Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-was heartbreak/response to R...
In a message dated 2/20/2009 7:44:26 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca writes: what does the independent research say about Direct Instruction programs Elisa, I did some research on this exact question in my dissertation. I could write about it for hours (actually I did!), but what I found in a very limited nutshell, was that in kindergarten intervention students, DI works teaching children to decode. It did not make a difference in comprehension. In first grade intervention students, writing workshop worked just as well as DI in teaching children to decode and that the children also became better writers! I did a lot of reading of the research Amy cited, Project Follow Through, and it had some major flaws. DI people rely heavily on Follow Through research, which is now over 40 years old. Nancy **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusyelp0003) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R...
We have seen some amazing results this year in kindergarten classrooms using No More Letter of The Week as a means of introducing and building letter-sound associations in combination with a guided writing approach that emphasizes shared composition and teacher modeling of invented spelling (that becomes more sophisticated across the year). I have been monitoring the data very closely and though this is simply comparison of existing measures, what we see is compelling. In our two classrooms where teachers have fully implemented, in collaboration here are some of our celebrations: The highest levels of letter recognition AND sound association; more than 75% of each classroom meeting mid-year benchmarks for proficiency in reading; in one classroom, all but one child scored 3 or 4 on a four point rubric for writing in use across the district (where, in the past, kinders rarely score higher than 1)--the other classroom has no 1's and about one third scoring two with the rest scoring 3's (both teachers were so in awe of their own results that they asked that the pieces be blind-scored by myself and two other teachers and the results held up); Gentry's Monster test results showed all that 22 of 23 and 19 of 25 children were advanced spellers, performing at end of kindergarten to mid first grade when scored in early January. Those who know me know the challenges of reaching and teaching children in our setting and this has been such an exciting year. I have to say that this, in combination with strategy work, is the most promising news we have had for our early readers in years. And, joyfully, these rooms are still the picture of what I would hope early childhood should be--playful, age-appropriate with a sense of playing at learning rather the kinds of environments that feel as though we are stripping children of childhood. Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: creeche...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009 8:13 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R... In a message dated 2/20/2009 7:44:26 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca writes: what does the independent research say about Direct Instruction programs Elisa, I did some research on this exact question in my dissertation. I could write about it for hours (actually I did!), but what I found in a very limited nutshell, was that in kindergarten intervention students, DI works teaching children to decode. It did not make a difference in comprehension. In first grade intervention students, writing workshop worked just as well as DI in teaching children to decode and that the children also became better writers! I did a lot of reading of the research Amy cited, Project Follow Through, and it had some major flaws. DI people rely heavily on Follow Through research, which is now over 40 years old. Nancy **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusyelp0003) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R...
Thank you, Nancy for this summary. Sounds like the Reading First debacle. I'm not surprised but it's encouraging to hear it from someone who actually did the reading and had to report on it. What were the major flaws in the Project Follow Through research? Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ what does the independent research say about Direct Instruction programs Elisa, I did some research on this exact question in my dissertation. I could write about it for hours (actually I did!), but what I found in a very limited nutshell, was that in kindergarten intervention students, DI works teaching children to decode. It did not make a difference in comprehension. In first grade intervention students, writing workshop worked just as well as DI in teaching children to decode and that the children also became better writers! I did a lot of reading of the research Amy cited, Project Follow Through, and it had some major flaws. DI people rely heavily on Follow Through research, which is now over 40 years old. Nancy **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusyelp0003) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension ofquestions-washeartbreak/response to R...
