Overall, I enjoyed doing literature circles. It was time to work with a small group of students on their reading and comprehension. The students were more vocal and outgoing to discuss the book than they normally are in class.
The students were very receptive to the literature. I selected The Circuit, by Francisco Jimenez. One student was familiar with the book, but had not read much of it. One student said he was going to read it for AR points next.
The students were, at first, shy to anwer, but once one student began talking the others also talked. The students were very compassionate about the character's experiences.
I really like the idea of using Literature Circles for 2nd language learners. I think students will be more comfortable reading a longer or slightly more difficult selection if they have a few partners to help if they have problems. The students got stuck on a word that was unfamiliar and had a hard time moving on. This is less likely to pose as big a problem if they're working together.
I would put students of varying levels together to see how it works. The students I had were, mostly, medium-intermediate English speaking students. I would like to see how the students work together when they are at different levels and help each other more.
I really like the book that I selected. I would advise getting literature that will be of interest to the students. The students, of course, are much more interactive when they are engaged in what they are reading. Also, if only one of the students is really interested in the literature, but the others are not then the one student may be able to make it more enjoyable for the others. That student can explain why he/she finds it interesting and potentially influence the others.
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