I agree! I actually had my English class one year read Tell-Tale Heart. I knew all the kids who were in my support class would have diffculty, so before hand I showed them the graphic novel version. It *really* helped them to understand the story.
I think doing the novel as an in class shared reading is a must as well. On 7/19/07, Ty Dartez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Chris, > > I agree that this probably could be a very frustrating novel for lower > students, however I think it is workable. > > Here are my suggestions: could you get a copy of "Illustrated Classics" > or something and maybe use an Elmo projector to project pages onto a > screen? Maybe the illustrated classics could be used as a preview? > > The other things you could try are: > > •using some of Jeffrey Wilhelm's drama strategies from Action > Strategies for Comprehension or using some of his visualizing > strategies from You Gotta Be the Book or Reading is Seeing. > > •My last suggestion would be to use advance organizers to connect the > text to their lives as much as possible, as well as maybe previewing > concepts and vocabulary. > > You might want to break up the reading; maybe you could read one > chapter aloud while they follow along or play a tape-recording of the > novel? Then they could read one chapter in pairs, one independently? > > I hope at least one of these suggestions will help you:) Good luck! > > May Dartez > 6-8 Title LA > Georgia > > > On Jul 19, 2007, at 12:41 PM, Chris Booker wrote: > > > Hello all- > > This is my first time posting, although I've been reading and learning > > from the list for more than a year. I teach in a middle school where > > The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a required part of the curriculum for > > 7th grade. I totally disagree with that, but at this point don't have > > a choice. This year I will be teaching a Resource English class for > > the first time so I will be required to teach this book and I am > > TERRIFIED! I think it is difficult for even the best readers at this > > age, but my struggling special ed students will wig out! I am looking > > for suggestions to make the text more accessible to these students and > > reduce their frustration as much as possible! > > > > Thanks > > Chris > > _______________________________________________ > > 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
