This document outlines the role and responsibilities of the "Discussion Director" for literature circle meetings. As Discussion Director, the student's job is to generate at least 4 open-ended questions to prompt discussion about the assigned reading section. They must encourage participation from all group members and keep the conversation respectful, on topic, and ensure everyone has a chance to speak. The role provides sample question starters and describes the evaluation rubric based on fulfilling duties of generating questions, managing discussion, and getting help if needed.

1.
Literature
Circle
Roles:
Discussion
Director
For
this
job… you
are
in
charge
of
helping
your
fellow
students
to
talk
about
the
section
you
just
read.
You
will
do
this
by
asking
at
least
4
really
good
questions...not
yes
and
no
answer
questions
but
questions
that
get
them
talking
and
giving
opinions
or
guesses
or
predicting...or
even
better...
arguing!
The
questions
should
be
ones
that
can
have
more
than
one
answer.
You
will
be
graded
on
how
well
you
get
the
group
talking
about
the
section
and
what
they
thought
about
it! As
you
can
imagine
the
talking
may
get
out
of
hand,
so
it's
your
responsibility
to
keep
it
respectful
and
under
control.
Be
encouraging,
and
supportive
of
those
that
don't
talk
very
much.
Quiet
people
often
have
something
very
good
to
say.
Make
sure:
-­‐no
one
is
rude
to
any
one
else
-­‐people
take
turns
-­‐people
keep
their
voices
down
(the
rest
of
the
class
will
be
working)
-­‐that
EVERYONE
talks
and
they
can’t
just
say
“I
agree
with
________”
They
need
to
give
a
reason
or
two
Example:
Q: Why do you think Old Man Hammer was so grumpy?
I
think
that
it
might
be
because
his
wife
died
and
he
is
all
alone
all
of
the
time.
He
is
probably
jealous
of
everyone
who
is
happy.
Here
are
some
sample
question
starters:
1) How
did
you
feel
about…?
2) If
you
were
(name
of
character)
what
would
you
have
done
differently?
3) Why
do
you
think
(name
of
character)
behaved
that
way?
4) What
do
you
think
(name
of
character)
really
meant
when
s/he
said…?
5) What
was
the
most
important
part
of
this
section
and
why?
6) What
do
you
think
will
happen
next?
When
you
meet….
1) Read
your
first
question
to
the
group.
2) Let
everyone
in
the
circle
answer
before
you
answer.
(Remember:
There
is
no
right
or
wrong,
just
opinions.)
3) The
group
will
decide
whether
your
question
is
above
or
below
the
surface.
4) Ask
the
rest
of
the
questions
following
steps
1-­‐3
above.
5) The
group
will
grade
you
on
the
rubric
4
3
2
1
Includes 4 or more Includes 3 open 2 questions; or 2 questions; or
open ended questions ended questions questions are not questions are not
open ended open ended
Politely tries to keep Mostly polite; a little Sometimes polite; Impolite; mostly off-
group on task; gets off-task; gets sometimes off-task; task; teacher help
teacher if needed teacher if needed gets teacher if needed but not
needed gotten
Student Name: ___________________________________ Score I think I deserve: _______
Book Title: ____________________________________________________
Date: _________________ Pages Read: ___________________ Score I got: _______

2.
1. Question: _______________________________________________________________________
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What I think: _______________________________________________________________________
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2. Question:________________________________________________________________________
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3.Question:_________________________________________________________________________
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What I think: _______________________________________________________________________
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4. Question: ________________________________________________________________________
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What I think: _______________________________________________________________________
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