Terry, You say that your students work on Reader's Theater fifteen minutes a day when they arrive. Could you tell us what other work they are doing in reading? For example, are you working from a particular reading program? If so, are you mandated to use it a certain way? What kinds of things are you required to do, and what things do you do on your own? What does a typical literacy block look like in your classroom?
Renee On May 27, 2007, at 5:35 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I have found this conversation so interesting. I was one of the lucky > participants who saw Tim Rasinski last summer at the Georgia Reading > and Writing Conference and I was convinced to try some strategies he > had presented. Before that time I had used Reader's Theater to help > with fluency, but after hearing him speak I knew I had to be > consistent. This year it became consistent, and EVERY student made > gains in their rate as measured by DIBELS. That is enough for me to > know I will continue to use it as I did this year. On Monday, students > came in and found a new script (plays, poems, speeches, etc) on their > desk and put it into their binder. Their morning work was to practice > with their group, about 15 minutes each day. On Friday they performed. > Yes, they increased in rate....but they also improved in fluency. I > LOVED to listen to them read, they began to see the importance of > expression, to pay attention to punctuation, to think about the > meaning and adjust accordingly. > > I was disheartened when we looked at DIBEL scores and was told that > the instruction was not effective because students did not meet the > benchmark. But I still disagree, it was effective. They did make gains > in rate, every student, and more importantly made the gains I > mentioned above. I do believe in this strategy and will use it again. > > Also, they loved to perform, they became more confident, and they > understood fluency's importance. Each time they performed they also > made comments to the students, pointing out the things they did well, > and they noticed the gains of specific students. I am saving all the > sites listed here for next year. I also purchased some of the books > from Benchmark with a grant I received. I see they have some new ones > with speeches and other genres. I am hoping to order more. > > So glad to see Tim Rasinski post here, if you have not heard him > speak, and have the opportunity, GO! > > Thanks, > > Terry/Fl/2,3 Loop"Learning isn't a means to an end; it is an end in > itself." ~ Robert A. Heinlein _______________________________________________ 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.
