Literature circles assemble small groups of students and discuss the book read by the class. Provide questions to each literature circle begins the discussion. If, for example, the class reads "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, you might ask, "What role does the Great Depression have on the main characters?" Another question you might pose is, "Why is Scout so afraid of Boo Radley?" As literature circle students discuss and share points of view, they begin to explore meanings, thoughts and ideas that differ from when they initially read the book.
Character debates are another group activity for college literature students. During the course of a story, characters often have different points of view. The clash of those opposing viewpoints is one of the factors that creates drama within the story. A character debate begins with assigning different characters from a literary work to class members and group the students by point of view. The students discuss their characters in-depth in small groups for the first half of a class session, and then all the students debate each other in the spirit of their characters. If the class studies "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, then half the class members would be assigned to portray characters associated with the Capulets and the other half assigned to portray characters associated with the Montagues.
Students can create a literary magazine based on the book their class studies. Each small group of students writes an article for the magazine. If, for example, a class studies "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles, then one group of students may write an essay about Devon School, which serves as the book's setting, and another group may write character profiles about the main characters, Finny and Gene. The teacher or students use a computer template.to assemble the articles into a literary magazine. Passing out the magazine to all members of the class allows them to read work by their peers.
One group activity that keeps students engaged is reading dramatic works such as plays aloud, which is termed a "table read." The teacher assigns a work's characters or roles to students in the class, and the class members, in character, read passages of the work aloud. In a large class, the casting may switch daily so that more students can participate.
In an activity similar to a table read, students perform scenes from a play. Casting several people in the same part and asking each of them to perform just one scene lets a larger number of students participate. The teacher may encourage students to dress in costumes appropriate for the play's time period and to use small props to bring the scenes to life. After the performances, a group discussion focuses on the play's characters and dynamics.