Mary I loved your quote I'm reminded of the Vygotsky quote that I hang above my desk each year, "Children grow into the intellectual life around them." Another note on levels of questioning or QAR....that is the only real strategy a colleague hammers all year and she gets 100 percent on the dang test every year, so it is well worth incorporating....well actually questioning is a strategy...QAR takes you deep. We begin the year by reading together and creating questions, every single day, and then answering them together, and noticing what kinds of questions require different kinds of thinking and strategies for answers. They are posted on three charts Level 1: Right there in the text Level 2: Collected several text clues and went to my own head to put them together (inference, summary, cause and effect, etc) Level 3: Me and my own ideas and opinions...not ever a right or wrong. and remain there all year as an anchor chart. Then we move into Lit. circles and discussion directors know to focus on Level 2 and Level 3. Though there are significant Level 1 questions. Just because the answer is right in the book doesn't mean it does offer something meaty to chew on as a group. I am willing to incorporate ideas that will help the kids, because failing that test is absolutely demoralizing. For their sake I will do what I can to make them test "passers" but I will never abandon my inner compass. We will continue to be strategic life long readers.... test strategies is a tiny dot on that screen. _________________________________________________________________ Earn cashback on your purchases with Live Search - the search that pays you back! http://search.live.com/cashback/?&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=earncashback _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
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