Literature Circles Gain Popularity as Muslim Homeschooling Community Grows
By Miriam Mohamed
Chicago, IL
In recent years, the Muslim homeschooling community has grown significantly, reflecting a shift toward personalized education and diverse learning methods. More Muslim families are drawn to homeschooling for its flexibility and tailored approaches, which foster an educational environment valuing individualized learning and exploration.
This approach not only emphasizes core subjects like math, science, and language arts but also integrates Islamic studies, Qur’anic reflection, and Islamic history and culture. By incorporating these elements into daily lessons, homeschooling families provide an education that promotes both academic excellence and a deep understanding of Islamic principles and values.
Among the various practices embraced within this community, literature circles have emerged as a favored method for engaging students in literary analysis and discussion. Literature circles encourage students to delve deeply into texts, exploring themes, characters, and plot intricacies through small, collaborative groups. This approach enhances critical thinking and communication skills while nurturing a love for literature within a supportive and interactive learning environment. Moreover, literature circles serve as a means to include Islamically appropriate books that reflect values intrinsic to our faith. These books often feature characters with whom readers can identify, address dilemmas and challenges that Muslims may encounter, and have faith as the core value. As homeschooling evolves, literature circles demonstrate how innovative educational practices can enrich the academic journey and cultivate a lifelong passion for learning.
Literature circles similar to book clubs involve structured small-group discussions where participants read the same text independently and then get together to discuss it. They are widely used in schools to promote thoughtful reading, critical thinking, and collaborative learning among students but have been adapted to serve the homeschool community. This teaching tool offers many benefits for Muslim homeschoolers including:
- Promotes active reading encouraging students to engage deeply with texts.
- Develops critical thinking skills encouraging students to analyze, evaluate, and interpret texts independently and collaboratively.
- Fosters communication skills improving verbal communication and listening skills through group discussions.
- Builds confidence and gives students the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions in a supportive environment.
How to Start a Literature Circle
Here are steps you can implement to start a literature circle for homeschoolers:
1. Select Islamically appropriate books.
Choose books that are Islamically appropriate for the age and reading level of your homeschoolers. You can select fiction, non-fiction, novels, short stories, or even plays depending on your curriculum goals.
2. Form a group.
Divide your homeschoolers into small groups (usually 3-6 students per group). You can group them based on their reading level, interests, or learning styles.
3. Assign roles.
Assign specific roles to each student within the literature circle. Common roles include:
- Discussion Director: Leads the discussion, prepares questions for the group
- Summarizer: Summarizes the main events or ideas from the reading
- Connector: Relates the text to personal experiences, other texts, or the world
- Word Wizard: Identifies interesting or challenging vocabulary words
- Illustrator: Creates visual representations related to the text
- Researcher: Conducts background research on topics related to the text
4. Set goals and schedule.
Establish reading goals and a schedule for meetings. Decide how much of the book students should read before each meeting.
5. Conduct discussions.
Encourage students to read independently and then come together to discuss the text based on their assigned roles. Discussions should be guided but also allow for open exploration of ideas and interpretations.
6. Encourage reflection.
After discussions, encourage students to reflect on what they have learned, how their understanding of the text has evolved, and how their roles contributed to the group’s understanding.
7. Gather feedback.
Assess students based on their participation in discussions, the quality of their contributions, and their understanding of the text. Provide constructive feedback to help them improve their critical thinking and communication skills.
By following these steps, you can effectively implement literature circles in your homeschooling environment, enriching your students’ reading experience and fostering a deeper understanding of literature.
(Miriam Mohamed is a mother to seven children and a granny to two cats! She is currently in school pursuing her degree in Early Childhood Education and created an NFP organization Y-ACE. She has taught in an Islamic school setting, has experience assisting children with special needs, taught adult ESL, and enjoys volunteering and being a part of the community. Miriam previously homeschooled her children in Islamic Education and lives in the Chicagoland area with her beautiful flowering crabapple tree and big family.
https://www.soundvision.com/article/literature-circles-for-homeschoolers )
