In a past blog post I've written about how to set up and implement literature circles. You can find that blog post here. I also have a product in my Teachers Pay Teachers store that will give you every lesson, graphic organizer, and more that you need to set up literature circles in your classroom. You can find this product by clicking here.
What I haven't blogged about or addressed in the past though in regards to literature circles is what books to use with your middle school students when doing literature circles. Below you will find how I go about giving choice to students when rolling out a new literature circle, and some text sets around common threads that I would recommend.
Step One: Pick a common thread. The text set that you select should contain 5-6 books. All of the books should have something in common so that regardless of which book each student is reading, you will still be able to continue with whole class reading minilessons that would apply to any of the books. This common thread could be a specific genre, author, time period, topic, or theme.
Step Two: Expose students to the books I like to expose students to 6 book choices and then select the 5 most popular books to ultimately use for the literature circles. Sometimes I give book talks on each of the books, other times I show book trailers. Another option is to put students into small groups of 6, give each group one copy of each of the book choices, and set the timer for 2-3 minutes for students to read, page through, and explore each of the book choices.
Step Three: Have students label their top choice with a 1 and their last choice with a 6. From there, you will be able to sift through to see what the five most popular book choices were and put students into small groups. I like having 5 small groups of literature circles so that I can meet with each group for their literature circle discussion one day each week.
Step Four: Distribute books and have students set up a reading plan with their small groups.
Step Five: Give students 2-3 days to begin reading their books, and then begin your weekly meetings with each literature circles group.
Below I have prepared five different sets of books that could potentially be used for middle school literature circles.
This set of books all contains a book that has been turned into a movie. After your class finishes reading their literature circle books, you can have students watch the movie version of their book and write a book to movie compare and contrast paper.
Set Two: First Book in a Series
One of the best ways to get your students to become readers is to hook them into a series where after they finish the first book, they can just pick up the next and keep going. Using literature circles to introduce students to series they will love will create students addicted to reading.
Set Three: Understanding Each Other
In the world we live in today, it's more important than ever before for students to understand each other. Differences should be embraced, and as a classroom teacher, you can make a difference when it comes to bullying and intolerance. By engaging students in these life-changing books and having conversations in small groups, you will be amazed at the transformation in how your class treats one another.
Set Four: Coming of Age
Each book in this set holds a dear place in my heart. The main characters in all of these books must overcome life circumstances and come out on the other side, changed forever.
Set Five: Poetry
If you want to do a quick literature study at the beginning of the year or want to squeeze in a short one at the end, then this text set of books written in verse is perfection. This text set would also be the perfect complement to a poetry writing unit.