Literature Discussion Groups
Literature Discussion GroupsLiterature discussion groups play an important role in a whole language classroom. They allow students to actively participate and gives them an opportunity to project their won views to others members of the class. The discussion groups that we participated in generated a lot of thoughtful participating, as well as providing new insights to the book that we may not have gotten on our own. The book, in particular, revealed a lot of the major issues that we have been discussing in the classroom as well.
By participating in our own literature discussion groups, we saw that they can be very helpful to students in a classroom. The discussion group that I participated in was very helpful in giving insight to the book. It benefited the whole group because, not only were each of us able to give our point of view, but we also got the feeling of being heard be a group of our peers. Since we controlled the discussion group, it was easier to formulate discussions and use our own ideas to analyze the book. These I think are the key elements of a constructive classroom. If the teacher had given us a strict outline to follow, we probably would not have dug up very deep into the book. By giving the students specific things to look at and questions to answer, it limits their own critical thinking. Also, students probably won’t go beyond what is asked of them. The literature discussion groups put an end to this limitation and allow the students to formulate their own path for discussion.
The discussion group also helped us see the viewpoints of others. We were able to understand more clearly, the different ways in which people interpret the text. Some of the people in the group read more into certain aspects of the book than I had. This opened my eyes and mind, to a point of the book that I had completely overlooked.
These groups also showed how using literature discussion groups in the classroom would help the students develop into strong listeners. One of the major aspects of the discussion group is to be willing to hear what others have to say. In order to be able to discuss or respond to the other people of the group, you have to know what their views are. The only way to do this is to listen.
The book that our group discussed, The Friendship, showed some of the issues that were dealt with in the articles by Herbert Kohl and the interview article with Lisa Delpit. To begin with, the article “The Politics of Children’s Literature” by Herbert Kohl was clearly related to our book. On the article, Kohl demonstrated how the wording of particular events in history in children’s books can give the wrong idea to the students....
To view the complete essay, you be registered.