Mrs. Shery Kearney has taken a different approach to teaching “The Things They Carry,” the latest book read in her AP classes. With this book, students in her classes are assigned different literary groups and discuss with each other important themes and images in the chapters assigned. Students are assigned new roles in the groups each week, allowing every person to have experiences with different jobs and tasks. The roles included are the discussion leader, highlighter, illustrator, investigator, summarizer and connector.

The discussion leader comes up with questions to discuss over the entirety of the section assigned that week. The highlighters finds important quotes in the section and explains why they are of value. The illustrator looks for or creates images that pertain to the section read. The investigator finds facts either about the author or about the Vietnam War time period. The summarizer describes the chapters in their entirety and adds a few keep points upon which the group focuses. The connector connects the novel and the events that occur to real life or other literary works.

Junior Brianna Griffin said, “I enjoy the lit circles. It’s more relaxing than talking in one giant circle of people. This way, we each get a chance to say what we thought of the book and how it made us feel.”

At the end of the class, everyone comes back together and says what their lit group thought of each section.