LITERATURE CIRCLES / PLANNER · GRADE 6 WORKED EXAMPLE

Plan a circle: “The Secret Garden”

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911) · public-domain novel (selected chapters or whole) · grades 5–7 · ~2–3 weeks. Rights: Public domain.

Kit section 5 (group agreement & calendar) filled in for one text — a finished plan students see before writing their own. Tinted italic = sample answers.

Preview note: Preview colonial attitudes and racist language toward Indian servants, the disability portrayal of Colin, and deaths (cholera, parents); plan context and support.

Text, group, and target

Text / author / edition	“The Secret Garden” — Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911). Public-domain novel (selected chapters or whole).
Group / period / dates	Priya’s group · Period __ · Meetings ___ & ___
Grade / TEKS target (p. 3)	Grade 6 · §110.22 — 7(A): multiple themes within/across texts; 6(C,D): support inferences, summary; 1(D): student-led discussion.
Learning intention	We are learning to explain how Mary’s and Colin’s changes reveal a theme about renewal and belonging.
Success criteria	I bring one open question, cite two details with chapter/page, respond to a peer, and name how my thinking changed.

Reading map & calendar

Chunk	Read through	Meeting date · leader
1	Ch. 1–8: Mary orphaned in India → Misselthwaite → finding the key and the garden.	Wk 1 · Leader: Priya
2	Ch. 9–20: reviving the garden, meeting Dickon, discovering Colin.	Wk 2 · Leader: Sam
3	Ch. 21–27: Colin’s recovery, the garden restored, Mr. Craven’s return.	Wk 3 · Leader: Aida

Members & first-meeting jobs (p. 7 roles)

Member	First job	Rotates to (next meeting)
Priya	Questioner	Summarizer
Sam	Summarizer	Clarifier
Aida	Clarifier	Evidence tracker
Ken	Predictor	Questioner

Text-specific discussion questions (open — more than one answer)

Predict: A sour, lonely Mary arrives at a house of secrets — what might the locked garden change in her?
Question: Why might Burnett tie the garden’s revival to the children’s health?
Clarify: What does “Magic” mean to Colin — supernatural, or something else?
Summarize: Trace Mary’s change from the opening to the garden’s bloom, without opinion.
Interpret the theme: How do the garden and the friendships reveal a theme about renewal or belonging? Use two details.

Optional Jigsaw lenses (p. 4): Character (Mary and Colin) · Symbol (the garden) · Theme (renewal and nature) · Plot (secrets revealed) · Context (Edwardian England — preview colonial attitudes).

LITERATURE CIRCLES / STUDENT PREP WORKED EXAMPLE

Sample 3–2–1 notes: Aida, symbol lens

Name: Aida · Home group: Priya’s group · Period __ · Meetings ___ & ___ · Section: “The Secret Garden,” Chunk 2 · Expert lens: Symbol

What a finished prep looks like. Kit section 6 / Organizer A completed for one reader, so students can compare their notes to a strong model.

Questions

Is the “Magic” nature, effort, or belief?

Who is healed more — Mary or Colin?

3 · Important ideas

1. Mary finds a hidden, neglected garden and begins to tend it.

2. Caring for it changes her mood and her health.

3. Colin, believed a hopeless invalid, grows stronger outdoors.

Vocabulary

contrary = stubbornly opposed.

moor = open, rolling upland.

2 · Supporting details

1. The first green shoots appear (mid-novel). → Mirror Mary’s warming heart.

2. Colin stands and walks in the garden (late). → Shows the garden’s healing effect.

1 · Summary in my own words

A neglected girl restores a locked garden and, with it, herself and a sickly boy.

Bring to the circle

My interpretation: Care for living things heals the one who gives the care.
Synthesis (two lenses): The garden (symbol) embodies renewal (theme): as it revives, so do Mary and Colin. Text points: the first shoots (Chunk 2) and Colin walking (Chunk 3).
After discussion: My thinking became clearer once the group compared evidence.

TEKS evidence: 6(C,D) supported inference; 7(A) theme through characters/events; 1(D) response to a peer.