OK, Lori. Now, please do tell us more about No More Letter of the Week. Thanks, Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ We have seen some amazing results this year in kindergarten classrooms using No More Letter of The Week as a means of introducing and building letter-sound associations in combination with a guided writing approach that emphasizes shared composition and teacher modeling of invented spelling (that becomes more sophisticated across the year). ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] scripts and thinking
Felicia, I think you've already started on a path to teaching reading differently. I bet you are already doing some of the things you've read about on this list and that you got from your Ellin Keene/Debbie Miller session. It's hard not to since it all makes so much sense, no pun intended. Even though you feel you need to do the workbook pages is there any way you can just assign these for homework?? You can do a quick review of the pages the following day or you can have the kids pair up and compare answers. Then, you would only need to focus on those questions that the kids had trouble with. That would free up your classroom time to do some of the things you would love to do because they help children love to read and become better readers. If you try any of these ideas or others, please share with us. Good luck! Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ I'm mostly a lurker but I really enjoy the comprehension strategy discussion on the listserv. My district currently uses a scripted reading program. The anthology( all authentic literature) is not bad but we're married to the workbook that goes along with it. I follow the program only because I feel I have to. Without the workbook, I'm afraid my students would not do well on the required theme tests that come with the program. Ever since I join this listserv I realized that what I am currently doing does not make my students (first grade) more thoughtful and reflective readers. So I paid out of my own pocket to go see ellin and Debbie Miller. I've read many of the books you discuss here. I keep abreast of what those of you on this listserv do in hopes that one day I can be a regular contributor to the site. I think my district likes the scripted program because it keeps all the teachers on the same page. I teach in a district that has 9 elementary schools. With that said, some teachers in my district are piloting a program from Rigby called Literacy by Design. It's a balanced literacy program with authors such as Hoyt, Marzano and Opitz (http://rigby.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/literacydesign_authors) among others. While it's probably not ideal, if the district adopts the program, it will bring us closer to what many of you are doing in your classroom. I teach in NJ and the state is in the process of revising the Core Curriculum Content Standards. I'm excited about what they're proposing because much of it leans to balanced literacy. They reference Harvey and Goudvis, Calkins, and Keene and Zimmerman and their respective books. While these are only proposed changes, chances are they'll pass. If anyone one wants to look at them, you can go to http://www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/2009/lal/index.html I'm hoping that the listserv gets back to discussing comprehension strategies. I live vicariously through many of you and hope one day to be teaching reading just like you. Felicia ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R...
Lori, Just curious, do you have full day kindergarten? -Original Message- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of Ljackson Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 9:33 AM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R... We have seen some amazing results this year in kindergarten classrooms using No More Letter of The Week as a means of introducing and building letter-sound associations in combination with a guided writing approach that emphasizes shared composition and teacher modeling of invented spelling (that becomes more sophisticated across the year). I have been monitoring the data very closely and though this is simply comparison of existing measures, what we see is compelling. In our two classrooms where teachers have fully implemented, in collaboration here are some of our celebrations: The highest levels of letter recognition AND sound association; more than 75% of each classroom meeting mid-year benchmarks for proficiency in reading; in one classroom, all but one child scored 3 or 4 on a four point rubric for writing in use across the district (where, in the past, kinders rarely score higher than 1)--the other classroom has no 1's and about one third scoring two with the rest scoring 3's (both teachers were so in awe of their own results that they asked that the pieces be blind-scored by myself and two other teachers and the results held up); Gentry's Monster test results showed all that 22 of 23 and 19 of 25 children were advanced spellers, performing at end of kindergarten to mid first grade when scored in early January. Those who know me know the challenges of reaching and teaching children in our setting and this has been such an exciting year. I have to say that this, in combination with strategy work, is the most promising news we have had for our early readers in years. And, joyfully, these rooms are still the picture of what I would hope early childhood should be--playful, age-appropriate with a sense of playing at learning rather the kinds of environments that feel as though we are stripping children of childhood. Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: creeche...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009 8:13 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R... In a message dated 2/20/2009 7:44:26 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca writes: what does the independent research say about Direct Instruction programs Elisa, I did some research on this exact question in my dissertation. I could write about it for hours (actually I did!), but what I found in a very limited nutshell, was that in kindergarten intervention students, DI works teaching children to decode. It did not make a difference in comprehension. In first grade intervention students, writing workshop worked just as well as DI in teaching children to decode and that the children also became better writers! I did a lot of reading of the research Amy cited, Project Follow Through, and it had some major flaws. DI people rely heavily on Follow Through research, which is now over 40 years old. Nancy **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusye lp0003) ___ 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. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehensionofquestions-washeartbreak/response to R...
