Literary Conversations in the Classroom

Combining research with real-life classroom examples, this book demonstrates how high-level conversations centered on fiction and nonfiction can promote students' understanding and help them meet and exceed a spectrum of standards. The authors demonstrate how to use literary conversations in small, heterogeneous groups to address multiple expectations within classrooms, such as close reading, vocabulary, background knowledge, literal and inferential comprehension, and responses to multimodal interpretation, nonfiction text features, and graphic organizers. The text includes the theoretical why, and the very practical how-to, to help teachers (grades 3–8) successfully implement serious, sustained student-group conversations about their reading. The recommendations for heterogeneous groups, rather than groups based on book selection or reading ability, will support all students—struggling readers and those reading at or above grade level.

This practical resource shows teachers how to:

• Group students heterogeneously, from inexperienced participants to sophisticated readers.
• Support each student as he or she reads a nonfiction or fiction book.
• Engage students in critical conversations centered on their reading.
• Be mindful of the roles for each student and how these change based on genre.
• Assess student participation and literacy outcomes.

Diane Barone is a foundation professor of literacy studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, past president of the board of the International Literacy Association, and former editor of The Reading Teacher. Rebecca Barone is a GATE specialist and was formerly a learning strategist and 5th-grade teacher in the Clark County School District, Nevada.

"Barone and Barone’s book offers important starting points for teachers to deepen literary conversations in the classroom. They write, “Trust your students to respond to the challenge” (p. 130). We agree. Students are ready for conversations!"

-- Teachers College Record

“I now believe that I have the tools to engage my students in 'sophisticated literary conversations' because of the information the authors provide in their teacher-friendly text, Literary Conversations in the Classroom. The information they share through actual classroom scenarios helps us understand how to 'model, mentor, and support students' having literary conversations about a wide array of text types.”
—From the foreword by Diane Lapp, San Diego State University

"Barone and Barone show us how to guide students’ literacy development through interactions. They articulate the support teachers and students need to engage in deep conversations about narrative and informational texts such that students uncover their thinking and explore the thinking of their peers relative to complex texts. The ideas contained within this volume have the potential to unleash student learning in powerful ways."
—Douglas Fisher, San Diego State University

“Barone and Barone have created a valuable resource—perfect for meeting the expectations of the Common Core and fostering students' comprehension, as well as their speaking and listening skills.”
—Maureen McLaughlin, professor of reading, East Stroudsburg University of PA, 2013-2014 president of the International Literacy Association