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Welcome to the Literature Circles trial!!!

Hi everyone Thanks for agreeing to trial literature circles. I am also using this opportunity to have a go at making my first Wiki. I think this will be a helpful way of sharing information. I still have more I want to add to the Wiki - some stuff on response journals for instance but if I don't stop now you wont have much time to give this a try. Please excuse any mistakes in the Wiki and powerpoint - remember this IS a trial and I need feedb ack!!!! Speaking of feedback, it would be great if you could let me know how you are going. You can click the **discussion button** at the top of this page and send me a message! Actually if you could quickly let me know you have received the link and all is ok that would be brilliant.

You can start anytime and finish any time you want - I would anticipate it would take a group of kids about 3 weeks to finish a book, depending on how many sessions a week they have. My suggestion would be that the sooner you start the better as the last term always disappears so quickly and I know all of you will have a ton of other stuff going on!
 * Time frame **

I have prepared a **powerpoint** presentation that I hope will give you enough information to get started. There is also a **downloads** page (see the navigation bar on the left of this page). In it you will find lots of **resources** I have collected that I hope will be helpful.Sorry the documents are all over the place - still getting the hang of this wiki thing! I have saved the documents in Word (so you can change them if you want) and also as PDF's so you can get the exact fonts etc t hat you see on screen. It would be great if you could spend a bit of time watching the **powerpoint** and familiarising yourself with the **resources** and maybe even checking out a few websites. I have also put in a **'You tube' video** (see under downloads in the navigation panel on the left-hand side of this writing). The video is American and the kids are older than the ones you will be teaching but I think it may help to clarify what literature circles are all about. media type="custom" key="7202377" If you click on the menu button on the left of the screen you can make the powerpoint full size. After you have watched the **powerpoint**, looked at the **resources** on the **downloads** page and watched the **video,** decide how you would like to structure literature circles in your class. I would anticipate most of you will be working with just your top reading group. There is a link in the **'getting started'** column of the **downloads** page to a website that has different models of literature circles you may want to have a look at. I also put in the **'getting started'** column a **first week planner** that I made up but it is just a suggestion - there is no right and wrong way to do this.
 * How to get started... **
 * Then what... **

Plunge in and have a go! If you have any problems or anything doesn't work on the Wiki let me know. Keep in touch and let me know whats happening if you have time. Completely understand if you don't get it touch till the end - I know how busy it gets. Would love to come and visit some of you if you are comfortable with that. Anyway enough from me... Good luck and thanks so much for giving this a go!
 * And then.... **


 * Sheena **