Yes Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: Felicia Barra fcbsm...@optonline.net To: 'Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group' mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009 9:48 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehensionofquestions-washeartbreak/response to R... Lori, Just curious, do you have full day kindergarten? -Original Message- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of Ljackson Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 9:33 AM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R... We have seen some amazing results this year in kindergarten classrooms using No More Letter of The Week as a means of introducing and building letter-sound associations in combination with a guided writing approach that emphasizes shared composition and teacher modeling of invented spelling (that becomes more sophisticated across the year). I have been monitoring the data very closely and though this is simply comparison of existing measures, what we see is compelling. In our two classrooms where teachers have fully implemented, in collaboration here are some of our celebrations: The highest levels of letter recognition AND sound association; more than 75% of each classroom meeting mid-year benchmarks for proficiency in reading; in one classroom, all but one child scored 3 or 4 on a four point rubric for writing in use across the district (where, in the past, kinders rarely score higher than 1)--the other classroom has no 1's and about one third scoring two with the rest scoring 3's (both teachers were so in awe of their own results that they asked that the pieces be blind-scored by myself and two other teachers and the results held up); Gentry's Monster test results showed all that 22 of 23 and 19 of 25 children were advanced spellers, performing at end of kindergarten to mid first grade when scored in early January. Those who know me know the challenges of reaching and teaching children in our setting and this has been such an exciting year. I have to say that this, in combination with strategy work, is the most promising news we have had for our early readers in years. And, joyfully, these rooms are still the picture of what I would hope early childhood should be--playful, age-appropriate with a sense of playing at learning rather the kinds of environments that feel as though we are stripping children of childhood. Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: creeche...@aol.com To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009 8:13 AM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-washeartbreak/response to R... In a message dated 2/20/2009 7:44:26 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca writes: what does the independent research say about Direct Instruction programs Elisa, I did some research on this exact question in my dissertation. I could write about it for hours (actually I did!), but what I found in a very limited nutshell, was that in kindergarten intervention students, DI works teaching children to decode. It did not make a difference in comprehension. In first grade intervention students, writing workshop worked just as well as DI in teaching children to decode and that the children also became better writers! I did a lot of reading of the research Amy cited, Project Follow Through, and it had some major flaws. DI people rely heavily on Follow Through research, which is now over 40 years old. Nancy **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusye lp0003) ___ 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. ___ 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
Re: [MOSAIC] No More Letter of the Week
No More Letter of the Week is a book that has been around for a while. I had actually recommended it to a principal, without having seen it, when she was looking to move teachers from A Week teaching . However, it gathered dust up until this past year when a group of our kindergarten teachers undertook a grassroots book study of Sue Kempton's wonderful book, The Literate Kindergarten. and Kempton talks about using this approach to introducing letters. Here is why I think it works. The emphasis is on quick and complete introduction. Letters are associated with pictures that do not represent the beginning sound, but the sound itself. Each has a clever little rhyme that the kids just love. R is a dog, because a growling dog goes . That sort of thing. Teachers construct a large b.b.--rather like a word wall. Each letter is associated with the image that associates the sound and a child is appointed as the expert for this letter. An excerpt from a book highlighting the sound is displayed on sentence strip, creating a pocket for a book. The whole thing is terribly interactive and visually inviting. The kids amaze me--they don't just know the letters, they know the sound and many can read every sentence on the board! http://www.crystalspringsbooks.com/7508/7508.html Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusyelp0003) ___ 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. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions-was heartbreak /response to Reading Mastery
Jennifer, I have a couple of quick questions... Is the student ELL? If so, what level? Maybe the questions are out of her English Language Development zone. If worded differently, she may be able to answer them? Also, what reading level is she? Maybe she doesn't know how to put her thoughts into words? Response starters could be used, or scaffold the questions until she can respond to the one you want her to. This does take time. Jan Unless we reach into our students¹ hearts, we have no entry into their minds. -Regie Routman Now...Let's talk comprehension...the purpose of our listserv. I have a question for all the wonderful minds on this list. I just picked up a new little girl on my caseload today. When reading with her a couple of things became obvious to me. One: She isn't thinking about reading. (We all know what to do about that---time to pull out Strategies That Work...Reading With Meaning etc etc.) BUT another problem I detected is that she doesn't seem to understand the questions posed to her by me or the other children...particularly questions that start with why and how. It really affects how she interacts with other children when they are discussing text. I want to teach her how to comprehend questions and was thinking about applying comprehension strategies to the genre of questions. Can you all help me think this through? Jennifer ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] getting back to your roots
