Reading Assignment and Role Planner

Literature Circles

Use this planner to prepare for each literature circle meeting.

Roles

Journal

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

Predictor: every meeting

Questioner: every meeting
Specific Role:

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Reading
Assignment

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Meeting
Date

Name:
Book Title:
Author:
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What will you do when you are Discussion Leader next time?
Write your notes below.

Journal Discussion Leader

What I liked and would do again

During the Literature Circle, your job is to keep the

discussion going and to make sure everyone has a chance
to share ideas.

Begin the discussion with questions like these:

Will the Summarizer please tell what the selection is mostly about?
Who wants to share a prediction?
Who has a question to share?
Ask students with different roles to share their ideas.
Will the Skill Master for Compare and Contrast please share ideas?
Now its the Wordsmiths turn. Which words did you choose?

What I would change next time

Wrap up the discussion with questions like these:

Do you have any more questions to discuss?
Lets decide what well read next. Which pages of the selection will
we choose?
What predictions do you have about the next part?
After you lead the discussion, tell about your job.
I knew what to do most of
the time.

S
 ometimes I wasnt sure
what to do.

E
 veryone had a chance to
participate.

S
 ome members did not
participate.

I called on everyone who

had a role.

S
 ome students with roles
did not share ideas.

I thought the discussion

was fun.

I did not think the

discussion was fun.

I helped the group plan for

the next meeting.

T
 he meeting ended before
we planned for the next one.

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Discussion Leader student journal

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Questions to ask the teacher

Prediction

Journal Predictor

Prediction

The predictor role is for all readers. In this role, you predict
by making connections with what you already know and
the selection.

Clues or evidence to support it

Before you read, preview the selection. Think about the title,
pictures, headings, charts, and other clues. Use them to make
predictions about the topic, characters, and key ideas.

Revision or change to the prediction

As you read, you may find information that is different from

what you expected. Then you need to revise your prediction.
After you read, ask Was my prediction correct, incorrect, or
partially correct?

Was the prediction correct, incorrect, or partially correct? Why?

Record your predictions below.

Prediction
Prediction

Prediction
Prediction

Clues or evidence to support it

Clues or evidence to support it

Revision or change to the prediction

Was the prediction correct, incorrect, or partially correct? Why?
Was the prediction correct, incorrect, or partially correct? Why?

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Predictor student journal

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Revision or change to the prediction

Record Questions, Continued

Journal Questioner

Questions after reading

Answers

The questioner role is for all readers. In this role, you ask
questions to understand the selection better.

Before you read, preview the selection and record questions such as
What do I already know about this topic or situation? and What
do I want to know about this?
During reading, pause when you dont understand a part or when
a question pops into your mind. Write those questions.
After reading, check that you understand what you read. Ask
What was the most important idea? in nonfiction. Ask about
the setting, characters, plot, and theme in fiction. Discuss answers
with the group.

Record Questions

Before you read, preview the text and record your questions.
During reading, record questions that come to mind. After reading,
record questions and answers about the whole selection.
Questions before reading

Answers

Record your questions below.

Record Questions

Questions during reading

Before you read, preview the selection and record your questions.
During reading, record questions that come to mind. After reading,
record questions and answers about the whole selection.

Answers

Questions before reading

Questions after reading

Answers
Questions during reading
Which questions were not answered? Why?
Answers

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Questioner student journal

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Answers

Illustration

Journal Illustrator

Use the space to draw your illustration. To prepare for the

discussion, briefly describe what each illustration shows and why
you chose it.

As you read, choose parts of the selection to draw or

illustrate. Then lead members of your group in a discussion
of your pictures and how they connect to the selection.

When you picture what is going on in the selection, think about

why that part sparked a picture in your mind. It may be vivid words,
exciting action, suspense, or another reason.
Choose from many ideas for your illustrations. You can draw the
setting, characters, conflict, or action. Think of other ideas such as a
symbol, a weather problem, a surprising event, or a secret.

This illustration shows

Draw your illustrations below. During the discussion,

share only your illustrations, but use your notes in your
role as Illustrator.

Reason for choosing

Illustration

Illustration

Use the space to draw your illustration. To prepare for the

discussion, briefly describe what each illustration shows and why
you chose it.

