Hi Amanda Welcome to the list...please post often! We are glad to have you! I think "units of study" in this context is misleading. The book Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Keene divides up her book into chapters, one for each of the comprehension strategies...these strategies are based on proficient reader research....so one thing that proficient readers do is make connections, another is visualize or make mental images, etc. There are no formal "units of study" though many people teach the strategies this way. As for whether or not it is okay to break comprehension strategies up and teach them individually, or if the strategies should be modeled together, this has been debated on this list before, but it has been a while. If I am not mistaken, research is being done on this currently. I have heard Ellin Keene, who is the author of Mosaic of Thought, and Debbie Miller, who wrote Reading with Meaning argue that we need to teach for depth...concentrating on a strategy until it is internalized. They feel that it is by looking at a single strategy over time and in great depth that we get deeper understanding. There are other experts who believe that reading is a holistic process and we should never give kids the idea that you use a single strategy at a time as a proficient reader...instead, good readers are flexible and integrate strategies. I have been thinking a lot about this question over the years and here is what I do now. I teach a strategy in depth...THEN I spend time modeling and helping kids articulate how ALL the strategies they have learned so far work together to help them understand. I think where we have to be careful is that we understand that the strategy is NOT the end but a means to an end...deep understanding of text. Jennifer In a message dated 3/22/2009 8:43:52 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
I'm new to this group...where do we get the units of study that Mosaic uses? **************Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for Under $10. (http://food.aol.com/frugal-feasts?ncid=emlcntusfood00000002) _______________________________________________ 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.
