Classroom Lesson Plan: Small Literature Groups

Teacher: Joe Bernhart, Fondren Middle School, Houston, Texas

Mr. Bernhart's lesson plan is also available as a PDF file. See Materials Needed, below, for links to student activity sheets related to the lesson.

Grade Level: Seventh

Topic: Response to Literature in Small Book Groups

Materials Needed:

• Small sets of books
• Baskets to store group texts, writer's notebooks, etc.
• Writer's notebooks
• Assorted art supplies
• Student activity sheets
  • Be as Smart as an Owl (discussion questions)
  • OWL Log
  • Foreshadowing: A Mini Lesson
  • Book Project

Background Information:
Students will participate in book groups of four to five students each. Each group will select its own book to read from a list of ten young adult novels. Students are expected to read books aloud, discuss them, write letters to a "Book Buddy" — a student in another class who is reading the same text — and produce a culminating project representing the mini-lesson concepts, characters, and themes of the literature. Students will use their writer's notebooks to become focused for the day's lesson and to express themselves creatively.

Lesson Objectives:
Students will:

• discuss and write about literature through peer interaction.
• develop deeper understanding of the works they read.
• enjoy and care about the literature they read.
• support one another in peer groups, as they seek their own meaning of literature.
• create original projects that demonstrate mastery of literate skills.
• engage in critical literacies within a meaningful social context.

Expected Products From Lesson:

• Completed student activity sheet: OWL Log
• Book Buddy letters
• Completed student activity sheet: Foreshadowing: A Mini-Lesson
• Culminating student book project
• Entries in writer's notebooks

Instructional Strategies Implemented:

• Peer support
• Collaborative discussions
• Student ownership of learning
• Teacher facilitation, guidance, and feedback
• Mini-lesson

Collaborative Structure of Class:
Student desks are arranged in small groups of four to five students each. Each heterogeneous group is student-centered, in which students are asked to monitor their own progress and learning throughout each process required in the book groups.

Lesson Procedures/Activities:
A variety of activities will take place over time, depending on where students and books groups are in the process. Some of the activities will include:

• reading books aloud.
• discussing literature.
• writing about literature.
• applying literary concepts learned in mini-lessons.
• creating book projects.
• presenting projects.

Follow-Up Activities or Culminating Activities:
Each group will create a book project representing their understanding of the literature. Upon completion, students will present their projects to the class.

Assessment:
On a daily basis, students may be evaluated through:

• OWL logs.
• participation.
• Book Buddy letters.
• projects.
• application of mini-lesson literature concepts.

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