EDLC 632
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P : L CPATTERNS OF
RACTICE ITERATURE IRCLES
Steps
Step 1:
Books/ Text
Set
TEACHER
CANDIDATE
MICHELLE A.
TOWLES
LANGUAGE ART(S)
Reading
TEACHER GUIDE – UNIT PLAN
INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr.
Seuss – The ultimate Dr. Seuss holiday book.
This book is a heartwarming book about how
the effects of the Christmas spirit will grow
even the smallest and coldest hearts.
Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Lost Christmas!
by Alastair Heim – New York Times best
seller, this book is a sequel following Dr.
Seuss’s book “How the Grinch Stole
Christmas!”. The grinch has returned a year
after he ruined Christmas and wants to show
the residents of Who-ville he has changed and
now loves the holidays.
The Polar Express by Chris Val Allsburg –
One of the best Christmas books today. This
book is considered a classic Christmas Story
and is about a boy questioning his belief of
Santa. He boards a mysterious train late on
Christmas Eve heading for the North Pole. He
goes on a grand adventure and meets Santa.
This is a great book for kids of all ages to
bring on the Christmas spirit.
How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace – A
fun book full of rhyming words and a great
adventure. An elf is on the loose, can you
catch him? This will be a great book to tie
into an activity for the classroom.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement
C. Moore – The author originally wrote this
book for his own children. It is a classic book,
usually read on Christmas eve, but is a great
addition to a classroom to go with “How to
GRADE
3rd
Step 2:
Standards
Catch an Elf”. The story is actually a poem
and will help the students practice their
rhymes and poem knowledge as well.
Chapter Books
Stanley’s Christmas Adventure by Jeff Brown
– A great story that is funny and full of
magical adventures. Santa is fed up because
he feels no one appreciates Christmas
anymore. It is up to Stanley to persuade Santa
and save Christmas.
Who is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? by
Martha Freeman – This is a great chapter
book for intermediate readers and is full of
mystery and case solving. Each year the town
is known for its 12 houses decorated nicely.
This year things go missing, and a case must
be solved. Who is taking the decorations?
3.1 The student will use effective communication
skills in group
activities.
a)Listen attentively by making eye contact,
facing the speaker, asking questions, and
summarizing what is said.
b)Ask and respond to questions from teachers
and other group members.
c)Explain what has been learned.
d)Use language appropriate for context.
e)Increase listening and speaking vocabularies.
3.4 The student will expand vocabulary when
reading.
e) Discuss meanings of words and develop
vocabulary by listening
and reading a variety of texts.
3.5 The student will read and demonstrate
comprehension of fictional text
and poetry.
a)Set a purpose for reading.
b)Make connections between previous
experiences and reading
Step 3:
Circles (Set
up)
selections.
c)Make, confirm, or revise predictions.
d) Compare and contrast settings, characters,
and events.
e) Identify the author’s purpose.
f) Ask and answer questions about what is
read.
g) Draw conclusions about text.
h) Identify the problem and solution.
i) Identify the main idea.
j) Identify supporting details.
k) Use reading strategies to monitor
comprehension throughout the
reading process.
l) Differentiate between fiction and nonfiction.
m) Read with fluency and accuracy.
The teacher begins the class by announcing the
lesson for the day/week. The teacher will split the
class into three groups, each group containing
different books. There are seven books total which
includes five regular books, and two chapter books.
All the stories are great books for the upcoming
holiday season of Christmas. The teacher will
introduce each book in all of the groups so the
students know the different things they will be
reading in each group. The book groups are as
followed:
Circle 1 – How the Grinch Stole Christmas
and How the Grinch Lost Christmas.
Circle 2 – Polar Express, ‘Twas the Night
Before Christmas, and How to Catch and Elf
Circle 3 – Stanley’s Christmas Adventure and
Who is Stealing the 12 days of Christmas?
This lesson will be done over five days on which
days one through three students will be required to
chose a different circle each day so that all students
will be able to read and experience each group of
Step 4:
Roles
Step 5:
Schedule
Overview
Once students are in groups and roles have been
chosen, teacher will begin a 30-minute timer for
students to read.
Monday – Students choose which circle they want
books.
If any struggling student may not be able to read a
chapter book, the student/s may speak with the
teacher and make an alternate assignment
arrangement. Chapter books may be a little too
difficult for some struggling readers.
Discussion Director – Develops a list of questions
the students in the group can discuss after reading
the story. Example questions are: Who were the
different characters? What was the main idea of the
story? What was your favor part or opinion of the
story?
Summarizer – Prepares a brief summary of story
that was read.
Connector – Finds connections between the story
read and the real world/classroom.
Illustrator – Draws a picture of the main focus in
each story. Make sure this summarizes what
happened during the story.
Vocabulary Wizard – Writes down any unfamiliar
words that may need further clarification. Works
together with others to use context clues to
understand the meanings of those difficult words
throughout the story.
Reader – If needed, one person can be chosen to
read the story while others follow along and listen
while doing their given jobs.
Step 7:
Assessment
Step 6:
Group
Discussions/
Meetings
to join, they read the story along with
accomplishing their individual jobs.
Tuesday – Students are required to choose a
different circle than Monday to try new books, jobs
will be chosen, and the story will be completed.
Wednesday – Students will join the circle they
have not yet done and read the books within the
circle. They will choose their roles and complete
stories.
Thursday – As a class the teacher will review each
book the students read including the chapter books.
One book will be chosen for the teacher to read
aloud. The teacher will choose different students
for the roles and read the story.
Friday – Teacher will do a final quick review, ask
students if there are any questions, then students
will complete an assessment.
Students will work together as a team to discuss the
findings throughout their given roles. While
students are participating in their circles, the
teacher will walk around and observe/join each
circle for a very short period of time to see how
discussions are going amongst the students.
Students will have a form to fill out for each book
for their role to show their understanding of the
story. This can be used to assist each other during
group discussions.
On Friday the teacher will give each student their
assessment sheet. They will get one for each story
to fill out to check the comprehension of each story.
The students will be able to complete the
assessment with a 90% accuracy to be able to
successfully complete the unit.
The teacher will also collect the story role forms
from all students to look over and return.
NOTES
ASSESSMENTStory Role Recording Sheet
References
Allsburg, C. V. (2010). The Polar Express. United Kingdom: Anderson Press.
Brown, J. (2017). Stanley’s Christmas Adventure. United Kingdom: Farshore.
DOE. (2010). English Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Retrieved from Virginia
Department of Education:
https://vdoe.prod.govaccess.org/home/showdocument?id=34964&t=63054101804406115
Dr. Seuss. (2013). How the Grinch Stole Christmas! United States: Random House Children’s Books.
Freeman, M. (2008) Who Is Stealing the 12 Days of Christmas? United States: Holiday House,
Incorporated.
Heim, A. (2023). Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Lost Christmas! United States: Random House Children’s
Books.
Moore, C. C. (2021). ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas! United States: ABRAMS.
Wallace, A. (2016). How to Catch and Elf. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks.
