Bill, You could be describing my husband's reading classes this year. He is teaching in a district where test score are not of particular concern--most of these kids test very well. But given the opportunity to apply skills in the context of real reading, they are floundering. A prime example is discerning fact from fiction. Even his strongest students struggled with this. Makes you wonder how on earth these kids will survive life--they will be so easy to manipulate. They are unprepared to think, to defend their thinking, to ground it in text and experience or to accept that questions can have more than one potential answer.
Lori On 9/23/07 5:41 PM, "Bill Roberts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Sounds like you have a stronger class this year. >> >> Laura C > > Yeah, things are a lot different now, but even though the classes have > changed, the number of problems have not.. I now have 6th, 7th, and 8th > grade advanced readers. Last year, one of the areas where test scores > dropped at our school was in the advanced classes, so my principal asked me > to "challenge" them. I thought this was going to a "real" advanced class, > but I've found otherwise. > > After the first week or so, I noticed a few students were having some > difficulties. When I checked their state test scores, they were passing > grades, but BARELY passing, so I asked my administrators and they told me > they took them out of regular classes hoping they will do better in a > different environment away from the behavior problems. I've got mostly > students who read on level, but I have 2 or 3 in every class who are below > level. > > Also, I've discovered that most of them are NOT advanced. They mostly score > well on state tests. They know how to read questions and find answers, but > they DO NOT KNOW HOW TO READ WELL. I assigned one story to be read for fun, > and asked them to give me an opinon on what they thought of the story. Most > couldn't do it. Because they know the system, many regurgitated the > strategies I had been using and saying things like "I couldn't make a > connection to the character even though I tried to predict or infer a > reference using my schema." because they knew that it would make them sound > as if they knew what they were talking about! Others just closed the book > when they were finished "reading" but they did not understand the story and > were waiting for me to explain what happened....something they have learned > from other teachers....if they don't understand the story, don't worry about > it because the teacher will explain the meaning. Boy, were they surprised > when I didn't explain the stories! A few even answered the questions that > came with the story even though I expressly told them not to do it. > > Even though they are on grade level and scored well on state tests, most > have never been taught to think about a story..only answer lower level > questions. I picked a sad story for the 6th graders about a boy and his dog > and many analyzed the parts, but wouldn't see the whole story for the sad > ending. The 7th graders did the same thing and were able to tell me the > story backwards and forwards, but they had few opinions about the story > which was an O.Henry story about love and retribution. The 8th graders read > "The Monkey's Paw" and because of the archaic language, didn't try to > understand it and were waiting for me to explain. > > I did not give them any background information or help because I wanted to > see how they would do on their own since they were supposedly "advanced" and > I was shocked... > > ...Another example of how test scores have underminded kids' thinking > processes.... > > Bill > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > -- Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach & Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 57555 http:www.tcsdk12.org ph. 605.856.2211 Literacies for All Summer Institute July 17-20. 2008 Tucson, Arizona _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
