Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and wisdom, I don't care how long you have been teaching! I agree with you. Getting them to read, talk, read, write is what they need more than spelling and more than grammar. Hopefully I will regrow my backbone and do just that.
Wendy ---- Caroline Mooney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > wendy, as for the below basic kids, dalton public schools is moving towards > the reading workshop. these kids simply need to read. in nanci atwells' first > edition of in the middle, she showe exactly why we need to read. it's a neat > lesson, and one i leave up all year long. the kids refer to my drawing, and > they know that the more they read, the more they will comprehend. it's a > number's game. > > dalton is doing something called literacy collaborative (google it), very > similar to nanci atwells' workshop. the kids continually read, teachers give > mini lessons, and the class comes together at the end of the period to > discuss skills and strategies. > > if you think about it, most--and i'm not including students with > disabilities--poor readers don't like to read. they ususally don't even know > what kind of book they like, because they dont' know how to choose books. > their time is wasted, and they know it. they are school readers and not real > readers. > > expect that your low level readers will become real readers. let them read > real texts and intervene when you need to. share your enthusiasm; they don't > know how to think! they want to be real readers, but they just don't know how > to do that now. i believe my expectations for students have been too low. > i've upped the ante this year, so we'll see how it goes. > > bottom line--do for your low level kids what you do for your advanced--adjust > the pace or level--but do the same. i've struggled with this for two years > now, and i've come to the conclusion that low level readers need exposure to > printed texts. period. mini lessons are perfect for students, because they > give them something to think about while reading. mostly, these kids just > need to read , write, and talk about thier reading. > > i hope this helps. you probably already knew all this, but as a new teacher, > i'm learning all this the hard way, and this is what i've learned. they > didn't teach me this in grad. school:) > > caroline > _______________________________________________ > 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
