I had my students read every night. The first 15 minutes of the school day they met with a partner (their choice -could stay the same or change daily) and told them about their book, why they liked it (or didn't) something about the setting or character... I had a list of conversation starters, but once they understood this was to meet with someone and talk about reading or what they read last night, the starters were rarely used. Maybe once a week I had 1 or 2 students not read. They were allowed to read whatever they wanted -just be ready to talk about it. The students got very excited about reading and loved that they didn't have to write about it for homework, or bug mom or dad, or auntie, or grandma to sign a log. During those 15 minutes I would walk around to listen in to partner talk. We would meet as a class afterwards at the open space on the carpet (close together) and I would have a few students share what their partner had said while they met that day (this kept them listening to their partner as they never knew who would be called on to share that day). The partner was allowed to interject if they wanted to clarify something. Jan
I had parents tell me they loved the homework and students became motivated, excited readers. I even had students decide to read the same book so they could talk about it together. Jan You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother. -Albert Einstein "*If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.*" Albert Einstein On Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 9:21 PM, <[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
