A classroom involved in literature circles will have students in small groups sitting together either with desks pushed together or in a group on the floor. They will be talking quietly and sharing ideas. They will bring some type of writing with them (whether a sheet they have filled out for their role in the group, notes, pictures, or sticky notes marking the book). They will be equal partners in the group, in that there isn't one leader and each member has a valuable opinion to share.
There is a wonderful description of what it looks like during literature circles in the book Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles by Harvey Daniels and Nancy Steineke:
"In smoothly functioning groups, students take turns, share airtime, introduce meaty topics, follow up on each other's ideas, and consistently anchor their comments in specific passages of the text. The conversation is free-flowing, spontaneous, back-and-forth, and natural. The young readers assert, question, hypothesize, argue, pause, ponder, and laugh. The activity looks, and is, enjoyable. In classrooms where teachers have implemented book clubs, students often call it their favorite part of the day." (Daniels and Steineke, 2004)
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