Literature Circles in the Primary Grade Classroom: Literature Circles and Reading Comprehension in Second Grade

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Transactional Strategies Instruction such as Literature Circles in teaching reading comprehension to a diverse group of second graders. The diversity included various levels of readiness in reading, language status such as English learners and native speakers of English, and various levels of participation by children in a whole-class setting. The findings suggested that TSI was effective with students in the primary grades such as second grade, in teaching comprehension and in increasing autonomy in children as learners and as members of Literature Circles. In addition, there were unexpected findings of increased motivation and enjoyment in children, increased teacher-like facilitating and helping behaviors, and evidence of children informing instruction for the teacher. The study concluded with the suggestion that there was interaction among various factors found as the result of Literature Circles such as reading comprehension, autonomy, motivation and enjoyment, children helping each other, and children informing instruction for the teacher.