Leslie.... Being in a 1-2 classroom, I do teach ALL the strategies and it's important to me that they know they build on each other. We are working on Synthesizing now and I'm using Jabberwocky (you can find it on the mosaic pages). We are using all the strategies in order to create meaning. They are totally into it! By the same token, I'm reading The Tales of Despereux as a read aloud and they are naturally synthesizing the book as we read. In teaching, I've explained how in practicing and using our strategies they become ingrained in us so our brains aren't thinking "I will visualize now or I will make a connection" you do it automatically. And sometimes you CAN'T make a connection, but you can infer or visualize or whatever you need to do to make meaning. We've talked a LOT about what it means to understand and what is this book telling me. I'm constantly asking them...what does it mean to understand and when they tell me they understand I ask them, what does that mean. I relate how when you are summarizing a book, you are helping your brain move your memory of the book to your long term memory and so it will always be there. But that's surface level understanding of the book and we want to go deeper. That's why we use our strategies, to dig deeper. They are TOTALLY into it! In fact, one of my students just compared synthesizing to the earthquake we had here a few weeks ago. Our ideas about the book change and get bigger and bigger, just like the earthquake rings...they get bigger and bigger as they move from the epicenter. As much as I think it is critical we teach the strategies, it is just as critical to ME that they LOVE to read. That's why we talk about books CONSTANTLY...what they are reading..what I'm reading....I do not want them to see reading as work. I tie literature to everything. We have literature circles...book discussion clubs. I don't use role sheets because I want them to just talk about the book and focus on what's important to them and then to each other. I'm not answering your question because I don't know if it has to do with age level! But I do we know we need to teach the strategies at different depths at each grade level. (I spend at least 6-8 weeks on each strategy using backwards planning) But I would think that by time they get up in the upper grades you should be spending less time on schema and more time on synthesis. I do know that I have a lot of previous students who are now in those upper grades who LOVE to read still today. I do know my own daughter, who was taught this way, from primary and is now in Freshman Honors English, LOVES to read and I'm going broke trying to keep up with her book supply! My oldest daughter who was not taught this way (I still have her diorama from 1st grade about Charlotte's Web!) hates to read because she sees reading as work. She did fine in school, but to this day her thinking and analyzing of text and LIFE does not go as deep as her younger sister. So, I guess I'm saying we have to teach the strategies, but we also have to make it fun and make sure above all else they LOVE to read....totally against your district mandate, because it IS my job to make sure they love to read! Sandi PS: check out our blog: multiageclassroom.blogspot.com and see what they have been doing and saying...you can also link to the classroom website and hear them read. 1/2 multiage Elgin, IL _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
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