[MOSAIC] Book Whisperer Ch2
'Readers without power to make their own choices are unmotivated.' (pg 23) Reflect on your current practice. How does this mesh with what you currently have in place? Over the last few years, I have allowed students free choice on their independent reading book, because I didn't feel that they had much choice in other areas - content area reading, read aloud, guided reading groups. When I read her support of free choice, I was pleased. I am concerned, however, because I don't think I am very good at helping students find the perfect book for them. Donalyn has inspired me to do a better job of matching books to children. Suzanne/4th/NY ___ 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] Book Whisperer - ch 2
I have trouble allowing total free choice because it is so important that students are reading books at the appropriate level. We were highly encouraged to tell students that they could not read Harry Potter or Twilight if we know that the book level is too difficult. We were coached at how we could help the kids come up with these conclusions on their own. I still felt that I was the one saying no. This makes me uncomfortable. even the kids who struggle to read these can pair up with a higher reading partner for interesting reading and discussions! This sounds like a good plan, except that at books as long as the ones i mentioned, it would take forever to get through them. Suzanne/4th/NY ___ 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] Chapter 1 (Book Whisperer)
1) What were your first experiences as a teacher of reading? Discuss the students, and situations, you encountered. I started teaching 1st grade in 1985. I was given a basal reading series and 3 reading groups, already assigned to homogeneous grouping, based on Kindergarten progress. The principal that hired me, retired in December, and I started with a brand new principal in January. It was her first job as a principal and she was quite excited to send six K and 1 teachers to a workshop and then a graduate level course on Whole Language. I was then able to branch away from using the basal and try out new ideas. 2) What did you do in response to your first attempts at teaching reading? I continued to read and keep myself current about what was important in teaching first graders to read. I attended several whole language conferences and continued to learn how important good literature is to teaching a love of reading. 3) How did these first experiences, and your background as a reader, shape who you are as an educator today? I was able to prove to myself immediately that using the basal alone wasn't the best way to tech reading. I was reassured about the importance of read alouds and children's literature as texts to use to teach reading. 4) Open response to the reading Although I was fortunate enough to have a lot of good training, changing grade levels and difficult demands on teachers, made me begin to seek help in looking for teaching guides to make my life easier. Like Donalyn, I would plan lesson after lesson, to help me teach certain books. Although some of these ideas have turned out to be good activities, the book guides I made, ruined the books for the kids. I still catch myself asking the kids to do too much with some of the books they read. I guess it boils down to the accountability factor, and trying to be sure to meet all of the standards, as well as prepare my students for the tests. Suzanne /4/NY ___ 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] First Response (Book Whisperer)
The Book Whisperer 1) History as a Reader My parents were both teachers and readers, so I was off to a good start at a very early age. When I was in first and second grades, my mother enrolled me in the Weekly Reader Book Club, and boy did I feel special ( as the oldest of three, this was something my brother and sister were too young for). Some of these titles remain near and dear to me still - Gus and the Firefly, Saucy, Cannonball Simp, Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine. I have memories of buying Charlotte's Web from a school bookclub and falling in love with it, reading it over and over. I discovered the public library in third grade, and was able to go there on my own. I then discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder and read all of the books in the Little House series (I would later visit the places where she lived, on a trip cross-country). Little Women captured me for years as I read it over and over. I continue to be an avid reader!. 2) In my classroom, I have gone through different phases of showing my students the wonderful world of reading. I begin each year by sharing with the class, what I read over the summer. We have a sustained silent reading time that the students pick the books to read. I have cushions for my students to sit on or lean on, while getting comfortable with a book. I read parts of the New York Times with the class at least once per week - I put it up on my SMARTBoard, so that we can all read it. 3) Reading the introduction has me very excited about reading this book. I like to see the research here too, so I feel that there is proof that what I am doing is worthwhile and meaningful! Suzanne/4/NY ___ 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] Beginning of the Year Assessments
Here in New York, I am finishing my last full week of school. We have begun the conversations that start us all up in September. I am in a 3-5 building. Our third grades began RTI with Aimsweb this year for this first time. I teach fourth grade, and we will be using Aimsweb, starting in September. In addition, we use DRAs, and ERBs which is a writing test. We are looking at our DRAs and wondering - how early is too early? Do incoming students need to settle and learn what is expected, BEFORE taking the DRA assessment? Or do we do it as soon as possible, to make sure that we know the level of our students? Our students do an end-of-year DRA in June, so is it necessary to assess them again so early in the next school year? Same in writing - when is a good time to assess students writing to get a beginning point or baseline. Are there any great writing assessments out there? Suzanne/NY/4thGrade ___ 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] Summarizing again
Thanks you for the responses. I am going to try the ideas and plow along. I am wondering about adding student thinking to the summaries. We ask them constantly to think... should a summary ask them to do some thinking? I know that I have seen an organizer for note-taking (I think for determining importance) that asks students to write down the important ideas in one column, interesting facts, in the second column, and the student's thinking in the third column. I am not sure if this is a good organizer for a summary. Should summaries have interesting details or just main ideas? Suzanne NY 4th ___ 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] Summarizing
I am stuck on summarizing. There are so many ways yo summarize and for so many purposes. Does anyone have a tried and true method to teach 4th graders a way to summarize an article, chapter, or book? Suzanne NY 4th ___ 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] Text Connections
With schema and background knowledge falling under the category of Text Connections, this strategy is huge! I teach fourth grade and I find that I spend more time asking kids about their background knowledge now. They all know what connections are since they have heard it since kindergarten. Some still focus on I have a dog too! So I really focus a lot on KWL charts, asking them about what they know about a subject. Sometimes these discussions arouse the schema of many other students as well. So instead of hearing I have a connection over and over, I hear stories and facts that connect to a text. Suzanne/4thGrade/New York **An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222377077x1201454398/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072hmpgID=62bcd=Jul yExcfooterNO62) ___ 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] salad
The Salad Lesson is in Tanny McGregor's Comprehension book. ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com ___ 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] Envronmental Read Alouds
Wump World by Bill Peet ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ___ 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] Persuasive Writing Minilesson Book Choices
Text for Persuasion Can I Keep Him? Steven Kellogg ___ 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] persuasive texts
We have Write Time for Kids and a Nonfiction kit from Time. They both have sections for persuasive writing and they are current events sometimes. Suzanne/NY/4 ___ 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] Songs
Carey - I love your song! Suzanne/4/NY ___ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