This illustration shows

This illustration shows

Reason for choosing

Reason for choosing

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Illustrator student journal

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Use the space to draw your illustration. To prepare for the

discussion, briefly describe what each illustration shows and why
you chose it.

Main Idea and Details

Master:
Journal Skill
Main Idea and Details

Write what the topic is in the part of the selection you are reading.
Topic

As you read, figure out the main idea about the topic. Also,
look for details that support the main idea.

To find the main idea, ask What is the most important idea about
the topic in this part of the selection? If the main idea is stated
directly in the selection, use the authors words to talk about it. If
the main idea is implied, or not stated directly, use your own words.
State the main idea in a complete sentence.
Look for details that support the main idea. Details may be facts,
examples, description, or other information. Details tell more about
the main idea.
Record information about the main ideas and supporting

State the main idea about the topic.

Page #

Record details that support the main idea.

Page #

Line #

Write what the topic is in the part of the selection you are reading.
Topic

State the main idea about the topic.

Paragraph #

Page #

Line #

Paragraph #

Line #

Main Idea

Main Idea

Record details that support the main idea.

Record details that support the main idea.

Paragraph #

Page #

Line #

Paragraph #

Line #

Paragraph #

Line #

Supporting Detail

Supporting Detail
Paragraph #

Page #

Line #

Supporting Detail

Supporting Detail
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Main Idea and Details student journal

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State the main idea about the topic.

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Paragraph #

Main Idea and Details

Topic

Page #

Line #

Supporting Detail

Write what the topic is in the part of the selection you are reading.

Page #

Paragraph #

Supporting Detail

Main Idea and Details

Page #

Line #

Main Idea

Page #

details below.

Paragraph #

Research

Journal Researcher

Record what you will research, how you will find information, and
the information you found.
Page #
Topic that needs
more background

As you read, notice parts that need more background.

Then do research and present interesting information to
the group.

Paragraph #
How to research

Line #
Information
to share

To figure out what to research, think about what is unfamiliar to

readers. Choose something you are curious about or interested in.
Connect your reading to your research. What will you discover
more about? Try these: the history, location, climate, or culture of
the setting. You can tell facts about the past, present, or future time
period. You can use music, comics, or photographs from the time
period. You can also show pictures of real objects, places, people, or
animals from the selection.
Record the information from your research below.
Research

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Page #
Topic that needs
more background

Paragraph #
How to research

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Line #
Information
to share

Research

Record what you will research, how you will find information, and
the information you found.
Page #
Topic that needs
more background

Paragraph #
How to research

Line #
Information
to share

Researcher student journal

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Record what you will research, how you will find information, and
the information you found.

Next Event

Master:
Journal Skill
Sequence of Events

Page #

Paragraph #

Line #

As you read, remember important events and place them in

the order they happen.

As you read, ask What is happening now? What happened before

this? Pause and create a mental picture of the action as it happens.
In nonfiction, notice signal words, such as first, next, and last. In
fiction, notice words that signal time such as that morning, later,
when, and as soon as. Pay attention to events that happen at the
same time or out of the order you expect.

Next Event
Page #

Paragraph #

Line #

Describe important events in the order they happened.

Beginning Event
Page #

Paragraph #

Line #
Next Event
Page #

Paragraph #

Line #

Page #

Paragraph #

Line #
Ending Event
Page #

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Paragraph #

Line #

Sequence of Events student journal

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Next Event

Summary Paragraph

Journal Summarizer

Combine your ideas into a brief summary. Write it below.

As you read, pick out the most important ideas in a selection.

Then write the ideas in a brief summary and share it with
your group. Let other students discuss the summary and add
their ideas.

After you read, check that you understand the big ideas, details, and
examples you just read. Figure out which are the most important
ideas and state what the selection is mostly about.
If you are reading nonfiction, look at how the article or passage is
organized. Choose the most important events, the problem and
solution, or the main ideas. For fiction, briefly tell about the main
characters, the setting, the plot events, and the conflict. Use your
own words when you summarize.
Write your summary from the important ideas below.
Information for the Summary

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Summarizer student journal

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Important ideas, events, problems