Writer's Workshops and Literature Circles.

When I was in elementary school, I do not remember participating in writer's workshops or in literature circles. I remember doing the Accelerated Reader program and keeping a journal. We had to go home every night and write something in our journal. Sometimes we would have a prompt and at other times, we could have a free write.

However, I do remember the literature circle I participated in in EDU 255. I really enjoyed doing the literature circle because I really liked being able to switch roles each week and report back with something new from the story. The literature circle allowed me to better understand the book because I could hear other people's viewpoints and if I didn't understand something, most likely one of my group members did and could explain it to me. I loved doing the project with my group at the end of the literature circle because I liked hearing about all of the other books that the groups had and I also liked telling others about the book I read.

I think that literature circles are a very good element to add to the classroom. It allows students to work in groups and it also helps them become more tolerant of others. Literature circles are extremely fun, and for a student who doesn't really like to read, literature circles help make reading more interesting.