I am doing my action research on, how students benefit from literature circles. The two factors I will be observing are reading comprehension and student enjoyment of reading. Students will be grouped heterogeneously based on their book choice. I decided to use literature circles for my project because I have used them in the past with my classes, but the groups were homogeneous. I would group the students based upon their reading level. Through my research I learned literature circles are said to be more effective if students group themselves according to their book choice.
So far I have conducted a student survey assessing students likes, dislikes, and purpose for reading. I also used a baseline comprehension assessment created by the language arts program, Houghton Mifflin, that was adopted by our school district. The test includes reading comprehension; literary response and analysis. There are 3 short stories and a total of 15 multiple choice questions. After completing the pretest and 2 sessions of literature circles they will do a post test and the survey. The post test also comes from Houghton Mifflin's Summative booklet, testing reading comprehension; literary response and analysis.
Through my action research I want to find out if students reading comprehension changes and if students likes or dislikes change now that they are grouped heterogenously for literature circles.

What are Literature Circles?

A Literature Circle is a student centered reading activity for a group of 4-6 students at any grade level. Each member of a circle is assigned a role which helps guide the group in a discussion of the title they are all reading. Literature Circles provide an opportunity for students to control their own learning; to share thoughts, concerns and their understanding of the events of the novel (Elementary Themes).