As I read the readings from Book Club Plus!, I noticed that there are many implementations that my Collaborating Teacher has within the classroom. While I observe literacy instruction in the classroom, I notice that my CT chooses books that range in skill level for read aloud. My CT has been modeling reading skills through the read aloud portion of literacy instruction. She is illustrating to the students "what thoughtful readers do is central to comprehension strategy instruction" (Raphael, Florio-Ruane, George, Hasty, Highfield, 118). We have readers that vary across reading levels (we are still obtaining DRA information), but my CT finds it important to include all levels in her read aloud selections. The ability to provide students with a range of text allows them to experience with the words and make connections across literacy. Thus far in the year, we have not allowed students to make their own book selections due to the fact that we have not obtained all DRA. Instead, my teacher reads to the students or has them follow along to a book on tape. My CT models correct "reading behaviors" by stopping and asking productive questions to the students. She may ask them to define a word, summarize, or predict. The students are gaining skills for being good readers through think alouds as described in Book Club Plus!. As stated in chapter 7, "think alouds give students the opportunity to see our thinking when we read: the connections we make, the questions asked, our interferences, and our predictions" (Raphael, Florio-Ruane, George, Hasty, Highfield, 117). These skills that my teacher is exposing the students to on a daily basis will be carried over into their independent reading time. Modeling correct reading is essential to students' literacy development and thier ability to make text-text and text-self connections.
One aspect of the Book Club Plus! that I would like to incorporate into my classroom is group work. I would like to assign groups upon different academic levels and social skills. I think that grouping students together would benefit their learning from one another. I have a diversity of learners across reading level, verbal levels, and personalities that tends to surface during literacy instruction. Throughout the past few weeks, I have noticed that students act a certain way relative to one another. However, I think that if I were to have literacy groupwork it would be beneficial to my students literacy environment and learning.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that your students have yet to partake in independent reading. You mentioned that your mentor teacher is waiting for the DRA results to be able to find which books will be appropriate while teaching them “good reading” strategies. This is slightly different from my mentor teacher’s teaching technique, in regard to Reader’s Workshop. We are also in the process of grading DRA tests and conduct mini-lessons based on “good reading” techniques. However, during our Reader’s Workshop she has the children choose six books from varying levels. Then, during the independent reading portion, the students look through higher-level books as well as reread stories with which they are very familiar. Next week, we are going to start the “just right books” portion of Reader’s Workshop and incorporate the DRA results (thus each child will be reading leveled books during independent reading time.) I believe that these two different approaches have both positives and negatives. For example, in my classroom, many children are choosing books that are not challenging them at all and are way under their reading level. Conversely, there are students who are choosing books that are very difficult and becoming extremely frustrated when they cannot get through the text. Therefore, I’m very excited for them to finally have books that are “just right” for them! I wonder how our experience with Reader's Workshop is going to be different based on the varying teaching styles we are seeing.