Hi, I'm Judy in Northern California. I belonged to this list years and years ago when I first started teaching with the brilliant MOT comprehension strategies, but became overwhelmed with the number of off-topic posts and dropped my membership. I'm back now, hoping you're as dedicated to strategy instruction as I am. I've taught for many years (grades 1,2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8); this year is my first in 5th and I love it! So, about strategy instruction...
1. We spent the first month on monitoring for meaning. I used lessons from STW and made up my own. My favorite thing to do is take a bullet from the end of the chapter and develop it into one or more lessons. For example: p. 65 "Proficient readers use text management strategies. They pause, reread, skim, scan, consider the meaning of the text, and reflect on their understanding with others." This became a series of lessons moving through gradual release of responsibility. I modeled, kids turned/talked, kids 'tried it' in their journals as I read aloud, kids 'tried it' with shared text, kids did it with their own text (noting in their reading journal to share later). p. 64 (this was my FAVORITE) "Proficient readers are able to assume different 'stances' toward a text, For example, a child can read a book from the point of view of different characters, of a book reviewer, or of a writer seeking new techniques for his/her work." This genius idea made for a week of lessons where we again followed gradual release. At the end, I polled my kids by asking what stance they most frequently take in their IR and I was amazed to see it was a pretty even 3-way split. 2. We just finished our first week on Connections. Because of 27,000 interruptions, it will take us almost a month to get through the 8 lessons I planned for this strategy. Last week was spent on t<-->s and it was so much fun (for me!) taking 5th graders to deeper thinking with a familiar strategy. Perhaps my favorite connection was when a darling girl explained that she could feel the plane give when Brian punched it (in Hatchet, our shared novel) because she knows what it's like to squish a Coke can. 3. Finally, I should confess that I worship at the feet of Ellin Keene. While I'm having trouble buying into everything in her newest thinking, I revere MOT and it makes my classroom what it is. Thankfully, there has been a resurgence of interest in MOT at my school (after years of idiocy with NCLB and publishers' "programs"). This coming Wednesday, MOT will be the focus of our first hour and a half Learning Community meeting. We're really trying to revive MOT and entice untrained teachers to come on board. Since the most powerful inducement for me was seeing Keene (3 times) take a group of unknown students and demonstrate a think aloud and strategy instruction with them, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and try becoming Ellin Keene on Wednesday. I'll have a group of kids grades 2-5; I'll do a read aloud/think aloud and then discuss the strategy with them. This could be an enormous failure, of course, but I'm hoping that my colleagues will begin to buy in--as I did the moment I first saw Ellin Keene. (I am going to school this morning to choose the text and write my notes for think alouds--I alwaysalwaysalways plan ahead). Sorry this is so long, judy5ca _______________________________________________ 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.
