Effects of the Literature Circle Strategy on participation of English Language Learners.

Abstract

A common issue in education classes comprised of English language learners is a lack of participation in the classroom. The purpose of this research was to determine if the use of literature circles would have an impact on the number of times students raised their hands to participate during a book discussion. The participants were 4th grade students in two ELA classrooms within an urban elementary school located in western New York. This study included six lessons based on chapters in a book, three of which utilized the literature circle strategy, and three that did not. The results of this study were measured based on the number of times students participated by raising their hand during the discussions to see if students participation increased when using the literature circle strategy. Results determined that in this study, participation was positively affected by the use of literature circles.