True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Literature Circle Reflection

  My literature circle group consisted of Aishah, Caomhie, Josephine, Madyson, Nick, and me. We read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. Everyone but Madyson had their literature circle paper, but she didn't have her's because her printer went out of ink! Even so, she still participated and contributed ideas to the discussion.

  Our discussion definitely helped me understand the book better. We all had different ideas and had different interpretations of the meaning of the book. Some of us inferred that Captain Jaggery was evil, but the rest of the group said, "Maybe Zachariah is the bad guy because he gave her the dirk to frame Charlotte when he committed a crime." I think that it wasn't very possible, but it still made sense. My group helped me think more about the characters and what was happening.

  A few of us had the same connections. Similar things had all happened to us, such as getting blamed for something we didn't do. Whenever someone shared their connection with the book, I think of a similar thing that had happened to me before. Then, we would talk about how our connections were similar with the book.

  Some of us predicted that Zachariah was probably evil and gave Charlotte the knife to frame her. They guessed that Zachariah was going to kill a crew member with the knife that he gave Charlotte then hide it under her bed again. The rest of us thought that Captain Jaggery was evil because the porter showed a negative feeling toward Captain Jaggery. We also thought that was why Zachariah gave her the knife; to protect herself from Captain Jaggery. We also suspected Mr. Keetch, who said that he put on a show to try to get Charlotte off, so the other crew members wouldn't notice. I guessed that he was a spy.

  I think that having the discussions helped me understand the book and the plot better. We all had different ideas to what could happen. Even though I dislike filling in the discussion sheet, I believe that it is worth it after our literature circle group discussion. The discussions are always interesting, no matter what the book is. Before for Call it Courage, we only had 4 people to talk about the book. For The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, my group had six people, including me. That gave us more ideas to talk about. It is fun hearing other group member's thoughts and telling your own.  I certainly can't wait for our next group discussion!