Lit Circles FTW (With A Twist) :)

This week instead of doing our normal Lit. Circles by ourselves, there was a little change. This week's Lit Circle was called "Literature Circles With A Twist...". Mrs Narsiman wants us to do a blog post on these 3 questions that relate to this week's literature circle; what are the benefits of working with a class-mate, what were some challenges and obstacles you overcame or tried to overcome and what were new understandings you gained about the novel.

What are the benefits of working with a class mate? There were two main benefits; you didn't have to do more but LESS work this time round and you had somebody that you rely on that can correct your work and give you suggestions. Many people would think less work is good because well, it's less work! For example, my partner was Natalie, and we did our literature circles together. As in, we were both online and we would discuss if a question was good or not or if our passage had enough But actually, it means that we can take the week we are given to do better and improved work because we won't have to stress thinking, " The 2nd benefit was that somebody was correcting your work and helping you make it better. Natalie was really helpful and gave me lots of ways to improve my Lit. Circle. She had corrected my grammar and made sure I had enough evidence and examples. 


What are some challenges/obstacles that you overcame (tried to overcome)? One challenge I obviously had was getting my ideas to full marks. I knew my partner was excellent at literature circles, so to not dissapoint her and letting her think that the hard work she put in wasn't worth anything, I had to kick it up a notch. 

What were some new understandings you gained about the novel? The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle is, without doubt, a very hard book to understand. But I have gained some new understandings about this superb novel. One understanding I gained was that a good author leaves bold hints of what is going to happen next.  This proves the author is a marvelous one because that's how they can pull the reader into the book and want to 


All though literature circles are not the best way to spend a weekend on, it has definitely changed after this twist :)

Lit Circles FTW :)

 Lit Circles is not necessarily my favorite assignment, but it's not the worst (or is it?) Right now, I am reading the novel The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle. Literature Circles are basically something that helps you to understand novels by letting you choose 2 passages you thought was important, 2 questions you have, 2 responses you have TO the questions, 2 connections, and 2 new vocabulary words. 


Many people wonder why we review our literature circles in groups, better yet, how the discussion helps our understanding of the novel. The True Confessions Of Charlotte Doyle is a very complex book. It's the kind of book where you have to read between the lines and really know what the text means. The discussion helped me to understand the novel because of 2 reasons. One reason occurs when you share ideas with your group. When someone shares their own idea, you start to think about other thoughts that you forgot to put on your literature circle. This can help you understand the book more because it gets your brain working even more than you thought was possible. For example, someone might think a character as mean or snobby, but you thought of the exact opposite! They give examples and reasons and you find out that it can work both ways. 


People make different kinds of connections. Some people base their connections on different books or movies.  I tend to base my connections as personal ones. One connection I made at the recent discussion was about when I am left alone, since Charlotte is left alone on the ship. My other connection was how I am also put into a group FULL of boys! I have so many examples (well, only 2). One example was in 5th grade when I was put into a group of 7 BOYS! Phew, that was torture...Another example is at the Kuala Selangor Firefly Field Trip. I was put into a group of boys when we went to go on a boat to see the fireflies. 

        After reading THIS far into the book (9 chapters for the win!), I think it is safe to make predictions. One prediction I have is I think Charlotte will fall madly in love with Captain Jaggery. I have read a part where Charlotte is heads over heels for him because he is so handsome and so gentleman-like. Another connection I have is that Charlotte will try to escape after being held in a boat with no one to entertain her. She may try to hide or even jump off the side of the ship and swim to shore. You never what will happen next though!