Hello,
This is my first time here and I'm excited to learn new things from experienced professionals.
I'm beginning student teaching in a few weeks and I'm curious about something:
Do you think it's better to provide in-class reading time for assigned novels and short stories because "they won't read them otherwise" or does it work to assign the readings and then do the "work" in class?
I'm trying to understand if I'm being naive in assuming that they'll ge the reading done outside so we can work on the activities in class? I don't plan on assigning a bunch of outside homework like study guides and etc. I hope to accomplish the work in-class but they need to come "prepared" (or as prepared as they can).
Does this make sense?
Thanks,
Dawnette
Short Answer
The short answer is that whether you provide class time or assign it as a homework assignment, it will depend on the dynamics of your class. Also, I would speak to my cooperating and supervising teachers.
Good question!
I think you asked a good question, but the answer is both. I think students need a guide to help them through difficult material, higher level novels, in class. Someone has to show them how to understand literary devices and recognize strong characters, foreshadowing, conflict, etc. and make sure they are understanding what they read.
That said, students must read on their own and learn to be prepared. The goal is to get kids to love reading so they see it as a part of life, not a subject. In reality, students will be required to read on their own all the way through college. No one is going to hold their hand. So we must gradually help them develop the ability and discipline to read at home, and we must be examples of good readers by reading with them in class.
Hope that helps.
Steve
student teacher query
As a student teacher, you probably didn't have a choice on the student reading, so I won't go into how to convince the students that this reading selection is somehow relevant to their lives. To give in to the idea that "Kids won't read unless we give them class time to read" undermines the credibility and relevance of reading--in short conveys the idea that what they are reading is not important enough to be done in the context of their lives outside of school. Also, how does a teacher make sure students read at the same pace? Many use a recorded book and the kids read along--but that irritates the good readers who read silently than the audio-book, some students don't read at all but listen, others try but are frustrated because their eyes can't keep up with the voice, and a few kids will take a nap. If you want them to follow along with an oral reader, read it yourself while walking around the room, stopping now and then for discussion. DO NOT HAVE STUDENTS READ THE BOOK ALOUD IN ROUND-ROBIN READING!! Here's my advice, based on my experience in the classroom:
Begin the book in class--preferably with a book talk and your reading aloud enough to hook them in. I hope you enjoy reading aloud and are good at it. Your reading performance and voice is your best tool for engaging kids in reading selections, so practice! Be fairly brief and prepare for an equally engaging discussion of what you read to them, concentrating more on reactions to the content than on author's style or literary conventions. Get them predicting what will happen next in the selection. Assign a short reading assignment for the next class. Begin the next class with a reading response based on the assigned reading passage. Take up the responses and refer to them during the ensuing discussion. You may want to use a reading response journal--but don't make keeping the journal more important than reading the book. Keep paper and pencil activities to a minimum, but use discussion to train them in responding to reading (You know the 3 ways to make connections taught in upper elementary and middle school, right? Text to Text, Text to World, Text to Self. See what's on Ed World if you don't).
Tell your class just how long they have to read the book and to finish some sort of tiered project before moving on to the next unit. Post a timeline for the reading of the novel. Post discussion questions for each selection PRIOR to reading and class discussion/writing. I'm running out of room, but you get the idea--make the assignments meaningful. Authors despair of teachers turning their novels into a set of activities. My book club doesn't fill out worksheets, word searches, and M/C tests for the books we read --we talk about the books! Look at some of the books by Cris Tovani, Ralph Fletcher, Kelly Gallagher, Janet Allen, Juli Kendall, and others. Some of their books you can read online at www.stenhouse.com. If you are a middle school teacher, read Juli's journals in the Exploring Middle Grades Literacy section at www.middleweb.com for ideas. Oh, and ask the kids what they want to do as they study the book.
If you want more of my righteous advice, send me a lesson plan and the title of the book in a message within the Ed World Community.
If your engagement and interest in the book are obvious to the kids, they will want to read it, too. Have fun! Your post certainly made me nostragic for the classroom!
Thank You
Thanks for the information. It was very helpful.
I do have issues with reading out loud in class. I was a fast reader and it drove me crazy when the teacher forced everyone to follow along, either with the teacher or with other students who were slower readers. So, I don't plan to do a lot of in-class reading out loud unless necessary and then I would probably do the reading.
I'm student teaching in a middle/senior high school and so I have several books that I'm working with. I don't particularly like some of them but that's not my concern as much as whether I can get the kids to read outside the room and be prepared for the activities I plan for in-class. I think, but am not completely sure, that the current teacher allows a lot of time in-class for silent reading and that's not how I plan to work. I guess I was curious about what other teachers felt about this strategy.
I'm going to try to introduce Reciprocal Teaching as a means to study the novels which is why they need to get their reading done. If they haven't read the selection then they will be of no use to their group or the class during the whole-class discussion. I was concerned that I might have been naive in expecting them to come prepared and that it's "accepted" to allow a lot of in-class time to read.