I think it's inescapable that the possibilities of deep thinking (comprehension) require wait time and reflection, and that, indeed is a practice that is mutually exclusive to DI programs. On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 11:11 AM, Ellin Keene ellinke...@earthlink.netwrote: A quick response to Elisa and Jennifer's posts about the purpose of the list serv. I certainly agree with the original, stated purposes (there's a big surprise, eh?) for the list serv, but with respect to the scripted programs discussion, I do think that the discussion is related to strategy instruction in a most critical way. These programs eat up every minute of time that might otherwise be directed to more relevant, timely instruction for kids, including comprehension strategy instruction. In addition, there are now programs that script comprehension strategy instruction and I feel that we must be able to articulate the research and theory (as I stated in my earlier post) in order to stave off purchase of these programs. While it may not be useful to merely bemoan the use of the programs, it might be very useful for people to share what they know about the research (as Nancy did today) to help others combat these trends. It also occurs to me that comprehension instruction is embedded in a much larger context of literacy instruction in all six systems and that people are struggling with how/when to fit it all in. This, again, is why I wrote To Understand - to try to show the balance we need to strike between comprehension instruction and instruction in word learning, fluency and syntax. It makes sense to me that one of your lines of inquiry on this list might follow that question - what is the proper balance between comprehension instruction and word/sentence level learning. That said, I agree with Jennifer that the discussions of your classroom experiences in comprehension are so helpful and I always learn from them - so thank you for that!!! ellin Elisa Thank you. You are right. I know you are reflecting the views of many since my mailbox is filling with off-list pleas to bring the list back to a discussion of comprehension. I know the discussion we've been having is important and I don't want to censor anyone...but I would like us as a group to reflect upon the purpose we were created for... If you go to the Mosaic home page, this is what you will find: The idea for this group was born out of the teachers taking the journey through this instructional paradigm. Wanting to jump right in and get started, but often feeling unsure and alone, we wanted a forum to share our questions, our joys, our successes, and our frustrations. Reading the book, Mosaic of Thought, (or any of the other books mentioned above) will strengthen your connection to our conversations. Some of the most powerful emails have been when members reflect openly on the email group about their teaching. Being reflective ?outloud? on the list is one way to grow professionally. Try taking the risk to tell us specifically what you are doing. Talk with us about how you feel the teaching went and what you plan to do next. When we share our own thinking (just like we are asking our students to do) we often move to a new level of clarity and understanding. Here are the focus points we welcome discussion about: * comprehension strategy instruction * questions about implementation * action research conducted by teachers based on experiences in strategy teaching * reading workshop * authentic assessment * strategy instruction as it relates to high stakes testing * professional reading suggestions/reflections to continue our learning process * lesson write ups/book suggestions * online book talks related to comprehension teaching We are looking forward to an active, stimulating, and supportive discussion with you on these topics! Remember- no question is too simple to ask. I appreciate the respectful tone the discussions take...but I am thinking at this point, we might want to consider the reason we all came to Mosaic was to discuss comprehension. Maybe it is time we get back to that... Jennifer List moderator In a message dated 2/20/2009 8:46:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca writes: What is interesting to me about this whole thread and sub thread is how far away they have taken us from talk of comprehension and strategy instruction. Again, we are being led astray to discuss things that don't add anything of value to the purpose for which the Mosaic list was established. Elisa ___ 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
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehensionofquestions-washeartbreak/response to R...
Okay. Beating a dead horse. I want to thank the person who just wrote in defending the DI conversation. I don't even use DI but I understand the need to voice your opinion. I just joined the listserv and I LOVE IT. I'm glad you gave the reason for the listserv and from now on I will keep my comments in this area. But for all the teachers with the DI conversation I know how you feel. It's hard going against what your district is buying and forcing you to use when you know in your heart it just doesn't feel right. I've been in this position many times and just believe that when you get over the initial shock YOU WILL FIND A WAY TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOUR STUDENTS. Okay, no more DI conversation from me. Thanks! Dee -Original Message- From: mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org [mailto:mosaic-boun...@literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of Waingort Jimenez, Elisa Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009 8:47 AM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehensionofquestions-washeartbreak/response to R... OK, Lori. Now, please do tell us more about No More Letter of the Week. Thanks, Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. -Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ We have seen some amazing results this year in kindergarten classrooms using No More Letter of The Week as a means of introducing and building letter-sound associations in combination with a guided writing approach that emphasizes shared composition and teacher modeling of invented spelling (that becomes more sophisticated across the year). This e-mail message contains information that may be privileged or confidential and is the property of the Board of Education of Deerfield Public School District No. 109. It is intended only for the person(s) to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy, disseminate, distribute, or use this message or any part thereof. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete all copies of this message. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Building comprehension of questions.
