Friday, July 16, 2010
SR: Make It Real
" I like to think of shared reading as a shared text experience." Precisely. Using the shared reading strategy allows students to collaboratively discuss, analyze, and read a specific text together. I am a big fan of the "big books" after our activity on Thursday! The language, stories, and illustrations are great, while offering the opportunity for a variety of teaching points. This article includes a helpful chart on comprehension strategies, awareness of informational text, etc. to use during shared reading. I thought the "Buddy Reading" example from Manhattan New School was great! The students used Time for Kids magazines as a shared text and then particpated in a think aloud with a cross-age partner ( 2nd and 5th graders). I find this article's emphasis on informational texts helpful, especially when teaching Social Studies!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
First of all, I was excited about reading this article because of all the current emphasis, based on research, on using more nonfiction in reading and writing. The article spoke about the various sources of text that can be used to teach a specific skill or strategy. The students receive more support in Shared Reading, so more difficult text can be used. Linda Hoyt speaks about the importance of balancing fiction and nonfiction in other areas (such as read alouds) and that this is also true for Shared Reading. There are so many interesting features to use in nonfiction: cutaway drawings, bold type, headings, etc. I really ike the inquiry approach, too...having students tell what they notice on the page and then directing them to what your focus is for that day's lesson. It's important to make the connection for students...why/how these text features help them as readers. Modeling and demonstrating the use of different strategies will hopefully lead to more independence. Great idea: covering either the heading or the text under the heading to make predictions. I also love the Buddy Reading idea...making students teachers and helping both grade levels really dive deep into content in a fun, interactive way.
ReplyDeleteI don't think ELA teachers have realized the distinct difference in process when reading informational text versus narrative--effective readers totally change their style accordingly--just as playing tennis on a grass court is a much different event than playing on clay, field hockey vs ice hockey...(You get the metaphor).
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of this article that I found especially helpful and enlightening was p. 21--which contained an inventory of Teaching points, comprehension strategies, questions, text structures, language of info texts---wow, its all right there in front of us. I had been comparing and contrasting and trying to articulate this very page on my own for several years. It was nice to see I wasn't the only one.
We have been behind on teaching info texts because we didn't have the resources to understand exactly how to implement instruction--now we do.
Shared Text is explained as providing experiences that create an opportunity to model language and fluency. The big books are such a fun way to use shared text. The pictures support the text. Children love these big books.
ReplyDeleteBefore class and reading this article I never realized the opporunity of using transparencies for shared text. It seems to me that the smart board can also be used as a great tool for shared texts.
I especially like the reference of a shared text as " ...experiences provide an opportunity to model language and fluency as in read alouds, but with a higher level of intensity." Obviously, modeling is a key component in all areas of teaching, and we also know that the more fluent a reader becomes the better he/she will comprehend what they have read thus the need for modeling fluency not just through read alouds but also in shared reading.
ReplyDeleteThrough this article and this course, I have come to discover many means of providing shared text to my students. Most I have known for as long as I've been teaching but others are new to me.
The multitude of mini-lessons that come from shared reading is endless. I relate it to the opportunity I had with my children and now my grandchildren to teach them some important teaching points during lap reading something that may or may not be possible in the classroom.
I also saw first hand this past Thursday night the benefits of a text camera (in my daughter's college class) to project a specific text that needed to be shared with her whole class. Teach a specific skill was a benefit to the whole class. As I move to another grade I believe I will utilize more and varied genre to teach not only 'Informational Text Teaching Points' but genre related to a specific subject. And how much more interesting will it be to do this as a whole class instead of individually. It also lends itself to great conversation following the sharing of the text. Another good article with great resources and examples throughout. I especially appreciate the last page that suggested '25 Nonfiction Books Too Good to Miss.'
This article made me think of something that I do with my honor 10th graders in Biology class. We go from the concept of meiosis and have to segway into evolution. I have a shared read that gets everything out on the table...it forces a group discussion about a topic that they might feel otherwise uncomfortable to talk about. This article is about the life and reproduction of dung beetles...do the big and brawny always get the girls? Not always in the case of dung beetles...they usually choose a partner to mate with and stay with that partner. However, there are the scoundrel males who wait until the "husband" goes off to "work"...they wait in the shadows and mate with the female dung beetle when she least expects it! This brings up the topic of what is considered "success" in biological and evolutionary terms...getting your genes into the gene pool is considered success...can you imagine the conversation that we have? The article has witty and a very high level of vocabulary that we take turns reading. It is a great way to kick off evolution. It keeps it light yet thoughtful. It prepares us for the content of evolution
ReplyDeleteWhat a great article about Shared Reading. Shared Reading really is just that... a shared experience. It is like a "lap reading" that you would have with your child at home. I love the emphasis that anything can be used for Shared Reading, as long as it is large enough for everyone to participate. In my classroom, I use large poems and songs written on chart paper frequently. Shared Reading is one of my favorite parts of my day with my kindergarteners.
ReplyDelete