Re: [MOSAIC] getting it in reading
Hi Bill, I think I "get" what you mean. I believe the most important reading lessons I teach are the ones before I teach strategies or anything else. Those are the lessons where I teach them about finding reading that rocks for them, where I teach them to listen to the inner-converation they have with text that tells them if it makes sense, and where I teach them to make pictures or movies in their heads. I also teach them about the joys of FLOW and how to get there as a reader. These are the lessons that lead my teaching and later I address helpful skills like strategy instruction or use of icons for deeper meaning in reading. these are the lessons that I hope get my word-callers to reconsider their method of so-called reading. This past week I used a drawn out metaphor to show students what I meant. I said reading is like eating an apple. You can just lick the skin (they all laughed and I asked why that was funny). We agreed that licking is NOT eating an apple anymore than looking at words--even reading them and letting them wash over you is NOT reading, not really. So then we talk about chewing and how that is when you get the apple-taste and we compared that to the inner talk and pictures that allow you to begin to enjoy text. Then--we swallow and our stomach starts to break the apple down. It feels good in our stomach if we are hungry, just like reading and figuring out parts we do not understand feels good and keeps us going. Finally the apple moves into the intestines where it is digested and nutrition enters our bloodstream and while, maybe, we are less aware of the goodness that is happening--it is important. I compare the final digestive step to the part where, when reading, we reach deeper, trying to unravel the learning or messages that might lie beneath the surface of the text , that might drive us to read more text of a similar nature or to have an inner debate. That is reading with analysis. The strategies are simply tools help us to go beyond the apple-lick to real taste and (if we work at it and want it)--to the deeper nutritional value. :)Bonita Laura Cannon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > When kids "get it" is when they are reading on their own. > > > > Well said Bill. But I think what you are saying becomes more understandable > with experience in teaching. I know that I didn't totally get this picture > when I first started teaching. Maybe that's why I don't want to retire-I > just now feel that I'm really seeing the big picture and understanding what > it is all about. Really good teachers use it all and apply as needed. The > ultimate goal is a child who is a self starter and hopefully will feel a > passion for learning. > > Sounds like you have a stronger class this year. > > Laura C ___ 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 it in reading
Bonita Great metaphor! I can't wait to use this with my kids! Jennifer In a message dated 9/23/2007 3:57:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: This past week I used a drawn out metaphor to show students what I meant. I said reading is like eating an apple. You can just lick the skin (they all laughed and I asked why that was funny). We agreed that licking is NOT eating an apple anymore than looking at words--even reading them and letting them wash over you is NOT reading, not really. So then we talk about chewing and how that is when you get the apple-taste and we compared that to the inner talk and pictures that allow you to begin to enjoy text. Then--we swallow and our stomach starts to break the apple down. It feels good in our stomach if we are hungry, just like reading and figuring out parts we do not understand feels good and keeps us going. Finally the apple moves into the intestines where it is digested and nutrition enters our bloodstream and while, maybe, we are less aware of the goodness that is happening--it is important. I compare the final digestive step to the part where, when reading, we reach deeper, trying to unravel the learning or messages that might lie beneath the surface of the text , that might drive us to read more text of a similar nature or to have an inner debate. That is reading with analysis. The strategies are simply tools help us to go beyond the apple-lick to real taste and (if we work at it and want it)--to the deeper nutritional value. ** 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] getting it in reading
> Bonita > Great metaphor! I can't wait to use this with my kids! Remember, I teach middle schoolers. Eating and licking would not be interpreted properly for their age group Bill ___ 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 it in reading
I'm trying to focus quite a bit on the thinking strategies, more so than in the past, and because I'm being more explicit this year, my fear is that I'm over thinking and beating it in a bit too much. Here's my latest question: I an teaching my students about activating and building new schema. We've discovered that we use schema at the word level when we discover meaning using context clues and word structure (prefix, root, suffix, etc.), and when we think about a topic before we read. We've also discovered we activate schema when we study different authors and their craft, and also we've discovered we can understand what characters do, say, and think by understanding a character schema. Now we're moving on to how we use schema when we read non-fiction. My question is this: Becuase activating and building schema is such a huge piece of reading non-fiction, what is a reasonable amount of time to spend on this in terms of direct instruction? My hunch is this a strategy that will spiral frequently throughout the year as we read during science, social studies, etc. Does anyone have suggestions for short model texts at the third-fifth grade level? On a side note: Ok, now I'm confused. I've been working on metaphors, similes, and analogies...Isn't the apple metaphor really a simile? -- Original message from "Bill Roberts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: -- > > > > Bonita > > Great metaphor! I can't wait to use this with my kids! > > Remember, I teach middle schoolers. Eating and licking would not be > interpreted properly for their age group > > Bill > > > ___ > 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] getting it in reading
I am so laughing right now! > > Bonita > > Great metaphor! I can't wait to use this with my kids! > > Remember, I teach middle schoolers. Eating and licking would not be > interpreted properly for their age group > > Bill ___ 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 it in reading
The "like" does make it a simile although it is so long and drawn out I forgot I put a "like" in there. Metaphors tend to go on longer--but you are right--I compared with like and did not make it an inferred comparison--so it is a simile. > On a side note: Ok, now I'm confused. I've been working on metaphors, > similes, and analogies...Isn't the apple metaphor really a simile? ___ 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 it in reading
Except isn't it really an extended metaphor due to its length? Bill - Original Message - From: "Bonita DeAmicis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 7:55 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] getting it in reading > The "like" does make it a simile although it is so long and drawn out I > forgot I put a "like" in there. Metaphors tend to go on longer--but you > are right--I compared with like and did not make it an inferred > comparison--so it is a simile. > >> On a side note: Ok, now I'm confused. I've been working on metaphors, >> similes, and analogies...Isn't the apple metaphor really a simile? > > > ___ > 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] getting it in reading
Me, too...but then what can be interpreted "properly" in middle school??? Can't they make something out of abolutely anything? The blessing is that sometimes we don't even get it! > Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:49:14 -0700> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: > mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] getting it in reading> > I > am so laughing right now! > > > > Bonita> > > Great metaphor! I can't wait to > use this with my kids!> > > > Remember, I teach middle schoolers. Eating and > licking would not be > > interpreted properly for their age group> > > > > Bill > > > ___> 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] getting it in reading
Talk about serendipity!! This interchange illustrates precisely one point of the posts in the last couple of days, namely how important is it that children can NAME things if they can USE things!!! In those cases, they were talking about things such as vowel diphthongs and other phonics issues, but this is simply the same story, second verse. If you can decode words accurately that have r-controlled vowels (or whatever), how important is it that a reader can name the vowel category or rule? If you can use someone's comparison to enhance understanding and enjoyment, how important is it that you know whether it's a simile, metaphor, or analogy? If you're a writer studying craft, it might be somewhat more important, but for the typical kid...? I'd hate to even hazard a guess as to what percentage of a typical student's time we spend on things that matter very little, such as "when this vowel something, the open syllable something" etc. They're important ONLY if the student doesn't get them and NEEDS to. Tradition is a double-edged sword. > Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:55:35 -0700> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: > mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] getting it in reading> > > The "like" does make it a simile although it is so long and drawn out I > forgot I put a "like" in there. Metaphors tend to go on longer--but you are > right--I compared with like and did not make it an inferred comparison--so it > is a simile.> > > On a side note: Ok, now I'm confused. I've been working on > metaphors, similes, and analogies...Isn't the apple metaphor really a simile? > > > > ___> 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.
