Love the letter idea! :)
On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 11:11 AM, Sherry R Elmore <[email protected] > wrote: > I, too, used the friendly letter format. My students alternated weeks > between writing to me and writing to a student in a class in a neighboring > county. I was in grad school with the teacher at the other school and we > matched up our kids as literacy buddies. The letters were called literacy > letters. The day my students would get a letter in return (either from me > or from their buddies) was wonderful. They could not wait to read them. > > I also had the same experience, mostly getting summaries at first or simple > comments like "I liked this book", "It was a good book", "I would recommend > this book". However, by the end of the year, I was getting comments like "I > wonder why Rowling is killing off all of Harry's father figures" and " I > have realized I like books written in 1st person because I find I connect > with them more." > > The REALLY tough part to sell teachers on is the time commitment it takes > to respond to the letters. However, once I got started and realized the > benefits, it became something I looked forward to doing. The students > really need to see you as a reader as well. They need to see you constantly > modeling what good readers do. I am a curriculum coach. In that position, I > used an actual letter from one of my former students as text for a paideia > seminar with my teachers to show where we wanted the letters to lead, how > much learning could take place by writing them, and the relationship that > can be developed between the teacher and the student. This approach proved > an easy sell for teachers! > > Sherry Elmore > > _____ > > From: Sally Thomas [mailto:[email protected]] > To: mosaic listserve [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:05:39 -0400 > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] reading logs > > My students kept a list of books read. Then we wrote informal letters, > back and forth, about their reading once a week. They were more like > conversations. Took awhile for some to "get it." "What do you mean write > a > letter?" I said make it like a chatty letter to a friend. Two of my kids > started labeling their letters "chatty letter #1." Had to model examples > of > course. And every week, my letters back were models of how people write > about their reading. Sometimes I would ask some if I could share their > letters so others could see the kinds of things we were writing. At first > they would tend to write summaries. But that wasn't what I wanted. > Rather: > Here's what I'm reading. I'm thinking. I'm wondering. I'm discovering > this about myself as a reader. I'd like to read ..... next. With > patience > and time the letters got interesting. They were funny, serious, sometimes > profound. I learned a lot about them as readers. I know Atwell wrote > about these at one time, Cora Lee Five I think did too, I did too in > Language Arts years ago. > > It had a different "feel" than an assignment to my students. They loved > these letters and got upset if I missed a week. Only strategy I used that > NEVER got complaints. Think it felt like writing personal notes with your > teacher! > > Sally > > > On 7/17/11 9:21 PM, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Hello, > > > > I would greatly appreciate your thoughts about the use of reading logs > in my > > sixth grade reading/writing workshop. My homework policy is that > students read > > 30 minutes 5 nights a week or 150 minutes a week. They are free to read > any > > book they choose. I give students a reading log, due every Monday, that > asks > > them to document the minutes they read nightly, I ask them to write > about > > their independent reading weekly, based on the strategies and or > elements of > > literature we were studying. I maintain a classroom library and > students have > > access to the school library every 2 weeks. My problem is that my > homework > > completion rate is TERRIBLE. Rather , I should say that fewer than 50% > of my > > students regularly turn in their homework. Atwell, Miller, and many, > many > > other language arts teachers consider reading at home an important part > of > > their reading program. I am tempted to drop the the reading log > requiremnent, > > but I don't want to "dumb down" my expectations for my students who are > > predominantly blue collar and poor. I want students to have some > > accountability, but at the same time I don't want to make the homework > process > > so cumbersome that it turns my students off to reading independently. > What are > > your experiences and insights that can help? Thank you. > > > > Darlene Kellum > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > > > ****This Message was sent through the Chatham County Schools E-Mail > Server**** > > All e-mail correspondence to and from this address is subject to the > North Carolina Public Records Law, which may result in monitoring and > disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement. > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > -- *Stress (substitue "worry") is a form of atheism; it infers that you do not believe God is in control.* * * `´*:-.,_,.-:*´`´*:-,_,.-:*´`´*:-.,_,.-:*´`´*: _______________________________________________ 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
