Dana, I too struggle with spelling and its use in the classroom. Could you send the info from Nancie Atwell that you mentioned regarding the individual lists. I teach 4th grade and I've tried to individualize, but sometimes I get lost in the management of all the varying levels. Thanks, Leslie Wright
On 7/18/08, Dana Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > ----- Forwarded Message ---- > From: Dana Williams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Judy Mazur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 10:18:13 PM > Subject: Re: [Understand] Bear with me... > > > Judy - > I think its a valid concern you have and shows how dedicated you are to > making sure you're doing the best for your students. As far as spelling > goes, I believe that some people are just naturally "good spellers". Not > that I necessarily believe they're just born that way, but maybe their > learning style lends itself more to seeing the patterns inherent in our > language? Anyway, I, too, have struggled with spelling throughout my > teaching career. Those who are not "good spellers" either don't or can't > just memorize a weekly list. The best solution I have come up with thus far > is from Nancie Atwell - each student works on their own personal list of > words they personally struggle with. It's very manageable and easy to > implement. I can send you more info if you'd like. > > As for your other examples, I'm thinking that maybe you need to have this > discussion with your students? Tell them that you've noticed what great > thinkers they are. Tell them you love how they work through a text and make > their own meaning, come to understand. But also tell them that, in life, > there are, unfortunately, some things you just have to memorize. Give them > examples from your own life of tasks that may seem unpleasant to you, but > are necessary. Share with them things you have to memorize - your checking > account number, what you need to pick up from the grocery store. And, right > now, they have to memorize how many pints are in a gallon. Sympathize with > their struggle, but such is life, right? > > As much as I LOVE teaching them to become lifelong readers and writers, I > have to accept the reality that there are times were the content is just as > important as the process. > > Just my thoughts here.... maybe someone else has a better reply to the > content vs. process issue (which, I think, is what you're toying with). > > Dana > > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Judy Mazur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 8:42:33 PM > Subject: [Understand] Bear with me... > > I'm not eloquent, and I don't quite know how to say this, but I'm starting > to worry a bit about the emphasis I'm placing on thinking. I am devoted to > comprehension strategies and writer's workshop. My goal is for my students > to become joyful independent learners, thinkers who delve. I raise the bar > every year and am thrilled with the ability of my third graders. BUT, now > that several of you have brought up spelling (my LEAST favorite subject--I > love what Beverlee wrote), I realize that my kids never, and I mean NEVER, > memorize. Even my most brilliant kids seem stymied when converting gallons > to pints (without a chart or visual). Spelling mistakes are frequent. I am > beginning to wonder if I am doing them a disservice. Am I crippling them as > learners by focusing on process? Is it enough to give them strategies to > solve problems if they need to be reminded how many days are in each > month? I swear I will never go back to the "old way" of > teaching, but I am concerned. What do you think? > I hope my concern is clear, > Judy > (judy3ca) > _______________________________________________ > Understand mailing list > [email protected] > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org > _______________________________________________ > Understand mailing list > [email protected] > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org > _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
