Suzanne,
I really like your take on this. Leveling is simply not a precise science, nor
should it be. Genre plays a roleI do better with mystery, historical
fiction and history than I might do with procedural text, especially as it
relates to technology, or to medical reference. My
I taught 5/6 multiage and used lit circles before they were called that.
I've always believed in doing them thematically and finding a range of good
books to choose from so we have some common ground but so everyone can also
find a fit. E.g. We did survival, for example, and choices ranged from
On Apr 24, 2008, at 3:32 AM, Ljackson wrote:
when the level becomes more important than the book itself, we have
gone astray
And we should all print out this sentence and make little sentence
strips and drop them here and there around the schools :-)
Renee
Deep down we must have real
I am so thankful to hear your thoughts, as I actually thought I was going
crazy. The push is coming from the principal and all is being based on the DRA
and reading continuums. We actually had Bonnie Campbell Hill come and do
workshops here with us and she was fantastic, and I loved what she
Last night, I just watched a Documentary that I got through Netflix titled
Forgiving Dr. Mengele. This is about a surviving twin who as a victim found
peace by forgiving. I thought it was so powerful because Eva Kor looks like
anyone's grandma. The story of what happens to twins at Auschwitz
ditto!!! Kitty :-)
Renee wrote:
I'm sure I will get some flack for this, but in my opinion once a
student is reasonably adept at figuring out text, worrying about
*levels* is silly, unless the student consistently chooses books to
read that are way too easy or way too hard.
I think it's
I was at a conference on Monday on guided reading and lit.circles. It was
awesome-- full of common sense, yet tied to best practices. The speaker
stated, Interest supercedes level. I wanted to jump up and shout an amen.
I totally agree with this and have seen it in my fifth grade classroom over
Every year, we have studied 'Letters From Rifka as part of our
immigration unit. We were told that because it is 'above' the level..as
in accordance with DRA levels...more of a fifth grade text we are not
allowed to use it for guided reading, shared reading but only as a read
aloud. It doesn't
Which speaks volumes to the need to consider interest, particularly with
'delayed' readers.
Lori
On 4/24/08 6:19 PM, Mary Manges [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I was at a conference on Monday on guided reading and lit.circles. It was
awesome-- full of common sense, yet tied to best practices.
The conference was by Bev Bain through the Bureau of Education and Research.
She is a recently retired teacher from California and a fabulous presenter.
She didn't tie that quote to any specific research, but throughout the day
constantly referred to all of the big names in literacy and impressed
I don't know if I disagree, but I do have instances where I think allowing
interest to direct the student to a higher level book can be a mistake. The
instance I am thinking of, and it occurs quite frequently in my classrooms, is
a student who simply wants to look like they are reading a
It seems to work well to set a ratio (say 5 just right books, for
every one challenge)- this keeps the door open to high interest
books, but also keeps comprehension and fluency on track. Knowing
that a high interest book is just a title or two away is great
motivator, nudging kids to try
Jennifer, and Bonita..great points!
Motivation is certainly a factor, but I think it's essential
to monitor the students who want to read books beyond their level.
With the younger struggling readers,I believe it's important to stick with
leveled reading to increase fluency and
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