The goal of the second workshop is to allow students the opportunity to talk about the selected book. Depending on the age group, size and dynamic of the group this can be done in various ways:
- In very small groups, the Bridger of Worlds, may direct the discussion amongst the whole group. This may be ideal for groups of younger children.
- In most situations, the class should be broken up into smaller groups. Depending on the age of the group, you may place a teacher or Bridger of Worlds in each group to guide the students. With certain groups, however, it may help for students to operate the groups independently. With discretion, allow the students to form their own groups so that they feel comfortable with whom they are talking to. The groups may depend on which books the students selected if various books were selected.
If needed, certain topics from the first workshop can be discussed during the second.
Group discussion
McCulliss and Chamberlain outlined examples of how teacher led and student led discussion can be run:
Specific questions can be asked by an adult to help children explore a story and its characters and how they relate to the reader:
- Are you like any of the story’s characters?
- Do any of the characters remind you of someone?
- Who would you like to be in the story?
- Is there anything you would like to change about the story?
- How would you change the characters, what happened, or how the story ended?
- What is your favorite part of the story?
- Did anything in the story ever happen to you?
- What do you think will happen to the characters in this story tomorrow, in a few weeks, or a year from now?
Literature circles are small student-led discussion groups in which group members have selected the same book to read participate/contribute in discussion and share highlights of the discussion with their entire class. Teachers may ask students to complete various roles that include:
- connector (one who makes connections between the reading and their own lives, the world, or other readings and texts)
- questioner (one who lists important questions about the text to use during the discussion)
- passage master (one who locates sections of the text that are most interesting, important, and puzzling that the group should look back on)
- vocabulary enricher (one who identifies important, interesting, puzzling, or unfamiliar words that group members need to understand)
- illustrator (one who creates a picture, diagram, or flowchart related to the reading that may be directly related to the text or something the text reminded the person of)
Literature circles encourage authentic student-led discussion and interactions rather than the more common, teacher-centered question-and-answer exchanges.[
Depending
on the length of the workshop, the Bridger of Worlds may invite students to
switch groups, lead a discussion among all the students at the beginning or end
of the workshop or integrate other activities throughout the workshop. Remember
that the main objective of the workshop is to give the students the opportunity
to talk and practice the process of bibliotherapy.
References
D. McCulliss and D. Chamberlain. “Bibliotherapy for youth and adolescents: School-based application and research.” 2013.[