I'm not familiar with Reading Mastery but I remember Distar. It was just
coming into vogue when I left teaching to stay with babies. 4 children and
9 years later when I returned I didn't hear anymore about it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Renee" <[email protected]>
To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2009 9:05 AM
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Reading Mastery, etcetera
I agree with Laura.
Anyone remember Distar? Is Reading Mastery just Distar, revisited?
The idea of hiding the pictures makes me cringe. :(
Renee
On Jan 28, 2009, at 11:55 AM, Laura Klug wrote:
To my way of thinking , this approach makes no sense at all, especially
for struggling readers. Why make those who are having trouble breaking
the code learn another code ? Of course they are confused. They are
cfonfused about what real reading is. To be sure , struggling readers
need a systematic way to understand the way words work, but that is one
small part of what makes one a reader. Real text makes a reader because
there is a reciprocal process that is always there between the reader and
the text.
I would not recommend such an approach to anyone wanting to help improve
the quality of instuction for students.
________________________________
From: [email protected] on behalf of Amy McGovern
Sent: Wed 1/28/2009 1:26 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Reading Mastery, etcetera
As someone who taught Reading Mastery and now trains and consults on
these programs I can share that in all my schools, we have never boxed up
trade books or classroom libraries. Children need the experience of
reading trade books. Indeed, I think we all agree that students should
read and be read to from a variety of books. The goals of teachers who
thoughtfully use Direct Instruction programs are the same as the goals of
teachers who use Guided Reading or any other methodology or pedagogy. We
all want to teach children to read well and to love reading. To do this
effectively, students should have access to a rich variety of books.
Here are some insights on what Beverlee is referring to below. Again,
please know that I do not personally or professionally advocate the
boxing up of any trade books. If administrators are concerned about
confusing the students because trade books are in the room where Reading
Mastery is being taught, the answer is to provide more top quality staff
development and classroom coaching- not to remove the books. There are
differences to how early reading is taught in DI vs. a Guided Reading
approach (for example). Is there potential for confusion if primary
students are getting lessons in both? Yes. Can that be overcome? Yes.
But it takes training and a willingness to make some changes in how the
GR lesson is taught to the fragile learner or very young learner. The
teacher's guide for Reading Mastery (RMI classic) does not advocate
mixing RM with other forms of instruction. Having said that, Trade
books and DI can and should happily co-exist. There are two big
differences that come to mind when thinking about Trade books and the
storybooks used in Reading Mastery levels 1 and 2. To begin with, K, 1st
and 2nd grade students who are in Reading Mastery levels 1 and 2 are
reading material that is written with a modified orthography. That means
that the print looks different. The students are taught to sound out
words as their first way of approaching an unfamiliar word. To make this
easier for the students, the 40 sound symbols in the English Language are
written in such a way that they look visually different. Each
sound/symbol is explicitly taught and practiced. Spelling always remains
correct. Letters that are not pronounced when a word is sounded out are
written smaller. Beginning in RM2, the print begins to transition back to
"normal". By the end of RM2, students are reading stories written with
regular print. Another significant difference between trade book and
the storybooks in RM1: the pictures in the storybook are intentionally
put on the 2nd page. They are hidden from view while the children are
reading the story for the first few times. The purpose of this is to
help the students focus on the text. The story is read 2 to 3 times
before the picture is given attention. The goal is to get the students
to be accurate, appropriately fluent, then ask comprehension questions--
and finally to enjoy the picture. It may also be relevant to point out
that the text of these stories is intentionally controlled so that
students experience high levels of success continuously. I am only
scratching the surface of the details and procedures in RM. My hope is
that you can see, with the vast knowledge base on this site, a few of the
difference between a balanced lit approach to early reading and what
happens in an early RM lesson. The fact that there are differences
between the two approaches is ok because some kids need the design of RM
to become successful readers. With all this in mind, I have found that
children in Reading Mastery 1 and 2 benefit from taking what they are
learning to do very well-- and practicing/applying these skills while
reading thoughtfully chosen trade books or leveled readers. When done
well, this type of practice only reinforces the transfer of skills from
Reading Mastery to all types of reading material. This is the goal. My
own experience is that primary kids in RM confidently pull high interest
books off the shelves and give them a try. Reading Mastery has empowered
them. They see themselves as readers because they are. I hope this
information helps. Amy McGovernEducational ConsultantDirect Instruction
Trainer and Coach since 2001.> Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:46:55 -0700>
From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Subject:
[MOSAIC] Reading Mastery, etcetera> > Hi all - I'd like to ask a question
that affects everyone interested in> teaching comprehension, especially
in a release to independence format. Do> any of you know of any instances
where schools have adopted Reading Mastery> or another Direct Instruction
program and have been forced to eliminate the> use of trade books in
classrooms (or, alternately, very limited> participation in a library
program) in order to use comprehension strategies> (or other strategies,
actually) in the classroom? I think I remember> someone on this list
serve saying that the principal and curriculum director> came by and
loaded up all the trade books so they didn't "confuse" the K,> 1, and
maybe 2 grade students. Help, please. Bev>
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