Friday, July 16, 2010
IR: Guiding Readers and Writers
I love the first 20 days!!! The chart provided is so helpful, it literally plans your first 20 days of reading workshop. This is so helpful in establishing the routines, procedures and expectations of workshop time. I love the level of detail in each lesson. As a beginning teacher, the first 20 days is especially helpful. Sometimes it is hard and overwhelming to know where to begin and this provides an excellent springboard for reading workshop. I will defiantly use this is my classroom no matter what grade I teach!
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Excellent layout and detail of the first 20 days of reading workshop! A helpful resource all around from the framework of what to "say", as the teacher, to the listing of expectations and procedures, some of which will be displayed on charts, as reminders for the students. I like the idea of the students writing book reacommendations for the "must-read" books in the classroom library. A good way for students to build community through independent reading.
ReplyDeleteI love this resource. I have a wonderful book that structures the first weeks of the writing workshop, and now I have one that structures the first weeks of the reading workshop! I am often concerned with what I should teach first, what is most important, etc. I like that this offers an order for the first minilessons. I also know that I am able to switch around, add, or take away lessons as needed for my class. I was really just looking for what to do that first week as I establish our routines, and I think this resource definitely serves that purpose. I like that it offers examples of the language we should use and what our charts for some of the lessons could look like.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great guide to launching Independent Reading. I have used it before to start the school year. It is so important to teach students these routines early on. If management is not in place, you will not be able to conference because of all the possible interruptions. One thing I do see differently now is how I can adjust the lessons more to fit the needs of my class, including the order of how things are presented. Something I need to remember is "be specific", "use clear statements", and "be short and to the point". I am looking over the resources needed to make sure I have everything I need for the start of this coming school year. Again, the goal here is helping readers "assume responsibility for their own learnng" and to "support them as lifelong readers."
ReplyDeleteLike my peers, I too found the chart useful. The best part of it to me is the implication--independent reading in the past has been seen as an activity conducted in isolation (supposedly an extension of reading instruction, but in Middle school actually more of a break for the teacher to grade papers, etc). We must transition to reading workshop, in which mini-lessons support the growth of the independent reader and skills/ strategies are meticulously taught/ modeled and then the student applies them during their time of creative reading. I think independent might be better termed creative reading--a mental process parallel to the independent writing process--students compose meaning from a text in their minds, just as they reveal their thinking in creative pieces.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think?
I loved this article and plan to use it in second grade as a beginning point during my first twenty days of school. I am so glad Katherine O-N suggested that I read it as I begin my preparation for the beginning of the year. While I know I will 'tweak' certain ideas, this is a great resource for jumping head first into IR mini-lessons. I have already created an EXCEL 'Reader's Notebook -Reading Log for my students to use.
ReplyDeleteThe format of this article is not only beneficial to new teacher, Felicia, but to those of us who have been around for a long time. I like the step by step format and the sequential order in which the mini-lessons have been described. The lessons just seem to make sense in the order presented.
I also appreciate the fact that these authors encourage student participation and input in creating charts that will benefit them throughout the year. The use of terminology will be modeled in my class this year as well. And I liked the fact that the authors suggest students talk to one another about their books (BUZZING); created a suggested reading list for other students; and more! Great RESOURCES!
As stated above...excellent resource. I love the chart, how it presents prescribed methods for each day. This brings to mind better use of Channel one time. I don't know if there is Channel One in middle school or elementary school?? I usually have my students skip channel one and work on something...reading anything they want or working on homework. Why not use channel-one time in this fashion...this can be a professional development tool at the high school level.
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