In a message dated 8/24/2007 3:33:47 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
*Teaching strategies (making connections, visualizing, etc.) versus text structures (setting, character, etc.) versus genre*. Do you teach all strategies early in the year and then literary elements later, or do you mingle both? (Clarification: I can see the year being arranged like this: "fiction, nonfiction, poetry, test prep..." or like this: "making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring...") Once you determine your framework...or it is determined for you...the frames you suggest above are just different organizational structures, all the content is important. Literary elements can be scaffolded into either frame. 2. *Integrating test preparation for the big reading test*. See previous posts. Do I teach a whole unit on test-taking, with test passages and the whole deal, or do I teach the type of questions that will be asked (compare and contrast, author's purpose, cause and effect) in another context (i.e., guided reading)? I am adamantly opposed to stop everything and test prep, if you're not just ignore this...it may be an idea to model the structure of your state test into your formative and summative classroom assessments. Teach students to code directions, pick out clues in questions, eliminate outliers...etc. If this is part of their routine the state test will not be such an event, but a reasonable assessment of their skills and knowledge. 3. *Aligning reading with writing topics*. When I'm teaching nonfiction in writing, should I do nonfiction in reading at the same time? Students, ideally, should be writing what they're reading and reading examples of writing styles they are reading. 4. *Guided reading*. WHAT texts do you teach? Do you reinforce whatever you taught in a minilesson, or is it a different focus entirely? Guided reading reinforces skills and content that may be new or emerging for students. It precedes independent practice. I think it should be related to your mini-lessons. 5. *Content-area reading*. Probably some of you don't teach all subjects, but I do, and I wonder if I should teach reading the science textbook in science or in reading. Is content-area reading a unit you teach? Should I do it as part of guided reading instead of whole-class? Helping students transact with technical text is not a unit, in my opinion. Technical reading is a skill that develops. It requires reading stamina and practice. Starting with inputs to bring out the differences between narrative and technical texts, then moving onto a think aloud as you demonstrate how you make meaning of a technical text, followed by guided reading and independent practice throughout the year. The grouping strategy you use depends on whether you are accommodating for different skill levels or if you have an expectation that all students will be responsible for the same text. Chris ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour _______________________________________________ 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
