Role Reminders
Roles (Examples):
1. Discussion Director--develops questions group members will discuss about this portion of the book; decide important ideas and issues raised in this section of the book and design questions that address them
2. Passage Picker--selects significant passages from the sections being read; determines why important; calls other readers' attention to passage and leads discussion about it
3. Word Wizard--searches section of text for words that are key to understanding what is happening in the story; notes the page and sentence where found; checks the dictionary meaning of the word; leads a discussion about the meaning and intent of the word from context and what the word contributes to the import of the passage
4. Character Sketcher--develops a character map of major characters in the text
5. Internet Investigator—explores questions through Internet Workshop; investigates sites that are relevant to topics covered in the reading; teacher prepares sites and some questions ahead of time for students to explore
6. Summarizer--summarizes what has happened and major issues discussed to this point in the book
7. Connector--thinks of ways personal experiences connect to events and themes appearing in the book; leads discussion of these issues
8. Investigator--examines other sources (newspaper, web, encyclopedia, content texts, etc.) that have connections to the book being read; shares information with the group
9. Artful Artist--develops a creative way to respond to the events and themes in the story
10. Travel Tracer--creates and maintains a map of movement if the story involves travel (either physical or metaphorical)
11. Activity Activator--involves group members in an activity that represents information learned and ideas experienced from reading the book
12. Meaning Mapper--develop word map for selected words from the day's reading: include a picture of the word; the sentence from the story containing the word; a definition; and the word used in a sentence
Process:
1. To start, begin with one group and a limited number of roles
2. Model the individual roles using a think-aloud process
3. Students share roles, discussing how they are preparing for them with peers
4. Ask students to show you what they plan to do and give them feedback before they carry out their roles in the discussion group
5. You might set up a fishbowl or circle-within-a-circle to show other groups how the process works as you act as facilitator
6. Routine may be a three-day cycle; meet to decide roles and how much will be read, read and prepare for role; give to you for feedback; discussion
7. Make sure that you take time to discuss the process--how it's working, what needs improvement, lots of positive feedback