Each role sheet included a Connections section in which students were to reflect on a personal connection they had to their reading. Students demonstrated associative thinking by recording their connections but rarely provided any details. The connections were simply a single statement: It reminds me of a show I watched.; This reading reminded me of a concert on TV.; It reminded me of Halloween.; It reminds me of skating.; When I was stretching in gym; driving around the city; It's scary alone.; It reminded me to practice hard.; It reminded me to never give up.; I think the fly was wise to go home.

Literature circle discussions evolve over time. Schlick Noe on her Literature Circles Resource Center website acknowledges that effective discussions are hard-even for adults, and that teachers should focus on the small steps students take (Literature Circles Resource Centre, 2002). The initial discussions were lock-step and linear as the students focused more on the process of the discussion by reading from their role sheets than actually engaging in a discussion. Students tended to rush through their discussions to continue reading the novel. At this stage, reading was a higher priority for the students than discussing what they read. However, the more comfortable they became with the process, an increase in interactions among the group members was noted especially through the Discussion Director role. The following examples demonstrate this point:

Novel: The Zack Files, Now You See Me...Now You Don't by Dan Greenburg (1998)
Discussion Director: Why didn't the teacher act surprised?
Student 1: She'd be surprised. She wasn't scared.
Student 2: There were clothes sitting in the seat with no one in them.
Student 1: She'd be surprised over that.
Discussion Director: I'd get a video camera and tape it to send to the New York Times.
Student 1: That's what it says in the book, the New York Times.

Novel: Weird Stories from the Lonesome Café by Judy Cox (2000)
Discussion Director: What would you do if you saw ET crashing outside?
Student 1: Keep him for a pet.
Student 2: Give him a hug.
Student 3: I'd run, scream and hide.
Discussion Director: He could be my servant and give me food.