One of the greatest insights that I gained from chapter four, "The Presence of the Past," is that it is OK for each of us to "get something different" from the things we read. Being an English major in college, I have always thought that there was one right way to interpret literature...now I'm realizing that the ways we interpret what we read (and even the ways we interpret life) has more to do with our life experiences than what the author was thinking when he wrote what he wrote. The reader is the only one who can create meaning for what she has read.
The taffeta dress story (and Ellen's thoughts on it) caused great dissonance for me. She made it a racial issue, and I see it as a socio-economic issue. I know a lot of people who had the same experience...and it was not because of their color...it was because they lived in poverty.
When I first read this book, I had started using KWL charts a lot in comprehension lessons. It surprised me to learn that sometimes your schema is wrong and that you need to change it when you learn new facts. Therefore, it really needs to be: "What I think I know/What I want to know/What I learned." This makes a lot of sense to me.
I found the "Gradual Release Planning Template," on pages 76-79 to be very helpful in thinking about how I can implement this way of teaching in my classroom.
This is some of what I marked in the text:
2nd paragraph, page 93- I like the way Kathy taught her class how to use the strategies in science also.
top of page 95-"Schema is about way more than reading!"
2nd paragraph, page 95-I like the way the "language of the strategy permeated every facet of the classroom." This is the way I teach normally...I like it when my teaching covers a lot of area, instead of just a small area...it's like "killing two (or maybe more) birds with one stone."
3rd paragraph, page 97-The fact that this way of teaching gave the students independence and power in their learning....WOW...that's just what we are trying to do in teaching!
The 6 bullets on page 98 that show the "way in" texts-this is exactly how we teach in kindergarten, and it makes a lot of sense to me.
Schema study is one of my favorite in MOT. I have used it a lot since I have understood what it is, and how to best activate it.
g
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Chapter 3
After reading this book, I found that my own reading skills improved. I really did start thinking about my thinking as I read. I'm thinking that this comprehension skill, "Mindful Reading: Monitoring and Revising Comprehension," might very well be the most important strategy of all. After all, it is helpful to know that you are not understanding what you are reading (like "Girl" at the beginning of this chapter). I'm also thinking this skill would come in handy with all the "school stuff" we do...problem solving in math, science thinking, etc..The insights I have when I read this chapter, is an idea of what needs to be done and used to put strategy study into practice in the classroom. A few of these are: explicit modeling of thinking, using charts, sticky note and conferencing. It all seems relatively simple and cost effective.One sentence causes me a lot of discomfort. It is found in the first full paragraph on page 63. It reads: "For better or worse, we all learn the most from adversity, not just as readers, but in the wider circles of our lives." I don't like adversity...or problems...not for myself and especially not for my own two children. When I observed Ellen Keene demonstration of teaching a thinking strategy, in Houston last year, I remember feeling very uncomfortable when one of the students in the group struggled with a thought (for several minutes) while hundreds of teachers watched. It made me realize that, when this happens in my classroom, I jump in and try to "save" the student, thus robbing him/her of a chance of learning (and articulating) problem solving and new thinking. Now, when this happens, I try to bite my tongue, and allow the time it takes for the student to think of how he/she wants to tell the group about his/her thinking.The last paragraph of page 55 really surprised me the first time I read this book. It is true that when a student has a problem in reading, we immediately assume it is a decoding or vocabulary problem. The fact that research has shown that most of our reading problems in school do not stem from these two issues has opened a whole new way of thinking for me. Now I spend a lot of time trying to give my students the keys to opening the deep structures of reading (rather than the surface structures). That is why I want to start instruction of these strategies at our school. I know this will help all children in all subjects (and all testing)!I found the role of the teacher (as stated on pages 54, 57, and 61) to be helpful when thinking about how I can implement this way of guiding my students’ acquisition of thinking skills. Some are: giving students tools and teach them to be flexible, adaptive, and independent using the tools; scaffolding student learning, conferring with students, and finding additional help for student.
Some of what I underlined in this chapter is: “Listening to Your Inner Voice,” page 49; most of page 53 (helping when students struggle); the last paragraph on page 62 (the importance of a good teacher, as opposed to the use of a program, prescription or set of materials).
As with every chapter of this book, pages 63-65 give good ideas for mini-lessons for this strategy.
Please post your thinking about this chapter. We want to hear about it!
g
Some of what I underlined in this chapter is: “Listening to Your Inner Voice,” page 49; most of page 53 (helping when students struggle); the last paragraph on page 62 (the importance of a good teacher, as opposed to the use of a program, prescription or set of materials).
As with every chapter of this book, pages 63-65 give good ideas for mini-lessons for this strategy.
Please post your thinking about this chapter. We want to hear about it!
g
Chapters One and Two
"First Reader," on page3, was also included in the first edition of
MOT. It captured my imagination because, like all of us 50-
somethings, Dick and Jane were the characters I learned to read with
in my first readers. I have one of these readers, and looking at it
transforms me back to that time, the days of Ozzie and Lucy and
Lassie, that seemed so much easier than today (but of course I was
five years old and we didn't have t.v. to let us know of all the
horrible happenings around the world instantly. I was learning to
read phonetically, and I liked it no more then than I do now…simply
because that is not the way I learned to read…phonics slowed my down.
If I had been taught the thinking skills I would have been like a
duck with water (fortunately, I lived in a home that encouraged
critical thinking and lots of reading…so I did learn to read).
