Thanks Kim, I will search the archives and see the dialogue that went on.? I also enjoyed reading the R- Zone.? As a matter of fact, as I was reading, this summer, I shared with my assistant principal some of what Nancie Atwell said, and she became interested.? I am surprised to hear that the workshop model has been discussed as not in.? The school I worked in for the last three years had done poorly on state assessments, however, when we applied the applied the reading and writing workshop according to Calkins and others, our scores went up.? However, I must agree with Nancie, we did create a time to read and allowed students to make choices--although on their level.?
Again, thank you for your input and conversation.? Vivian -----Original Message----- From: Kim Richard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: 'A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades.' <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 8:47 am Subject: Re: [LIT] The Reading Zone Hi Vivian, I missed it, too. I went back to read the archives, and what a great discussion! I am going to jump in now, and maybe ignite another talk? I was so engrossed in this book, I read it in 2 days. I think it takes a power house like Nancie Atwell to stand up and say that they one way that we can get kids to read is to give them time to read and allow them to make their own choices. I have heard in certain circles that reading and writing workshop is out. If this is true, then Nancie is bringing it back in. Nancie writes, "The ultimate delivery system for impelled reading is a deliberate environment that invites, nurtures, and sustains immersion in stories and characters, that says every day of every school year, welcome to the zone"(pg. 25). I also love how Nancie addresses those "distractions" that happen when we read. Nancie calls them relevant and irrelevant bumps. Often, we ask kids to respond to what they are reading, answer comprehension questions or make connections. These can take kids out of the reading zone. Often, we ask struggling readers to stop and respond to questions. Lastly, Nancie writes, "we comprehend what makes sense to us." I love this! I think we are all struggling readers! I just finished my last statistic course at the University of Connecticut. Reading the textbook was like reading Greek. I would read the assigned chapter ("blah, blah blah"), then sit in class with the hope that the professor would shed some light on what I just read. Once I would start to understand the concept, the professor moved on to another chapter, and the struggle would start all over again. I totally understand what a struggling reader goes through when they try to plow through a book that isn't interesting to them, or makes no sense. I know school is getting ready to start for most of you, and you make be talked out! Anyone have any more comments on this book? She's coming to NCTE in November, and some of you shared that it is in NY this year (right in my neck of the woods! Finally, I don't have to get on a plane!). I've never heard her speak, and I am looking forward to hearing more of what she has to say. Kim -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 9:56 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [LIT] The Reading Zone I'm not sure how I missed the discussion on The Reading Zone.? Would you please let me know how to see or catch up with the discussions?? Thank you. Vivian ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. _______________________________________________ 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 ________________________________________________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com. _______________________________________________ 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
