Junior Great Books

Both fourth and fifth grade reading groups have been working with materials from Junior Great Books. JGB is an offshoot of the unbelievably brainy work from the University of Chicago after World War II. Researchers such as Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Adler stressed "the need for academic rigor based on the intellectual traditions of the human community." What this means for our students is carefully managed seminar discussions on shared 'texts.'

What follows are pictures of participation maps from fourth and fifth grade seminars. Tally counts represent student responses to open ended questions  One caveat is to NOT equate high numbers of responses with success. Students set goals for their own participation which MAY include limiting their responses.

Lines between students note polite agreement of disagreement. This work is crucial to our future goals of literature studies.

You may recall a list of "Do's and Don'ts" posted earlier from this process. Check out the blog for 9/23/2014 to see specific examples of expected (and discouraged!) behaviors. Both groups are making progress to the kind of dialogue JGB expects!