I would caution people in their quest for a new reading program to dig deep when it comes to leveled reading. Many or most programs have leveled readers but they are not all the same. I don't have specifics related to specific companies, but some leveled readers don't contain necessary elements in the non-fiction titles such as a table of contents or an index - and those are the features you need to teach in non-fiction! Also, some of the companies only have leveled readers that are appropriate for that particular grade level - easy, average and hard - but only for that grade level. Last, but certainly not least, the majority of programs are so scripted that they leave no room for teacher judgment or differentiation for student needs. They expect teachers to cover 10,000 skills in 9 months! And especially new teachers -for whom we often justify the need for purchasing a reading series - start off their career believing that they have to teach all 10,000 of those skills - which is a real disservice both for teachers as well as for our kids!
Carrie Cahill K-8 in Illinois _______________________________________________ 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.
