Tell me more about the Pioneer Valley books...:-) Jennifer Palmer Reading Specialist, National Board Certified Teacher, FLES "Reading is not a duty, and has consequently no business to be made disagreeable!" -Augustine Birrell
________________________________ From: understand-boun...@literacyworkshop.org on behalf of mary mullin Sent: Mon 2/2/2009 4:52 PM To: Special Chat List for To Understand: New Horizons in ReadingComprehension Subject: Re: [Understand] Chapter six? Lori, What grades are the students flatlining at Level 20-24? In my class (I teach 1st/2nd in a 2 yr. loop) I let kids have a mix of leveled, "just right" books, picture books, nonfiction and poetry in their book boxes. In the morning the kids have free choice, I just hope they might put the book back in the right bin! During DEAR time I say 1-2 just right books in 1st grade and then free choice. I let the kids go shopping from my leveled books and I try and make sure they have a 7-15 just right books and then their other picks. Our librarian supports a combination of just right and free choice too. The only time I try to direct a child to pick books closer to their level is in 2nd grade and the child wants to read a chapter book (with few illustrations) and they are still at level 12/14 or below. I love Pioneer Valley books because they have books at those levels that look like chapter books and then the kids feel excited that they are in chapter books too. I think it's important to honor their choice and provide a good mix. I must say the most popular books for my boys are Calvin & Hobbes cartoon books...I've had to replace them after every loop. My son learned to read using Calvin and 20 years later boys still love them! He refuses to let me bring his books in! mary ,
_______________________________________________ Understand mailing list Understand@literacyworkshop.org http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