Looking at Chapters 1 and 2, the insights I gained were (This is hard
because I have reading and rereading this book for about 7 years…I am
having trouble thinking of what I have learned that is new from this
book, this time around.): One insight included another idea that we
discussed in our ESL training last week. It is found at the beginning
of the first full paragraph on page 35. It is the idea that many
times a student is capable of deep thinking, but is unable to
articulate his thinking. I think that is what emphasis on the
development of oral language is so important for children today. We
need to (all the way to 12th grade) read aloud and discuss good
literature. I watched Ellin Keene do this last year, and it made me
realize how much good thinking work you can do with what seems like a
simple picture book. The secret is looking for the best books to read…
books that have life themes in them…books with meat in them.
When I first read this book I felt a lot of dissonance. By now, I
have formed new schema in my brain, and so I wasn't surprised by too
much in MOT. I suppose the whole idea of more time to read and more
time to talk (pages 38-41) disturbs me because, as we are all aware,
there is little time in our days for anything. That being said, I can
see how carving time out for reading and talking are going to be the
two uses of time that will give great gifts to us and to our
students. This is what is going to change all of the teaching and
learning in our school (math, science…all of it). That's why I have
wanted to study this book with all of you. My hope is that we can get
started on this…that we can have a support group…and that we can have
accountability to a group. That will change the quality of our work
more than anything.
There are two things that have surprised me, but they do not have to
do with reading this book. One, is how easy the whole thing was when
I observed Ellen Keene conduct a group's work on a thinking strategy.
After seeing that, I know that the hardest things to do (for me) is
going to be allotting time for our work and finding the best books to
work with. Also, I have been surprised at how much studying these
strategies has helped my own reading and thinking.
The authors have included a lot more practical information in this
edition of MOT (like the chronology of strategy instruction on page
34). This has made this book more helpful and user-friendly to me.
I marked a lot of the text, but I put exclamation marks beside the
2nd paragraph on page 29, and this sentence: "Kids who think well
test well." I fully believe that if we can implement these thinking
strategies in our school, our children would have no trouble with the
TAKS. That said, I know that it is an up-hill journey…lots of work…
but, hey, we're working hard already…I think we would get a lot
of "bang for our buck" with this…this is what I have been looking for
30 years!
Next Monday, we'll discuss Chapter 3. I hope to "see you" then.
MOT. It captured my imagination because, like all of us 50-
somethings, Dick and Jane were the characters I learned to read with
in my first readers. I have one of these readers, and looking at it
transforms me back to that time, the days of Ozzie and Lucy and
Lassie, that seemed so much easier than today (but of course I was
five years old and we didn't have t.v. to let us know of all the
horrible happenings around the world instantly. I was learning to
read phonetically, and I liked it no more then than I do now…simply
because that is not the way I learned to read…phonics slowed my down.
If I had been taught the thinking skills I would have been like a
duck with water (fortunately, I lived in a home that encouraged
critical thinking and lots of reading…so I did learn to read).
Looking at Chapters 1 and 2, the insights I gained were (This is hard
because I have reading and rereading this book for about 7 years…I am
having trouble thinking of what I have learned that is new from this
book, this time around.): One insight included another idea that we
discussed in our ESL training last week. It is found at the beginning
of the first full paragraph on page 35. It is the idea that many
times a student is capable of deep thinking, but is unable to
articulate his thinking. I think that is what emphasis on the
development of oral language is so important for children today. We
need to (all the way to 12th grade) read aloud and discuss good
literature. I watched Ellin Keene do this last year, and it made me
realize how much good thinking work you can do with what seems like a
simple picture book. The secret is looking for the best books to read…
books that have life themes in them…books with meat in them.
When I first read this book I felt a lot of dissonance. By now, I
have formed new schema in my brain, and so I wasn't surprised by too
much in MOT. I suppose the whole idea of more time to read and more
time to talk (pages 38-41) disturbs me because, as we are all aware,
there is little time in our days for anything. That being said, I can
see how carving time out for reading and talking are going to be the
two uses of time that will give great gifts to us and to our
students. This is what is going to change all of the teaching and
learning in our school (math, science…all of it). That's why I have
wanted to study this book with all of you. My hope is that we can get
started on this…that we can have a support group…and that we can have
accountability to a group. That will change the quality of our work
more than anything.
There are two things that have surprised me, but they do not have to
do with reading this book. One, is how easy the whole thing was when
I observed Ellen Keene conduct a group's work on a thinking strategy.
After seeing that, I know that the hardest things to do (for me) is
going to be allotting time for our work and finding the best books to
work with. Also, I have been surprised at how much studying these
strategies has helped my own reading and thinking.
The authors have included a lot more practical information in this
edition of MOT (like the chronology of strategy instruction on page
34). This has made this book more helpful and user-friendly to me.
I marked a lot of the text, but I put exclamation marks beside the
2nd paragraph on page 29, and this sentence: "Kids who think well
test well." I fully believe that if we can implement these thinking
strategies in our school, our children would have no trouble with the
TAKS. That said, I know that it is an up-hill journey…lots of work…
but, hey, we're working hard already…I think we would get a lot
of "bang for our buck" with this…this is what I have been looking for
30 years!
Next Monday, we'll discuss Chapter 3. I hope to "see you" then.
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