(Beverlee Paul wrote: I have asked my close friends if they are interested in doing a book study on To Understand. Do you think that it will be OK to do that if most of them have not read Mosaic?)
I would like to respond to those of you are thinking about doing a book study with To Understand at your schools. After reading Mosaic of Thought, one colleague and I had the good fortune to attend a 2 day conference with Ellin Keene two years ago. We came back quite inspired to change our teaching. I teach fourth grade. As soon as To Understand came out, I purchased it and savored every word. I couldn't wait to share it with colleagues. About that time I joined this list. I went back to school and put out a call for anyone interested in reading the book together. Fourteen colleagues responded! And the great thing was, there were teachers from every grade as well as reading specialists. I ended up facilitating two groups, one before school, one after school. (Our curriculum director is considering a "Science Based Research Reading Program" for our school so the timing of this discussion could not have been better.) I have found the discussions here to be so, so helpful for our school discussions. A giant thank you for all of your thoughtful contributions. Anyway, to get back to Beverlee's question, a few of the group had read Mosaic. Some had read Debbie Miller's Reading for Meaning. Most had not, but without exception, they loved To Understand. They loved and appreciated the brilliant writing, and they loved the practical aspects about teaching reading. And I loved seeing them get excited about Ellin's work. Some began trying things in their classrooms and bringing back rave reviews. All want to take it further. Which brings me to my question. What is the answer to administrators who believe that the boxed Reading Program is the answer? We are a high performing school but administrators seem crazed at the lack of "consistency". How can we convince administrators that Ellin's model can meet the need for a "research based reading program"? Is it possible? Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Carol _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
