I agree with Becky I tried writing letters to my students very faithfully for a year with my sixth graders and in the end it wasn't worth my time or the kids. Response folders serve my needs for getting at thinking and use of comprehension strategies etc. I also use *At Home Reading Folders* with the ideas I got in the *R5 In Your Classroom A guide to Differentiating Independent Reading and Developing Avid Readers* by Michelle J. Kelley and Nicki Clausen-Grace. Their idea was to require 80 minutes of reading a week, they have a reading record log for parents to sign off on and students to record on indicating the book, genre, strategies used for that weeks reading and minutes spent reading. I developed a rubric to let them monitor how they do with the weekly requirement of responding to their reading. It has been very doable for all of us and the interesting thing is my reluctant readers feel they can meet he goal of 80 minutes a week. The parents appreciate the flexibility of it and I like knowing they are indeed reading at home and I can monitor their independent reading and the thinking behind it in their half page to full page response. I change it out about every third to fourth week so I don't have to read them all the time. I have the students read in small groups their written report and have the other students identify strategies they hear the student using in their reports, sometimes they read to their writing partner. It doesn't take that long and I like having it all in one folder and I can monitor how they are progressing. The interesting thing is my avid readers are reading two and three times the required 80 minutes and I think they are pretty pleased with themselves.
On Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 12:16 PM, Becky Trieger < [EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think the purpose of the letters has been forgotten. Teachers latch onto > the Fountas & Pinnell system whether or not it works. After several years > and constant reevaluation, adapting, modeling, etc. I decided it was simply > a chore and didn't benefit my readers. I have not abandoned response > notebooks... just amended them to fit my style, students, and philosophy. > > I teach third grade and focus more on short responses... using sticky notes > to record thinking on the run and preparing for partner conversations. I > have the kids bring their notebooks to read aloud and mini lessons and we > "respond" in a variety of ways during those times. I have a section for > group work and any guided reading responses are written in the notebook as > well. We even do prompted extended responses in a section. I strive for > balance and felt the weekly letter writing did not yield greater > understanding and became a dreaded task. > -- > Becky Trieger > Vachel Lindsay Elementary > Springfield, IL > > Working Together to Achieve Outstanding Results! > > _______________________________________________ > 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. > > _______________________________________________ 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.
