What I've learned (or should say still learning) is that we need to
experience for ourselves the same things we are trying to teach our
students.  That means we need to be reading texts which challenge our own
thinking, not just figuring out (from the outside in) how to teach a text
appropriate for a first grader for example.  Now that doesn't mean there
aren't wonderful picture books for example that really stretch my thinking
as an adult.  The great ones do.  I am thinking of Debbie Miller for example
who says in the video (Harvey & Goudvis) that one of the big changes for her
as a teacher was to choose books that really made her think deeply and to
which she didn't have easy answers.  (In that video she uses The Lotus Seed
- quite an amazing video)

Mosaics does that.  Keene and Zimmerman(?) do that.  They model their own
thinking with texts as adults.  Then they follow with transcripts and
descriptions of teachers talking with their students.  I love that book and
it was seeing their modeling that modeled for me as a teacher what I needed
to do first to change my practice.    I had to internalize what they were
talking about before I could do it with children.

I know many teachers who want to skip right to the "practical" how to.  I
think it's pretty hard to be deep and flexible and critical without serious
work in our own thinking first.

Sally


On 9/17/06 7:19 AM, "Cindy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Susan, I'm always afraid that most of these discussions are for upper grades.
> I'm glad to hear it was the lower grades.  I HAVE to read this book.  I was
> under the impression that Mosaic was more for upper grades, but if there are
> songs then this might be perfect.  Thanks for the info.
> Cindy/VA/2nd
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