I....I don't even know where to start when it comes to this book. In a little less than 150 pages, Kelly Gallagher had so many incredible things to say and points to make.
He defines "readicide" as "the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools" (2). He argues that reading practices of today's classrooms are contributing to the death of reading. By teaching too much to the test, over/under teaching books, and limiting authentic reading experience are all contributing to this idea. On the surface, this idea is sort of appalling. Teachers and schools are failing to support reading? Isn't that like...one of their main jobs? But as the book continues, there's absolutely no doubt that this new word/idea is a very real thing and it has to stop.
It was shocking to me when Mr. Gallagher mentioned the students who didn't know "who" al Qaeda is/was, or the students who couldn't identify presidential candidates. When I was a senior in high school, my government/CWP teacher had nearly every friday set aside to do the same thing. We would walk into class, pick up a news paper, and spend the entire period summarizing 3-5 articles of our choosing. One had to be from the "world news" section, and the others could be our choice but from different sections. We didn't have a choice but to have at least SOME idea of what was going on in the world around us. Similarly, I really liked the idea of the Article-of-the-Week. It's a very simple, yet crucial activity that can help with battling readicide.
It's crazy to know that schools are so desperate for test scores, that they are willing to cheat their students out of a FULL, WELL ROUNDED education just to fib a little on their test scores. Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at UC Berkley, found that schools "lower the bar and design tests that are highly sensitive to slight gains for low achieving students. Progress may be occurring, he notes, but not anywhere near the rate claimed in this report" (111). Emphasis needs to be on helping students achieve individually, not "making sure we aren't penalized for low test scores."
Finally, I loved the "101 books my reluctant readers love to read" list on page 119. I'd love to read some of them myself, even though I consider my self a very eager reader :)
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Differentiated Instruction: Success for All Learners?
I found an article on EBSCOhost titled Differentiated Instruction: Can Differentiated Instruction Provide Success for All Learners? by Olga N. De Jesus.
Olga N. De Jesus attempts to answer the following questions in her article using Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gregory and Chapman:What is Differentiated Instruction? What is the research background for this method? How does it work? what are the recommended instructional strategies?
The concept of differentiated instruction began with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. Providing the least restrictive environment for students could now apply to ALL students, regardless of if they have a disability or not. An interesting note that De Jesus makes is that a study done in 2004 (Noble) states that "both the special education and gifted education literature call for a differentiated curriculum to cater for the wide range of student differences in any classroom"(6). They define differentiated as "the practice of modifying and adapting materials, content, student projects and products, and assessment to meet the learning needs of students" (6). I think as teachers, the one thing we have the most control over is the WAY we teach our curriculum. We can absolutely use differentiated instruction and cater to those students who might need a little variation to enhance their learning experience. It's important to focus on each student's particular skills to learn material, they have a better shot at being successful.
De Jesus also gives us various instructional strategies that can be used to differentiate instruction: cooperative learning, project based learning and multiple intelligences and utilizing different learning styles. I like how she points out that teaching to all learning styles is possible, even though it may seem daunting at first. Of course she also uses a large section of this article to focus on the importance of discussion. It always comes back to that concept, doesn't it?
When it comes down to it, being able to differentiate instruction effectively requires us to understand both our students and subject matter intimately. We must not be afraid of change and modify, and be flexible every year with every class. It's also important to distinguish between "different" and "differentiated." De Jesus states "using the principles of differentiation, teachers design work that is based on students' needs - assembling choices, without attention to their suitability for particular learners, offers options that may be interesting but are grounded neither in the principles of differential education nor representative of purposeful approaches to learning"(10).
I think this article not only showed ways to differentiate instruction, but also the importance of it in the most simple terms.
Olga N. De Jesus attempts to answer the following questions in her article using Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gregory and Chapman:What is Differentiated Instruction? What is the research background for this method? How does it work? what are the recommended instructional strategies?
The concept of differentiated instruction began with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. Providing the least restrictive environment for students could now apply to ALL students, regardless of if they have a disability or not. An interesting note that De Jesus makes is that a study done in 2004 (Noble) states that "both the special education and gifted education literature call for a differentiated curriculum to cater for the wide range of student differences in any classroom"(6). They define differentiated as "the practice of modifying and adapting materials, content, student projects and products, and assessment to meet the learning needs of students" (6). I think as teachers, the one thing we have the most control over is the WAY we teach our curriculum. We can absolutely use differentiated instruction and cater to those students who might need a little variation to enhance their learning experience. It's important to focus on each student's particular skills to learn material, they have a better shot at being successful.
De Jesus also gives us various instructional strategies that can be used to differentiate instruction: cooperative learning, project based learning and multiple intelligences and utilizing different learning styles. I like how she points out that teaching to all learning styles is possible, even though it may seem daunting at first. Of course she also uses a large section of this article to focus on the importance of discussion. It always comes back to that concept, doesn't it?
When it comes down to it, being able to differentiate instruction effectively requires us to understand both our students and subject matter intimately. We must not be afraid of change and modify, and be flexible every year with every class. It's also important to distinguish between "different" and "differentiated." De Jesus states "using the principles of differentiation, teachers design work that is based on students' needs - assembling choices, without attention to their suitability for particular learners, offers options that may be interesting but are grounded neither in the principles of differential education nor representative of purposeful approaches to learning"(10).
