After reading through chapters 5-6, I found myself jotting many reflections as I read chapter 5. I was first interested in thinking about the idea of in media res and the many texts that young readers ( I am thinking 1-2) can be challenged by because of the events and and relationships that the writer often alludes to and assumes the reader can infer. The Magic Treehouse is one that comes to mind for the new readers I've known. I was nodding with Vicki when she wrote that readers have to know when they are confused and I thought about about how key interactive picture book read alouds are for my first graders in building classroom conversations where kids encounter confusion and discomfort but are excited to solve the notice and wonder thinking the entire class brainstorms. Then I began to ask myself which books have first graders thinking... Wolfie the Bunny, Happy Like Soccer, Specs for Rex and Beekle are some of their favorites for thinking, charting and talking about. In Vicki's section: Core Practice: Choosing a Text, I noted her thinking and thought further as an educator who works with many primary readers. She has us consider the text at the word level and this can be overwhelming when choosing a text for whole groups discussion when some students have just started to decode and others are on the proficient end. I think that primary students (K-1 including our early readers and ELL students--and beyond !) can all enter into a books that have pictures. Often learning to read begins with hearing stories and enjoying repeated readings of favorite books. The rhythm of story and repeated reading in my mind can act as a scaffold for enjoying them and thinking about a book in the earliest grades. I was thankful that she gave us permission to not offer a teaching point each day. This to me supports with the message of her book that when we put kids first, we are listening to them and allowing this problem based approach to happen. She also writes of the: you, we, I and listening to students when chunking text, keeping our voice in check and trusting ourselves and our students--all of which I feel also support her message. This quote spoke to me on pg.79: I choose to trust that when we slow down, students can put the pieces of a text together in ways that allow them to see connections, relationships, and patterns of interaction. The only thing I struggle with is levels. Does real choice include students choosing within their level? And, maybe I missed something or this thought will be addressed as I read on, but is just letting kids choose between different books at their level really bring readers into the full picture of texts they can handle? How can we build their identity and agency for choosing without a level? So glad to be a part of this! --Katie
4 Comments
Faith
7/19/2017 10:44:55 am
Thanks for sharing your book recommendations for K-1. I have had many struggles with reading levels! I definitely want kids reading books that they can actually read, but don't feel comfortable telling kids they can't read something because of their level. I have gone back and forth between leveling or not leveling my class library. In the end, I have found that having conferences with students is the best way to help match readers to books. Through conferring, students can start to develop the awareness of when they are "getting" a book or not. I hope this helps!
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7/20/2017 04:58:58 am
Your post inspired us to think more about the gradual release of responsibility and how the work Vicki describes fits into that model. In K/1 classrooms, this work seems best for interactive read aloud , shared reading and eventually partners and book clubs. Students need so many opportunities to problem-solve together before they can do this work when reading independently and many of the texts that they read early on, don't push readers to do this kind of work. We wonder if level could be taken out of this equation for our youngest readers by giving them wordless books and familiar picture books to think through together
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Katie
7/21/2017 06:19:51 am
Tammy and Claire-
Faith-
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