Saturday, January 24, 2009
Language Arts Vignettes group d 650pm
View the NCTE/IRA vignettes at your level in the pdf standards handbook and then post entries on Class Blog for your group:1)propose “meaty” fat questions to discuss,2) make connections to your teaching and work with students, and 3) Please respond to two of your classmates’s entries in your study group.4) Consider how what you have learned from this book might support the work of your integrated language arts unit
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I'm not really sure how to start, so I guess I will first give my overall impressions of the vignettes and then propose a discussion question or two.
After reading all of the vignettes, I was encouraged to see much of what I do in the classroom within them, yet a little overwhelmed at the sheer amount that we as reading/language arts teachers need to do. Like the teacher in vignette 1, I try to offer my students a lot of choice in what they read, however when I am trying to teach a specific skill or concept, I find that a common text that I choose usually works best. (Sometimes I let the class vote to select one that I know will work). It is always rewarding when a student connects to a book in a personal way like the students dealing with personal tragedies as in vignette 1, but without the proper skills to unlock deep meaning from the text students are unable to make such connections. It has taken me a long time to find an appropriate balance between student exploration and skills practice in my classroom, and while I think I get closer every year, it continues to be something that I struggle with at times.
Here are a couple of questions I thought of:
1. What are some of the strengths and drawbacks of having students select their own texts as in vignette 1?
2. How can you engage a student when teaching from a text that they may not identify with?
Hopefully this is a good place to start...
Nate, thank you for sharing your thoughtful comments and questions! This was a great place to start!!
It is funny because after reading the vignettes, I felt that some of my teaching practices were also validated and yet I felt overwhelmed, too! It is a daunting task at times, to find a balance between getting students to read what you think they should read and what they want to read. I think it’s possible to find a middle ground.
One strategy that I have found to be effective in my classroom is to give students a choice. Within that choice are books that I selected intentionally for a specific focus. I like to call this a “controlled choice.” Another strategy I try to use, especially for reluctant or struggling readers, is to incorporate other reading blocks of time where they choose from a variety of reading material for silent reading or homework. Here, students also have a choice of ways to respond to the text. This strategy also works well with content material like in vignette 2. I do whatever I can to get my students to read a variety of appropriate leveled texts and consistently MODEL what good readers do.
I love your second question!! I would like for us to further explore this...As mentioned in vignettes 1 and 4, students come with their own experience, culture, schema and backgrounds. They can still connect to the reading through their own lives through lots of modeling.
Here are my questions that are connected to Nates.
1. What are some specific strategies that you have tried to get students to identify with texts that might not be familiar with?
2. What other strategies could we use to differentiate instruction specifically in the content area?
Hi guys! Such great thoughts by you both. I'll try to respond to both of your questions and slso add some of my own insight to these vignettes.
As I was reading Vignette 1, I found myself thinking a lot about my own classroom and the different ways that I try to implement student choice with reading. Research shows that for middle school readers it is the biggest overall motivating factor. I have struggled with this in the past, as I have always felt so tied down to the curriuculm and the units which we are expected to get through with specific texts for each unit. This year, however; I have tried a Book Club that has been working FANTASTIC! April, when you mentioned "controlled choice" is kind of reminded me of the way that I manage the Book Clubs in my classroom. I choose about 8 books and do a Book Talk on each one. I have students vote for their first and second choices. Most kids do a good job of picking a "just right" book, but if they don't, I always use it as a good teaching point and conference with that individual to have them realize why the book may be too easy or too challenging for them. (I had to laugh when I read vignnete 1 when it said that the teacher brought in over 100 titles into her classroom and gave a Book Talk on each one...ha!! As if there is time for that!!) Anyways, once I place them into groups of 4 or 5 they map out thier plan for reading and begin! We meet each Friday for discussion where they are expected to bring thinking that they've done in their Reader's Notebook. There are times when I pose a focus question related to strategies we are working on within a unit to see the transfer to their independent reading, but other times their discussion is so deep I'd rather just keep it all student-centered. I have realized a few things from doing this so far this year: 1. Students will read and will like to read when they feel as though they have choice. 2. Reluctant readers (along with most non-reluctant readers) do not like to write about their reading so I try to limit the amount of writing that is done with Book Clubs. 3. Kids, like adults, enjoy to have natural conversations about books, so we need to let them. Vignette 4 touched on the authenticity and insight that kids can have in their discussions when given the opportunity.
Nate, I also loved your second question. I feel like that is the struggle I face with the unit texts that we are expected to teach. There are some that many kids can connect with and would probably pick up and read on their own, but many students wouldn't read some of the books we make them read if their life depended on it! April, here is one strategy that I use to get kids to identify with books. Allowing kids to have discussions about thier books on a regular basis can help (at times) with this problem. It allows them to see the book from a different perspective and just might allow them to make a connection that they couldn't on their own. At the very least, discussions will get them talking about the book, asking questions, making predictions, agreeing and disagreeing, all of which may interest them in the story more so if they just read it without any discussion. What do you guys think?
April, your second question was one that I was thinking about as I was reading Vignette 2. Content area reading is so challenging for middle school readers because most of the textbooks are written way above grade level. We can try to supplement with texts (non-fiction picture books) at the reading level for some of our targeted readers, but lack of resources could be a problem in some districts. I think giving students questions to focus on before they begin their reading is important in the science or ss texts so they are reading with a purpose. Those are a few ideas!
Here are a couple of related questions I thought of while reading your posts and the vignettes?
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of lessons/discussions that are teacher-centerd versus student-centered.