I think this article not only showed ways to differentiate instruction, but also the importance of it in the most simple terms.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
I Read It, But I Don't Get It.
The phrase "I read it, but I don't get it" was heard all too often while I was in school. There is a major disconnect when we teach children how to read, and it doesn't always translate into them UNDERSTANDING what the words on the page mean. Comprehension isn't an ability that every child is born with, and Cris Tovani does an amazing job sharing her insight to how to better reach those kids who struggle.
Personally, I love reading and I always have. I was shocked by how many students Tovani mentions that were able to "fake reading" up until they entered her classroom. Surely, that doesn't happen. But apparently it does. Her strategies are awesome. When I was in middle and high school, writing in the text was frowned upon. Sometimes it was okay, but a lot of the times they were shared books and we had to keep them in pristine conditions. Tovani teaches her students early to mark up and highlight their readings to keep them engaged. Students are able to look back and use their coding to help them remember what they read. Even in college (since I spend hundreds of dollars on my text books, I'll be dammed if I don't make good use of them) I find that writing or highlighting helps me better understand my reading.
Something else I really enjoyed was the section titled "How Do I Know I'm Stuck?" starting on page 37. A lot of readers don't recognize that they aren't fully engaged in their text because they are reading the words and think that's enough. I think these steps that Tovani teaches her students are incredibly useful so students can really KNOW when they are confused.
I liked that she included the "access tools" in the appendices. It'll be helpful as teachers to use these when we are trying to encourage students to really get engaged in their reading and improve their comprehension skills.
Unfortunately, by the time children get to middle and high school, there's a good portion of them who have been able to fake comprehension up until that point. It's important, even as secondary teachers, that "teaching reading" is not just something for elementary teachers to master and assume that all kids are equipped with the ability to read and comprehend text by the time they reach our classroom. Tovani's book is useful because it gives many strategies to help those kids that need a little extra focus.
Personally, I love reading and I always have. I was shocked by how many students Tovani mentions that were able to "fake reading" up until they entered her classroom. Surely, that doesn't happen. But apparently it does. Her strategies are awesome. When I was in middle and high school, writing in the text was frowned upon. Sometimes it was okay, but a lot of the times they were shared books and we had to keep them in pristine conditions. Tovani teaches her students early to mark up and highlight their readings to keep them engaged. Students are able to look back and use their coding to help them remember what they read. Even in college (since I spend hundreds of dollars on my text books, I'll be dammed if I don't make good use of them) I find that writing or highlighting helps me better understand my reading.
Something else I really enjoyed was the section titled "How Do I Know I'm Stuck?" starting on page 37. A lot of readers don't recognize that they aren't fully engaged in their text because they are reading the words and think that's enough. I think these steps that Tovani teaches her students are incredibly useful so students can really KNOW when they are confused.
I liked that she included the "access tools" in the appendices. It'll be helpful as teachers to use these when we are trying to encourage students to really get engaged in their reading and improve their comprehension skills.
Unfortunately, by the time children get to middle and high school, there's a good portion of them who have been able to fake comprehension up until that point. It's important, even as secondary teachers, that "teaching reading" is not just something for elementary teachers to master and assume that all kids are equipped with the ability to read and comprehend text by the time they reach our classroom. Tovani's book is useful because it gives many strategies to help those kids that need a little extra focus.
Monday, February 3, 2014
A Response-Based Approach to Reading Literature
Right away, I liked the section on "horizon of possibilities" I think it's very important for students and teachers to understand that dissecting and responding to different literary texts doesn't always yield one solid answer. I liked that it said "a literary orientation is one of exploring horizons - where uncertainty is a normal part of response and new-found understandings provoke still other possibilities." Students need to know that when they read Shakespeare or Homer, it's okay to not know immediately what is being said, but that conversation and questions open up understanding.
I understand the hesitance that this author encountered from teachers about being able to shift their instruction based on what students were saying, but it think it's an important aspect of being able to really teach students something instead of just talking at them. Listening to students and how they're responding to the text can better form your instruction because you are teaching to what they don't understand, or what they want to know more of. If we are too focused on "teaching to the test, we aren't REALLY HEARING what our students are saying. If we can respond accordingly to what students are asking and saying, we can better prepare them for what they need to know instead of just reading bullet points and flipping through a powerpoint. It's a better way to not only engage them in what they're learning, but it better engages you as a teacher.
I understand the hesitance that this author encountered from teachers about being able to shift their instruction based on what students were saying, but it think it's an important aspect of being able to really teach students something instead of just talking at them. Listening to students and how they're responding to the text can better form your instruction because you are teaching to what they don't understand, or what they want to know more of. If we are too focused on "teaching to the test, we aren't REALLY HEARING what our students are saying. If we can respond accordingly to what students are asking and saying, we can better prepare them for what they need to know instead of just reading bullet points and flipping through a powerpoint. It's a better way to not only engage them in what they're learning, but it better engages you as a teacher.
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