Interesting. Our standards focus heavily on nonfiction reading and other reading outside of "literature" yet so many teachers only teach novels and "literature". But they really need more exposure to non-fiction and work on strategies to comprehend it.
On 10/17/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I have been having the same conversation... with myself. As the district > literacy coach, a new position and a new job for me, I > have been trying to familiarize myself with content standards across the > boad (K-12). My experience is with lower primary. I > am shocked to see how narrowly focused on literature our standards are in > the middle years, at a time when (IMO) our > struggling readers most need support accessing content related reading so > that they can be more successful students. It > seems like we are not focusing on real world issues. In our district, > kiddos have no experience with textbooks prior to Middle > School. Our elementary staff across the district is working hard to > prepare students to be successful readers across genre. > Research suggests 60% of the reading instruction in grades 3 and up should > be focused on nonfiction, according to Sharon > Taberski, so why such a disconnect in terms of standards? I think that > probably explains the emphasis on literature in the > testing, but it doens't explain the standards. In our district, our > testing (which we struggle with, Native American & highly > impoverished community plus attendance issues...) shows that our kids are > comprehending fiction fairly well, but across the > district kids are struggling to comprehend nonfiction passages. > > Lori > > > On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:21 , Diana Holmes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > sent: > > >What a great question. I think reading is a cognitive process whereby a > >reader actively synthesizes and evaluates text--all kinds of text, of > >which fiction may be the least important.. > > > >It's such an important question--on the Maryland State Assessments last > >year 80% of the reading involved literature (Willa Cather, Jack Wild, > >poetry)--yet literature is certainly not 80% of anyone's everyday > >reading experience. I'm not sure at what point reading, literacy and > >literature became somewhat synonymous, but it serves students poorly. > > > >Looking forward to the article.... > > > >_______________________________________________ > >The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > > >To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/ > lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > > >Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > > > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
