I second the suggestions for the work of Wilhelm and Smith wholeheartedly! We are sooo lucky to have Michael Smith coming to work with our district this coming summer. I would also look at some of the things Wilhelm has been authoring through Scholastic, not the least of which is his WONDERFUL new book on inquiry.
Lori On 1/17/07 1:19 PM, "Jones, Rex" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Michelle: > > I'm a principal in an affluent district just over the state line from you. I > struggle with same kinds of issues you're identifying, and I've come to the > conclusion that the best intervention for struggling readers in the > intermediate grades is more about affecting their learning in the regular > classroom setting as opposed to pulling them out to interventions. The > gentlemen who co-authored Reading Don't Fix No Chevys (Smith and Wilhelm) have > just come out with a new book entitled Going with the Flow: How to Engage > Boys (and Girls) in Their Literacy Learning. Their message at the outset of > the book is that growing readers starts with engaging them, and there are at > least four principles incorporated into the reading instruction block in > classrooms where all students are successfully engaged in the learning > process. Those principles are: > > 1. Readers have a sense of Control and Competence (they can see that they > are successful, and they have a measure of control over their challenge) > > 2. Readers are appropriately challenged (instruction in the classroom is > differentiated) > > 3. Readers set clear goals with their teacher and they get immediate > feedback on their progress > > 4. The experience in the classroom is so engaging to the reader that s/he > is completely caught up in it > > Now, this book is written for secondary teachers, but smart teachers and > building support people can adjust the ideas to fit any level. Other > resources I would point you to, if you haven't seen them or heard of them, are > the two books by Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak. The first book is > entitled Beyond Leveled Books, and the second is Still Learning to Read. > These books help us define in our own minds what a "transitional reader" looks > like. What you described in your e-mail is, indeed, a transitional > reader--they have the fluency, so their reading sounds great, but they aren't > really "interacting" with the text they read. They can answer some fairly > simple comprehension questions, but the higher level questions shut them down. > I think when we pull kids out of the workshop, though, we take away the social > influences of other better readers, and reading is as much a social process as > it is a cognitive process. Is there any way you can push into the classes and > work with the classroom teacher in the workshop? You might even do some > demonstration lessons for them. > > Cris Tovani has also written some great books to get educators thinking about > how to grow readers. > > Rex Jones > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [ <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 2:24 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Mosaic Digest, Vol 5, Issue 15 > > > I've been reading and learning from this site for about a year now and have > loved all the information and comments I've gleaned. I'm a reading specialist > in a well to do district, working with 4th & 5th grade readers who, for the > most part, have fluency down but have enormous trouble understanding what > they've read. We use Fountas and Pinnel as our "bible" and the > interventionists > are expected to use guided reading to help the students get up to speed. I > feel that the kids get the guided reading in the classroom and that hasn't > worked, so I need to use something else. I was a reading recovery teacher as > well as middle school intervention which was skills based. What do you other > interventionists use for upper primary kids? Also- our teachers (and I) feel > that if there's one thing the kids have trouble with, it's inferring. Anyone > else agree? By the way- I've been using the Strategies that Work but seem to > have trouble getting the kids to the point of independently using them-any > others have ideas? > thanks- Michelle 4/5 NY > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > <http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org> > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at <http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive> > http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > -- Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach & Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 57555 http:www.tcsdk12.org ph. 605.856.2211 Literacies for All Summer Institute "Literate Lives: A Human Right" July 12-15, 2007 Louisville, Kentucky http://www.ncte.org/profdev/conv/wlu _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
