The Final Week of the Book Study

Hi to all,

We have two more chapters left to cover during the week of January 26 - 30.  Our conversation will be centered on Chapters 5: Extensive Academic Reading: Extending Opportunities and Support and Chapter 6: Sustained Silent Reading +: Dedicating Time for Independent Reading.  For our discussion, I have included the general questions once again for your consideration.  

In your post, be sure to indicate which question you are responding to.

Please remember that these questions are general and can be applied to any of the chapters.

  1. How did the ideas in this chapter speak to your experience as a teacher?
  2. What in this chapter particularly caught your attention? Cite a specific phrase, sentence or group of sentences that grabbed you and explain why.
  3. Were there ideas or sections in this chapter you had questions about?  Anything you wanted to know more about?

Chapter 5: Extensive Academic Reading: Extending Opportunities and Support

After you read this chapter, what thoughts do you have about the trade-offs of “content coverage” versus supporting students to comprehend their reading in a more in-depth way?

  1. Write a response to the Classroom Close-Up 5.2 on page 141: what questions does this teacher’s experience and perspective raise for you? What (if anything) do you find valuable or useful in her reflections?
  2. What is your response to the idea of “textbooks as text sets” (pages 147-149)?

Chapter 6: Sustained Silent Reading+: Dedicating Time for Independent Reading

  1. Given the reality that adult educators and adult learners meet for such a short period of time, what are your thoughts about the possibilities of integrating Sustained Silent Reading into a class?
  2. What are some ways to support learners to read outside of class in addition or as an alternative to reading in class?
  3. What are some ideas for adult educators to build classroom libraries with materials for learners to borrow?

Happy reading!

 

 

Comments

This teacher story was so inspiring! It supported collaboration between librarians, teachers, and students (what a wonderful combination!). It resulted in engagement by all of the above. I especially enjoyed reading about the medieval Europe research project that involved mixed-ability groups, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The improvements in students' interest in history and confidence as readers strongly support both differentiated  and extensive reading.

21.  I agree that this is a great example of differentiated instruction for a multi-level classroom.    I liked how she used different resources that had similar content for the different reading abilities.  I agree with p.142 which says that, “The one-size-fits-all reading level of textbooks assumes a more homogeneous classroom than is often typical.”   I also like the building of text sets to use in the classroom. 

22.  Textbooks as Text Sets Section was also interesting.  Many teachers lecture with material that is not necessarily a part of the textbook and give textbook readings as homework.  Actually using sections of the textbook in the classroom will help students build not only their reading ability but also their content knowledge. I particularly liked the ideas in Paragraph 3 under the Textbooks as Text Sets section on p. 147.  To quote the last sentence "The textbook used in this way becomes a rich resource for learning, with multiple opportunities for students to read, reread, and work their way through the challenges these texts present."

Hi Aimee and all, I have been incorporating reading a textbook in the way you underscore here; the text is one used in a CNA prep course, although my class is at the pre-CNA level. While the text is above the reading level of most of the students, as per TABE,  I am seeing some early signs of success using the RA approach. Since my new class just started this week, I am looking forward to continuing to apply and refine the RA techniques.

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Hi Marn and all, In your post, you acknowledge the increased motivation factor of focusing instruction on interesting content. You also point out the importance of balancing listening, speaking, reading and writing if we are to provide the highest quality literacy instruction -- for all learners. If we can collaborate with those amazing people called librarians to make this happen, so much the better!

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment

Strategies like SSR mentioned in the book are valuable, but I think there is no guarantee that students will legitimately engage in reading appropriately select materials to stimulate their growth unless teachers provide students with a choice of text selection that targets students' different interests and reading levels and that arouses curiosity. In addition, the text selection provided should activate prior knowledge and connect to students’ lives. I have also found, and I believe that the reading apprenticeship classroom described in this book supports this, is that it is important for teachers to encourage collaboration and discussion among students and  frequently explicitly model reading, responding, and monitoring comprehension .The strategy mentioned on page 184-- the Discussion Prompts for Debriefing SSR + Reading enables teachers to provide an opportunity for all of this to occur as students respond and reflect on the reading if the right text is provided.

Hi Melanie, Great point about integrating the principles of RA into SSR. If we can do that, then taking precious class time will be worth it.

Have you actually used SSR in your class? This semester I am providing a structure with clear expectations and some texts for students to choose to read at home. I'm curious to see how this will pan out.  What has been members' experience with giving homework?

Cheers, Susan

Moderator, Assessment CoP

Hi to all members of the Book Study,

Today is the final day, but our conversation does not have to end.  I have been overwhelmed by your enthusiasm and eagerness to share in our Book Study.     I think that it has been a valuable learning experience for everyone.  Ruth Schoenbach has shared with me a publication that you may find of interest at http://readingapprenticeship.org/articles/building-a-culture-of-engaged-academic-literacy-in-schools/.

Our conversation can continue in this group.  Good luck to all who are looking differently at reading as a result of Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms. 

Thank you for your participation!!

Meryl Becker-Prezocki

 

Thank you Meryl and Susan for organizing and leading this wonderful discussion. I was sorry to have to drop out early in January owing to a bad case of bronchitis that turned most of my spare reading time into sleeping time. Now, however, I look forward to finishing the book while reading the comments of this incredible group of educators!

Hi John, Kathleen, Holly and Others in the Book Study Group,

Thanks for your messages and I wanted you to know that your posts were so interesting.  In fact, I was so surprised about how much I learned over the month from all of you.  I highly recommend Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms.

Meryl, SME