Last year I had students work in groups to listen to books that were Holocaust-themed. Through a grant, I ordered junction boxes that allow up to 8 students to listen to a single tape (or CD) at once. All levels were required to simply listen, complete double-entry journals of their thinking, and then discuss the thinking. I did not allow students to follow along in the book. It was interesting that the "lower" students were the experts in listening to audiobooks, as they had done it before. It was a whole new experience for the "A" students, who whiz through reading and don't often take the time to slow down and just LISTEN. I really had to think about what I wanted the kids to get out of listening to the books, and I had to include that in my goals for the unit. It took some getting used to for many students, but the majority of them found they had a whole new experience with books. It's interesting how many did not consider listening to a book the same thing as reading it, and that includes teachers. Listening to books should not be saved for just struggling readers.
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ty Dartez Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 1:05 PM To: A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades. Subject: Re: [LIT] The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 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 _______________________________________________ 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
