Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) is a reading and writing program for students in grades 2–6. It has three principal elements: story-related activities, direct instruction in read¬ing comprehension, and integrated language arts/writing. Daily les¬sons provide students with an opportunity to practice comprehension and reading skills in pairs and small groups. Pairs of students read to each other; predict how stories will end; summarize stories; write responses to questions posed by the teacher; and practice spelling, decoding, and vocabulary. Within cooperative teams of four, students work to understand the main idea of a story and work through the writing activities linked to the story.