I also don't plan to have worksheets and etc and wondered if that was also "not done". So it was nice to see your comment on that topic. I do want them to have a culminating project at the end of the unit (research paper, presentation or something) but plan to keep most of the daily work in-class (except the readings) and activity-based, rather than individual seatwork.
I will check out those authors and thanks, again for your input. I may take you up on your offer to send you a plan or two.
Recip Tchg, etc
Good ideas--your enthusiasm iwill be contagious. Yes, veteran tchrs will call you naive, but if you hook the kids, they will read assignments without class time for reading being provided. Reciprocal Teaching is a wonderful concept--remember to seque into it gradually, and train the kids in how to do it. It might seem mean, but if you make a reading assignment, are matter-of-fact and very clear in your expectations that they will "do it," and be ready with an activity that will be lots of fun for the next class, you will be able to set the tone for your class. Those who did not prepare for class will not be able to participate--instead they will complete a guided reading with some (not unreasonable amount) paper and pencil work. Be non-judgemental but firm when you tell them they can't participate because the reading was prep for the activity. Oh, and look a little sad that they can't participate. If you can somehow work food into the first day or two of high engagement activities post reading, that will help them decide to "do" the reading. Gradually, they will begin preparing for class. Preparing the paper and pencil activities or reading guide will take additional planning time, but here's a place to check for ideas for the novels your read:
http://www.lindaslinkstoliterature.com/dynamic/
I became a subscriber and registered member, even though I didn't use a lot of the activities--but I got terrific ideas from Linda's links. Yes, I could have found the links on my own, but it would have required more free time than I had. I'm letting my subscription lapse in a couple of months, but if I can do some of your searching for resources, let me know. I'm retired but love to stay busy. Send me your reading list.
Some teachers have had success by allowing students to come to the classroom before school, during lunch, or after school to read. That is sometimes not possible in large schools with multiple lunches or schools that rely on school buses.
Last tip: practice your reading aloud, stand and move around, watch yourself in the mirror so you can read expressively (but not dramatically--you're merely interpreting the reading, not acting). Don't worry about changing your voice for different characters--just use subtle inflections. If you move around the room while reading, you'll be able to squelch kids who will want to talk or text. Take a look at some of Fred Jones' Tools for Teaching articles on Education World for some insights into student [mis]behavior.
Keep us posted on how it goes.
Are you familiar with the book, "Worksheets Don't Build Dendrites"? You seem to have that philosophy.
Reply
Thanks again. I bookmarked that site and will check out the book.
The books I'm covering are "NIght" by Elie Wiesel, "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by Mildred Taylor, and "The Alchemist" by Paul Coelho.
I need to meet with my master teacher again to try to nail down what she really wants me to do. However, I'd like to go in with some ideas so I've got the Reciprocal Teaching that I want to use for book discussions, and I've basically developed an entire unit for Night and the Lit Book. I've tried, whenever possible to make whatever we're talking about in the novel tie to whatever I've chosen to read in the Lit Book so it's more about reinforcing concepts than simply just reading and answering questions.
My undergraduate degree is in Theatre Arts so I'm not too concerned about my reading. My focus was "behind the scenes" but I still had to take the Acting classes and Reader's Theatre classes and etc. So, I think I may be better than most as impromptu reading. And, as I said, I plan to keep this to a minimum to avoid boredom and "spacing out" because even the most interesting person can start to drone after a while :o)
Thanks!
resources
Well, I logged on to Linda's Links and found my subscription had expired. So, I resorted to looking for free teaching resources for _The Alchemist_ which I haven't read in years. Here are some that look promising.
Check out this one first: http://novelinks.org/pmwiki.php
resources developed by English teachers for English teachers—Look for The Alchemist under the Index of Novels tab. I’ll bet you’ll find at least one activity you want to try under reading activities or reading strategies here. You’ll find Night and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry resources, too.
===================================
http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Alchemist_Coelho/Alchemist-Study-Guide-Summary01.html
MonkeyNotes study guide for The Alchemist is being revised. For probably only a short while, the original study guide is at the above address and is free.
==============================================
http://quizlet.com/1574442/the-alchemist-studyguide-flash-cards/
flash cards and a “quizlet” here—seems to be mostly literal comprehension, but maybe not.
====================
A reading group guide: http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_A/alchemist1.asp
========================================
A collection of study guides, reading guides, info about Coello, etc.
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/jwright/The%20Alchemist%20Study%20Resources.htm
===================================
You know, there are a number of videos of Coello talking about writing and about his books on You Tube—I looked at several and think middle school/junior high kids would be bored stiff, but I was moderately interested.
The graphic novel(s) received mediocre reviews and one was not recommended for younger readers since the female figure was provocatively dressed and seemed be a sexual object!!