I read “The Pleasure Principle” This sentence stood
out for me “Teachers
in a reading workshop are teaching readers for a lifetime.” I thought, this is
so true! In order for students to be readers for a lifetime though, I need to
provide them with ample opportunities to read. Another thing that stood out in
this article was “free choice of books should be a child’s right.” It is very
important to allow students to choose what they want to read. This is
challenging because I teach 1st graders and not all of them
understand what books to choose. So I will have to conference with students and
guide them in the beginning on how to choose good fit books.
You're on the right track! Conferencing with students will be a tremendous help in teaching them how to choose books.
ReplyDeleteThis could be something you start to focus on in mini-lessons. I've read and observed where other teachers are starting by providing limited choice as students begin to practice choosing books on their own. This will help scaffold them as they become more adept at selecting books they will be successful reading.
DeleteI also thought free choice was a step in the right direction. While teachers can introduce new ideas and topics, kids ultimately know what they like.
ReplyDeleteHi Lyuda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we are not just teaching reading standards for one grade level, but rather we are teaching readers who have their own unique needs and abilities and interests that we want to motivate to love to read long after they leave our class. This requires us to look beyond the assignment, the grade, the lesson and look to what ways are we fostering a pleasure, a love for reading in our students. Where are we offering them choice. I appreciate that in reflecting on this point Atwell makes you realized that your students need support in choosing just right books. How can you do this in a way that promotes student ownership? Could you model the books you love and the process you go through to choose a book you love? What other suggestions stood out to you in this article? What other points did Atwell include in her Readers Bill of Rights that resonated with you? Thanks, Dawn
Hi Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI want to model more genres that students can pick from when choosing a book to read. I want to introduce comics. I can model how I loved Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield comics when I was in school. But I don't want my students to just read comic books so I will have to put a limit: like only 1 comic book and the others have to be different genres. I remembered something from the Daily 5 class that I took last year. I like the example of showing students different shoes and I trying them on and show how they are too big or too small. Then I can relate that to books: how some are too easy or too hard, so we have to choose the right ones that fit our needs and make us better readers. I also want to share Nate the Great books, I used to love reading those when I was in 1st and 2nd Grade. I think my boys especially would really like those.
Outstanding additions! Thank you!
ReplyDelete