Economie en organisatie
• Leerjaar 7

Reading Circles

You will learn to…

• explain how a Reading Circle works;

• understand your role and its responsibilities;

• prepare your role using information from the story;

• share your ideas clearly with your group;

• listen, respond and contribute to a discussion in English.

Reading circles

What?

Reading longer texts + discussing them in groups

several circles/school year

preparation = homework (not BZW)

How to prepare?

each student / different role

• discussion leader

• summarizer

• connector

• word master

• passage person

• (culture collector)

The Discussion Leader's job is to... 

1. read the story twice, and prepare at least five general questions about it. 

2. ask one or two questions to start the Reading Circle discussion. 

3. make sure that everyone has a chance to speak and joins in the discussion. 

4. call on each member to present their prepared role information. 

5. guide the discussion and keep it going. 

The Summarizer's job is to ... 

1. read the story and make notes about the characters, events, and ideas. 

2. find the key points that everyone must know to understand and remember the story. 

3. retell the story in a short summary (one or two minutes) in your own words. 

4. talk about your summary to the group, using your writing to help you.

The Connector's job is to ... 

1. read the story twice, and look for connections between the story and the world outside. 

2. make notes about at least two possible connections to your own experiences, or to the experiences of friends and family, or to real-life events. 

3. tell the group about the connections and ask for their comments or questions. 

4. ask the group if they can think of any connections themselves.

The Word Master's job is to ... 

1. read the story, and look for words or short phrases that are new or difficult to understand, or that are important in the story. 

2. choose five words (only five) that you think are important for this story. 

3. explain the meanings of these five words in simple English to the group. 

4. tell the group why these words are important for understanding this story.

The Passage Person's job is to ... 

1. read the story, and find important, interesting, or difficult passages. 

2. make notes about at least three passages that are important for the plot, or that explain the characters, or that have very interesting or powerful language. 

3. read each passage to the group, or ask another group member to read it. 

4. ask the group one or two questions about each passage.

The Culture Collector's job is to ... 

1. read the story, and look for both bre differences and similarities between your own culture and the culture found in the story. 

2. make notes about two or three passages that show these cultural points. 

3. read each passage to the group, or ask another group member to read it. 

4. ask the group some questions about these, and any other cultural points in the story.

Role sheet examples

Groups/Roles

1. Ali - Summarizer

2. Sam - Connector

3. Vince - Discussion Leader

4. Yliana - Word Master

5. Larissa - Passage Person

1. Mert - Summarizer

2. Ahmad - Connector

3. Farah - Discussion Leader

4. Yassemine - Word Master

5. Milan - Passage Person

1. T-Jay - Summarizer

2. Emmelie - Connector

3. Jamie - Discussion Leader

4. Kwinten - Word Master

5. Elisa - Passage Person

Read the story - The Horse of Death

Prepare your role by Thursday September 24th