Guided reading is not just about drilling a skill, it is about those rich
conversations that lead to deep comprehension. Coaching should take place
on decoding, fluency and strategy use. Guided reading can and should be
used with accomplished readers because it allows time for teachers to guide
conversations and focus students on understanding the complexity of the
literature that they are reading.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stewart, L" <lstew...@branford.k12.ct.us>
To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group"
<mosaic@literacyworkshop.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 12:41 PM
Subject: [MOSAIC] philosophical wonderings
I love teaching, but lately I have been questioning the way I teach,
particularly reading. I am an avid reader. Reading is an integral part of
my adult life. I was never taught any reading strategies. I have children
in my classroom who love to read and read way above grade level. I feel
that they, like me, have already internalized the strategies and yes they
can be strengthened but probably that will happen naturally as well. The
more they read, the stronger they will become. It seems that we are
prescribing medication whether the child is ill or not. It's like using
manipulatives in math. Our new math program requires the use of
manipulatives all the time. It used to be that you used maniuplatives when
you differentiated for the child who was having difficulty with a concept.
It seems like we are heading back to a one-size-fits-all mentality which
scares me. I sometimes think the reading strategies were meant for
educators so that we could become better teachers of reading, particularly
for our struggling readers, and I think we have taken it too far and use it
in all cases. When I look at the current guided reading models it is so
prescribed: everyone is in a quick guided group with the teacher drilling
a skill or they are reading independently. I am having a difficult time
seeing the joy in that model. Where do the rich conversations that connect
children to each other and to literature take place in this current model?
Was the model intended for accomplished readers?
Leslie R. Stewart
Grade 3 Teacher
lstew...@branford.k12.ct.us<mailto:lstew...@branford.k12.ct.us>
203-481-5386, 203-483-0749 FAX
To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful,
ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of
poetry. ~ Gaston Bachelard ~
<http://thinkexist.com/birthday/september_24/>
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