Jan No...she isn't ELL. She was also tested for a possible language disability by the speech pathologist and there was a 'weakness' but no disability as far as receptive and expressive language. Response starters are a good idea...and they help some, but sometimes she will give a when answer to a why question... Her decoding level is on grade level (2nd)or above...her comprehension level is well below. She is a bit young for second grade...and there are some maturity issues so it may just be her language is developing slowly...but I want to see if I can help her to learn how to think through questions as a genre... Jennifer In a message dated 2/21/2009 11:50:11 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, jgou...@hotmail.com writes: Jennifer, I have a couple of quick questions... Is the student ELL? If so, what level? Maybe the questions are out of her English Language Development zone. If worded differently, she may be able to answer them? Also, what reading level is she? Maybe she doesn't know how to put her thoughts into words? Response starters could be used, or scaffold the questions until she can respond to the one you want her to. This does take time. Jan **You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove0002) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] All Day K
I started out the year with 32 in all day K, my first year from switching from AM-PM. I have had 28 since some movement of children in September. My wonderful district gave me a terrific additional teacher to help in the morning and switched all my prep to the PM. The only problem I am having seems to be at dismissal which is because of mittens, hats, snow pants, boots etc. The children are getting better at it and will probably become experts as soon as spring arrives. : ) But what I wanted to say is, the difference I see between my half day and all day experiences is that the pressure is off. I felt that I had to cram in everything the all day K students were getting in a half day before. Now we all feel much more relaxed and it is reflected in their behavior and their learning. I hope that doesn't result in more curriculum being pushed down. But for now, even with 28, things are good. Nancy In a message dated 2/21/2009 2:27:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, jgou...@hotmail.com writes: So do we, and I think it makes a tremendous difference. With the new CA budget, our district is thinking of ending class size reduction in K and 3rd. Our K teachers are divided about doing all day kinder with 30 students. They have to sign a waiver to have all day kinder and all teachers must agree. We'll see what happens... They are thinking maybe extended day (15 come early for 1 hour, then all 30, then the other 15 stay an hour) Jan Each day comes bearing it¹s own gifts, untie the ribbons. -Ruth Ann Schabacker _ 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. **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusyelp0003) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] All Day K
Nancy All day K is mandatory now in Maryland. What it did for us was give us the time to teach comprehension strategies through read alouds each and every day. I was sold on the value of it when I walked into an all day K classroom our first year (about three years ago) and having a student ask me Do you have much schema for turtles? Done right, there is a lot that we can do with comprehension in all day K. Jennifer In a message dated 2/21/2009 3:05:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, creeche...@aol.com writes: But what I wanted to say is, the difference I see between my half day and all day experiences is that the pressure is off. I felt that I had to cram in everything the all day K students were getting in a half day before. Now we all feel much more relaxed and it is reflected in their behavior and their learning. I hope that doesn't result in more curriculum being pushed down. But for now, even with 28, things are good. Nancy **You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove0002) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] No More Letter of the Week
Hi, Thank you for this information. I'm going to pass it on to the K teacher at my school who wants to make her literacy practice more relevant to her students. Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ No More Letter of the Week is a book that has been around for a while. I had actually recommended it to a principal, without having seen it, when she was looking to move teachers from A Week teaching . However, it gathered dust up until this past year when a group of our kindergarten teachers undertook a grassroots book study of Sue Kempton's wonderful book, The Literate Kindergarten. and Kempton talks about using this approach to introducing letters. Here is why I think it works. The emphasis is on quick and complete introduction. Letters are associated with pictures that do not represent the beginning sound, but the sound itself. Each has a clever little rhyme that the kids just love. R is a dog, because a growling dog goes . That sort of thing. Teachers construct a large b.b.--rather like a word wall. Each letter is associated with the image that associates the sound and a child is appointed as the expert for this letter. An excerpt from a book highlighting the sound is displayed on sentence strip, creating a pocket for a book. The whole thing is terribly interactive and visually inviting. The kids amaze me--they don't just know the letters, they know the sound and many can read every sentence on the board! http://www.crystalspringsbooks.com/7508/7508.html Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 **Need a job? Find an employment agency near you. (http://yellowpages.aol.com/search?query=employment_agenciesncid=emlcntusyelp0003) ___ 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. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] All Day K
