Dana
Thanks for taking the time to share some of your experience when Ellin
visited...I look forward to more as it bubbles up over the next few months...
:-)
If there is one thing I am going to do to start applying what I have learned
from To Understand, it is this wait time. Whether or not you use the phrase "I
know you don't know but if you did know...." perhaps a big key to improving the
level of rigor in our classrooms is to give that wait time, to name for the
kids the importance of silence and TIME to think and NOT let kids take the easy
way out and NOT to let them believe that their contributions are less than
important.
Jennifer Palmer
Reading Specialist, National Board Certified Teacher
FLES- Lead the discovery, Live the learning, Love the adventure.
"Children grow into the intellectual life around them."
-Vygotsky
________________________________
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Dana Williams
Sent: Mon 8/4/2008 6:29 PM
To: Special Chat List for "To Understand: New Horizons in ReadingComprehension"
Subject: Re: [Understand] wait time and Ellin
I had mentioned before that I had the opportunity to co-teach a lesson with
Ellin. (I know that Jennifer had asked for some more reflection on that, but I
didn't even know where to start. I'm hoping that all of the amazing things I
learned that day will come out over the next several months as we continue this
listserve.) Anyway - that same day I also was able to observe Ellin do two
demonstration lessons in other classrooms.
One of the most talked about things in the days and weeks following the 3
lessons was Ellin's amazing use of wait time and the very same prompt we are
now discussing on this listserve. I never once saw Ellin "give up" on a
student by allowing them to pass with an "I don't know". Each and every time,
she responded with "I know you don't know, sweetheart, but if you DID know,
what would you say?" And she says this in her very caring, supportive, loving,
Ellin-like way that she always has with kids. And, each and every time, the
child did NOT disappoint. Each and every time - no exaggeration here - the
student eventually responded with something brilliant. I think that when you
refuse to let a child off the hook with "I don't know", you're sending a very
powerful message. You're not putting them on the spot, you're not intimidating
them - but, instead, you're saying "I think you're a brilliant, insightful
reader and thinker" and "We can all
learn by what you're thinking" and "Your thoughts are deeply important to us."
And, I think that if you pushed kids to discover their thinking from the first
day of school, if you didn't accept "i don't know" - I think they would realize
that they DO know and they would stop saying, and thinking, that they don't. I
teach 5th, but I think this would also work with even older kids.
As for wait time, I've never seen anyone use wait time like Elline Keene! In
the first grade classroom, Ellin did a lesson on inferencing with An Angel for
Solomon Singer. She called on a very quiet little girl because Ellin "saw the
inference flash across her eyes." Ellin asked the girl to share her inference,
her thinking.....and the girl "didn't know". Ellin said, "I know you don't,
sweetheart, but if you had to guess what would you say?" and we waited, and
waited, and waited. Ellin told the girl she was doing "a very smart thing" by
taking her time to think and that Ellin could tell she was a good thinker. And
we waited and waited and waited. By now, it was growing uncomfortable - you
could tell the observers were increasingly uncomfortable with each passing
minute. But Ellin wasn't going to do this child a disservice by acknowledging
that the girl couldn't possibly have made an inference and calling on someone
else! So we
waited..... Ellin ended up having the girl come stand by her so the girl could
look at the pictures. There Ellin was with her arm around this girl waiting
patiently. Still - nothing. Well, after I don't know how long.... 5 minutes?
Seven? Maybe longer.... The girl finally squeaked out "I think..." and Ellin
gently said, "Good, you infer...." (notice the subtle shift in language here) -
and the girl continued w/ something like "I infer that the man keeps going back
to the cafe because he's really lonely and misses his home and I infer he'll
probably go back again tomorrow for the company." Which, if you're familiar
with the book is a gorgeous inference for a first grader!! And you know what?
As Ellin finished the book, the same girl inferred several more times.
Ellin did this in every classroom, and it worked - every time! When we're
asking students to share their thinking, how could they possibly not know?
It's their thoughts - of course they know. One of the biggest changes in my
teaching since that day has been in my use of wait time. They need time, they
need silence - they need to know that their thoughts are so important that it's
worth the wait.
Dana
----- Original Message ----
From: "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, August 4, 2008 12:47:42 PM
Subject: [Understand] working with the older kids
Jan--You asked about using the "I know you don't know" dialogue with older
kids. No, I would not say that to the older kids. They are too jaded and would
shut down. I have found with the older ones being straight-up and adult with
them will go a long way to avoid that encounter. I explain that they have been
taught to read, but not to comprehend what they read, and so we will be working
on that. They get that--unfortunately--and are on board for the ride. Of
course, they want to improve their understanding and comprehension! We discuss
the strategies and how they work and help. This seems to break down any
inadequacies they may feel of not feeling "smart" enough. Also, I will
sometimes let them write questions/comments after reading that we share in a
class discussion. This works very well and begins to open up a dialogue of
which they desire to be a part. It gets the ball rolling as it removes
apprehension and fear while the magic
begins in the classroom. Hope this helps
.
_______________________________________________
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
