I’ve never thought of myself and my peers to be any educator’s “success story” as mentioned in the beginning of Chapter 8 but I suppose for those of us that love reading or find an ounce of enjoyment in text, we kinda are. Hmm!
I love the idea of these reading workshops but in my head I
imagine all my students falling in love with text and being little good humans
reading passionately, a 100% success rate… when in reality, I’m pretty
concerned with being able to find the time to implement such workshops into my
weekly plans. And even then, are my students actively looking for enriching
text and taking advantage of in class reading workshops? Chapter 8 tackles
these concerns.
“Kids should be acting like lifelong learners while they are
still in school. It doesn’t make a
lot of sense to wait until they graduate and hope they will develop good habits
someday, maybe.”
I like this quote – these types of strategies don’t have to
be new, different, and at risk of failure if they become educational norms. If
content-area reading is taken seriously from elementary school, having silent
or interactive reading time during class becomes a habit they benefit from for
the rest of their educational careers, as well as, outside of school.
I also loved the mini-lessons! I don’t recall ever being
guided on how to choose reading matter wisely, what to do if the student needs
help but the teacher is busy, and how to ask for help in a conference with the
teacher. I think it is a good idea to guide students on how to use reading
workshops effectively. I’ll admit to “sitting absently as their friends deliver
their reports” but these strategies promote workshop monitoring in a way that
is fluid with regular class structure and a positive asset to young readers.
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I loved reading about the mini lessons also! I particularly liked reading about what students could be doing if the teacher is busy. I know students get antsy while waiting for the teacher to help them and during this time they get distracted and off task. I think it is a good idea to find alternative things to be doing while waiting, and I love that the teacher and students should come up with these ideas TOGETHER. This way the students have a say in it also.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing, I think it is extremely important that content-area reading be taken seriously from the start of elementary school. My mom had a student come to her third grade classroom during the middle of last year and she didn’t know how to read at all. She failed everything. My mom constantly said that the teachers who had her before should be ashamed of themselves because this child should not have been moved on to third grade. Reading is so important!
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Hi Claire,
ReplyDeletePlaying devils advocate here as someone who does NOT like to read at all. I never enjoyed my ELA classes, and never feel the need to pick up a good book when I have some spare time, so the idea of the Reading workshops isn't as ideal to me as it seems to be for you. I always wish I liked to read, but never did. But I love that your excitement about reading, and being a "lifelong learner" will probably be visible to your students, and spark an interest in them!
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Thanks, Claire! Time is a completely legitimate concern when it comes to content area reading. Assuming that it will take some time away from your ability to "cover" content, if it helps students better learn the content you do cover it may very well be worth it. I'll bring this concern up in class today, I think.
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