Nancy, My district switched to all day kindergarten 10+ years ago and it has been wonderful. We are able to slow the pace and make time for meaningful learning experiences. One of my fondest memories is working with kindergarten comprehension study after reading the first edition of Mosaic of Thought, right after it came out. Ellin, the thinking that came out of that first class was incredible! We discussed, sorted and revisited books multiple times. We kept track of our thinking and wrote about connections. Schema was part of our daily vocabulary. I never for a moment questioned whether too much was being introduced too early. The children looked forward to our smart thinking every day as much as I did. I remember waiting impatiently for Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning to come out so we could learn from her experiences and we weren't disappointed. I know that if I had to fit within a system, rather than have the joy of nurturing the enjoyment as well as the learning, I wouldn't be teaching today. We owe it to ourselves as well as the children to spark their imaginations and tap into their ability to think beyond others expectations. Vickie cnjpal...@aol.com 02/21/09 3:05 PM Nancy All day K is mandatory now in Maryland. What it did for us was give us the time to teach comprehension strategies through read alouds each and every day. I was sold on the value of it when I walked into an all day K classroom our first year (about three years ago) and having a student ask me Do you have much schema for turtles? Done right, there is a lot that we can do with comprehension in all day K. Jennifer In a message dated 2/21/2009 3:05:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, creeche...@aol.com writes: But what I wanted to say is, the difference I see between my half day and all day experiences is that the pressure is off. I felt that I had to cram in everything the all day K students were getting in a half day before. Now we all feel much more relaxed and it is reflected in their behavior and their learning. I hope that doesn't result in more curriculum being pushed down. But for now, even with 28, things are good. Nancy **You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove0002) ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] All Day K
Another important advantage it offers to the disadvantaged--a guarantee of two meals a day. Take nothing for granted. Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 - Original message - From: Vickie Julka vju...@madison.k12.wi.us To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009 7:42 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] All Day K Nancy, My district switched to all day kindergarten 10+ years ago and it has been wonderful. We are able to slow the pace and make time for meaningful learning experiences. One of my fondest memories is working with kindergarten comprehension study after reading the first edition of Mosaic of Thought, right after it came out. Ellin, the thinking that came out of that first class was incredible! We discussed, sorted and revisited books multiple times. We kept track of our thinking and wrote about connections. Schema was part of our daily vocabulary. I never for a moment questioned whether too much was being introduced too early. The children looked forward to our smart thinking every day as much as I did. I remember waiting impatiently for Debbie Miller's Reading With Meaning to come out so we could learn from her experiences and we weren't disappointed. I know that if I had to fit within a system, rather than have the joy of nurturing the enjoyment as well as the learning, I wouldn't be teaching today. We owe it to ourselves as well as the children to spark their imaginations and tap into their ability to think beyond others expectations. Vickie cnjpal...@aol.com 02/21/09 3:05 PM Nancy All day K is mandatory now in Maryland. What it did for us was give us the time to teach comprehension strategies through read alouds each and every day. I was sold on the value of it when I walked into an all day K classroom our first year (about three years ago) and having a student ask me Do you have much schema for turtles? Done right, there is a lot that we can do with comprehension in all day K. Jennifer In a message dated 2/21/2009 3:05:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, creeche...@aol.com writes: But what I wanted to say is, the difference I see between my half day and all day experiences is that the pressure is off. I felt that I had to cram in everything the all day K students were getting in a half day before. Now we all feel much more relaxed and it is reflected in their behavior and their learning. I hope that doesn't result in more curriculum being pushed down. But for now, even with 28, things are good. Nancy **You can't always choose whom you love, but you can choose how to find them. Start with AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove0002) ___ 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. ___ 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.