2. Transfer of knowledge shows that a student is learning. How do we hold students responsible for this transfer of knowledge to their independent reading without taking away from the pleasure of reading?
See you tomorrow!!!
Great thoughts & questions. I've thought a lot about Sarah's second question throughout my career. I've tried just about every method of accountability when it comes to independent reading--parent signed reading logs, 1 on 1 conferences, summary sheets, post-it notes, tracking sheets for active reading strategies, one year I even did CMT style question stems (principal's idea, not mine). Right now in my class, I have students read independently and just jot down what they remember/found interesting on a reading log. That way, I can gauge that they are reading and understanding, but not turn off those students who hate to write. It works to some degree, and I get about 80% completion for the reading logs. I'd love to say that my students would read independently and gain knowledge on their own without any accountability, but that just isn't the nature of most of my 7th graders.
As for your other question, there is no doubt that student centered is the way to go in terms of engagement and student motivation and I teach this way as much as possible. (I love your book club model, Sarah!) There has been quite a debate at my school over this however. Many teachers, especially in the content areas seem to prefer teacher centered lessons because they can then control the content and ensure that students are at least exposed to what they are expected to learn. I think that units like the cyberlesson that we will be doing in class might be a way to get students involved, while still allowing the teacher to steer the content in the direction that they want to. That would go a long way toward helping content area teachers in my building.
April, the question of students being able to relate to texts is a huge issue. When I taught in Bloomfield, I had to use a completely different set of texts that appealed to my predominantly black/West Indian population than I do now teaching in predominantly white Plainville. It was a huge issue when I started, because sadly I was horribly ignorant about the culture of the students I was teaching. Over time it became much easier to engage them in texts they would like. However, those students were also expected to perform on state tests and learn other content that was foreign to their racial and cultural background. I don't think I ever did bridge that gap successfully and I don't know that the wider world of education even knows how to do it. Until our classrooms are truly integrated, this will always be an issue and it is always the minority students who suffer.
Sarah, thanks so much for your thoughtful responses and questions!! As I was reading your post, I was thinking about how powerful it is that you are conferencing with your students. If most of your students are able to pick a "just right" book then you are obviously doing a great job setting them up for success. Sometimes after conferencing with my sixth students I have a challenge sometimes finding age appropriate books. We have many students in the sixth grade who are reading several years below grade level. I have made it my mission to ensure that all students in my grades have access to books, magazines, articles, etc. for them to read. I consider their interests and reading levels and also what the teacher is working on with his/her students. This quote came to mind about the motivation factor, “Kids need books that they can sink their teeth into. If students are to acquire knowledge, enhance their understanding, and gain insight, they need books full of substantive and engaging information.” (S. Harvey) So not only do we need students to be motivated, we seem to all agree that it is about finding quality texts for students!!
As I reflect back on vignette 2, I am still thinking about ways that students can reach the content in science and social studies, even though we know that the textbooks are written at readability levels far above our students’ levels. (I should say mine.) When I look at the Learning Diagram about the Grizzly Bears (vignette 2), I am thinking that although this is a visual for the students, I wonder if the students can follow this web. It just looks very overwhelming to me!! Sarah, your suggestions about giving questions ahead of time and supplementing with picture books are appreciated. I was also thinking of other activities to access the content such as K-W-L, Venn Diagrams, note-taking strategies, identifying the nonfiction text features and creating vocabulary dictionaries, etc. With the older students, I rely heavily on cooperative learning to help deliver content. Each student has a specific role depending on their ability and they learn from each other through discussion that is initially modeled and facilitated by the teacher.
Sarah, this gets me thinking about your first question! What are the advantages and disadvantages of lessons/discussions that are teacher-centered versus student-centered. I love this question because it immediately made me react by saying that our lessons/discussions are always student-centered, but unfortunately this is not always the case. Research says that in order for students to create their own meaning they must play an active role in their learning. We must be able to find a balance between teacher and student centered. I like to think of it as a balancing act. In regard to our reading block, we have a shared reading or read aloud block of time that is teacher directed. Students are asked questions but the burden delivering instruction rests on the teacher. This is about a 20 minute block of time. Then our guided reading block is a time wear students are actively involved in practicing the strategy that we are working on while the other students are immersed in other independent literacy tasks. Last, we have a reflection/round up at the end of the reading block and talk about what we learned and practiced as good readers today and from now on. So, to answer your question, I like to think that most of the discussions are teacher facilitated and student led. What do you guys think?
Uhh...I just saw a couple of typo-s!! Sorry!!
Nate- Great connection about the cyberlesson and reaching students this way!! And thanks for sharing about your experiences in Bloomfield!! I can totally relate!!
See you later!!!!!
Hi again!
Great thoughts once again! It's so nice to have such insightful, professional conversations like these.
April, I do believe that most good lessons are teacher facilitated and student led. That model of teaching can be hard at times when you feel, as the teacher, that you want to and need to jump in. I think that the more ownership we give to students, the more motivated and engaged they will be by discussions and their own learning. The reading process needs to be as natural as possible and that means allowing the students to lead and carry out their own discussions. I have found that the more that I step on the outskirts, the more authentic the discussions can be.
Nate, I like your thoughts and ideas about holding students responsible for their transfer of knowledge with their independent reading. Managing what students need to get signed on a weekly basis and checking in with them can get challenging with the many demands that we face. I do like how you have students respond with one thought from their reading in their reading logs each week. I have students get their bookmarks signed, but have not mastered a way to keep up with checking in with their independent reading thinking. Conferencing with students seems to work the best for me. I'd love to research more about the transfer of knowledge from class texts and strategies taught to students' independent reading. Food for thought I guess....
See you guys soon!
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