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GRADES 5–12 · TEXAS ELAR · 10 SECTIONS

Literature Circles Launch Kit

Literature Circles — a classroom launch kit for grades 5–12. Set up groups and schedules; choose texts with local approval and TEKS; prepare questions and evidence; discuss; reflect on feedback and next steps.

A grab-and-go organization kit: choose a locally approved reading, form groups, schedule meetings, teach discussion routines, and check individual understanding.

Download full PDF (21 pages)Read, adapt, or print onlineRead: 5 ways to use this kit
Literature Circles: a powerful way to build skills, meet standards, and make learning visible. Four supports — TEKS alignment, a student success (SST) tool, Jigsaw, and Reciprocal Teaching — combine into one learning system that meets standards, uses evidence, engages students, and deepens learning.
How the pieces fit together: TEKS, evidence, Jigsaw, and Reciprocal Teaching in one system.

Includes a complete Aesop practice reading, reusable student handouts, a grade/course TEKS map, and teacher guidance. Reciprocal Teaching supports comprehension; an optional Jigsaw adds expert lenses when the class is ready.

Jigsaw Organizer in four steps: choose a lens (character, plot, theme, language), meet with the expert group, return to the home group to teach, then share and connect ideas.

Sample planners by title

Worked and blank literature-circle planners for specific TEKS texts — a finished plan plus a completed student 3–2–1, with a matching blank companion. Titles span grades 5–12 (short stories, novels, a speech, a memoir), including paraphrase-only companions for copyrighted novels.

Browse planners by title

Optional student organizers

Adapted from Miguel Guhlin’s Notes Organizer v3: 3 ideas, 2 supporting details, 1 summary with questions and vocabulary; plus home-group Jigsaw notes, quick-writes, and individual synthesis.

Download organizers only (4 pages)Preview 3–2–1 and Jigsaw sheets

Completed organizer samples

Photorealistic examples show 3–2–1 expert notes and home-group Jigsaw reports for “The North Wind and the Sun.” Find them alongside the teacher guidance and after the blank organizers. Expand “Read the sample notes” online for a text version.

Inside the packet

  1. 1. Launch literature circles — Teacher
  2. 2. Choose and clear the reading — Teacher
  3. 3. Plan from the TEKS — Teacher
  4. 4. Run the launch and the cycle — Teacher
  5. 5. Our circle agreement and calendar — Group Handout
  6. 6. Read, prepare, and bring evidence — Individual Handout
  7. 7. Rotate leadership; share the thinking — Student Handout
  8. 8. Meeting agenda and group record — Group Handout
  9. 9. Practice with a public-domain fable — Student Handout
  10. 10. Assess, adjust, and keep going — Teacher

The PDF includes a cover credited to Miguel Guhlin · mguhlin.org, mguhlin@tcea.org, and blog.tcea.org. Its 10 instructional sections follow the cover, with two optional student organizers in the appendix.

Copy only what you need

Use the kit section numbers printed in the footer; sections may span more than one PDF page. Teacher: sections 1–4 and 10. Each group: sections 5 and 8. Each student: sections 6, 7, and 9. Copy every page within each labeled section. Print US Letter at 100%; single-sided copies make the forms easy to reuse.

Text selection

Choose the class reading and complete the text-approval log before launch. The example is an original classroom retelling of “The North Wind and the Sun,” based on Aesop's public-domain fable; older students use it to practice analysis before transferring to a more complex reading.

Sources, editable files, and build instructions · mglearn/printables on GitHub