At David Cameron, we are working on the following question; "Does the use of Literature Study Circles (LSCs) help students to become more sophisticated readers?" What an incredible project this has turned out to be, with a large number of our staff actively involved and many more following along to see how it goes. At this point we are working across grade with grade 5 and 6 students, however, we are poised to extend this with grade 1 and 2 students being involved as well.
LSCs allow students to choose from a variety of books (novel and graphic) and then to meet with others who are reading the same book to have in-depth conversations and to share their connections and understanding. This program has exceeded beyond our hopes on many levels. One thing is the number of staff who have become involved and are doing some amazing things with students to enhance their learning. The second thing is the students themselves. After the last LSC, students shared their connections with books through a variety of means during the LSC Celebration. One student wrote an original piano score, another student chose a song with lyrics that connected to the novel, other students did role plays, and on-and-on it went. And thirdly, we have extended our involvement beyond classroom teachers to include EAs, support staff, and even our school secretary. At the end we were truly able to say that students were reading at a far more sophisticated level.
Inquiry Teams happen all across our District and ask many different kinds of question. I t shows a positive commitment from our District and an incredible sense of professionalism from our school staff. These are the kinds of things that continue to push learning for everyone to new levels.
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