You can't write without reading...great way to put it. I often have to write down the random ramblings in my head to make most of them make sense. Sustained silent reading has an ever growing body of research that says that ssr is vitally important.
I thought that the idea of reading and writing being complementary was the most important part of the reading this week. You had a much easier class to think of ideas on how to use writing. I swear I racked my brain for like an hour coming up with ideas for using writing in math classes this week. I like that idea too of reading for pleasure in class. Would you make your students read books? Or would you allow them to read magazines, comic books, etc.? Some students don't find a lot of pleasure from library books. I don't know if it is just the fact that it is a book that makes them not like it, but it is something to think about.
Why thanks for asking, Jeremy. Oh, I'd definitely allow a variety of reading materials for group activities, but for silent reading, I would only want them reading books. For the students who do not love reading long books, there are graphic novels (which are just basically comic books) and there are anthologies (short stories or poems). The key with library books is to provide lists that fall into different categories, since it is so hard to just "choose" a library book. Two new students in a class I was observing the other day proclaimed to not enjoy reading, but then when the teacher suggested something in the "real life" category, they both found a book and said "do we get to READ these? In class?" Their astonishment was, well, astonishing. The thing about a magazine is that people hardly EVER sit down and read an entire article from a magazine; mostly (especially younger students) there is a lot of flipping around and looking at pictures and doing stupid quizzes (female-related magazines)...maybe if it were a scholarly magazine, I'd go for that.
Heck, I'd even encourage them to read children's books, which I personally find very, very entertaining. I want them to find that "sweet spot" in reading that Gallagher talks about in ch 3--what he calls "reading flow." I just have a hard time thinking that average HS students are likely to pick up the type of magazine that takes them to that spot. If I weren't a little picky about what they choose, I will end up with a room full of girls reading Cosmo (or whatever is popular right now) for sex tips and taking "does your boyfriend love you" quizzes.
I like how you mention "putting things into your own words." This is a great way for students to connect reading and writing and show that they comprehend the text they have just read. This can tell you if they get the main idea or if they are able to determine cause and effect relationships.
As a language arts teacher who has read "Readicide", will you promote reading time in your classes where students get to choose their own book and write about it in a journal? Do you think this will encourage recreational reading if the students get to choose what to read? Are you convinced it will work?
Excellent point about how writing can help us to organize and process what we have read. And, remember, by "read" I mean encounter, look at, say out loud, attempt to construct meaning.
What do you all think about this--so, if elementary and other teachers are to avoid taking away the joy of reading, does the same go for reading (I use that term loosely again) math? Do the same concepts work for math teachers?
I also loved the "parallel, complementary, and support one another" idea of reading and writing. I can't tell you how much writing allows me to "ogranzie mental conversations" and further process what I read.
I think, in response to reading being incorporated into math, that students should not only "read" math, but also read ABOUT math. I'm not saying there are overwhelming resources available for this, but there must be literature or articles about how math has advanced in certain lines of work or how it improves technology, etc.
You can't write without reading...great way to put it. I often have to write down the random ramblings in my head to make most of them make sense. Sustained silent reading has an ever growing body of research that says that ssr is vitally important.
ReplyDeleteThat casserole, by the way...tastes horrible.
I thought that the idea of reading and writing being complementary was the most important part of the reading this week. You had a much easier class to think of ideas on how to use writing. I swear I racked my brain for like an hour coming up with ideas for using writing in math classes this week. I like that idea too of reading for pleasure in class. Would you make your students read books? Or would you allow them to read magazines, comic books, etc.? Some students don't find a lot of pleasure from library books. I don't know if it is just the fact that it is a book that makes them not like it, but it is something to think about.
ReplyDeleteWhy thanks for asking, Jeremy. Oh, I'd definitely allow a variety of reading materials for group activities, but for silent reading, I would only want them reading books. For the students who do not love reading long books, there are graphic novels (which are just basically comic books) and there are anthologies (short stories or poems). The key with library books is to provide lists that fall into different categories, since it is so hard to just "choose" a library book. Two new students in a class I was observing the other day proclaimed to not enjoy reading, but then when the teacher suggested something in the "real life" category, they both found a book and said "do we get to READ these? In class?" Their astonishment was, well, astonishing.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about a magazine is that people hardly EVER sit down and read an entire article from a magazine; mostly (especially younger students) there is a lot of flipping around and looking at pictures and doing stupid quizzes (female-related magazines)...maybe if it were a scholarly magazine, I'd go for that.
Heck, I'd even encourage them to read children's books, which I personally find very, very entertaining. I want them to find that "sweet spot" in reading that Gallagher talks about in ch 3--what he calls "reading flow." I just have a hard time thinking that average HS students are likely to pick up the type of magazine that takes them to that spot. If I weren't a little picky about what they choose, I will end up with a room full of girls reading Cosmo (or whatever is popular right now) for sex tips and taking "does your boyfriend love you" quizzes.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention "putting things into your own words." This is a great way for students to connect reading and writing and show that they comprehend the text they have just read. This can tell you if they get the main idea or if they are able to determine cause and effect relationships.
ReplyDeleteAs a language arts teacher who has read "Readicide", will you promote reading time in your classes where students get to choose their own book and write about it in a journal? Do you think this will encourage recreational reading if the students get to choose what to read? Are you convinced it will work?
Excellent point about how writing can help us to organize and process what we have read. And, remember, by "read" I mean encounter, look at, say out loud, attempt to construct meaning.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you all think about this--so, if elementary and other teachers are to avoid taking away the joy of reading, does the same go for reading (I use that term loosely again) math? Do the same concepts work for math teachers?
ReplyDeleteI also loved the "parallel, complementary, and support one another" idea of reading and writing. I can't tell you how much writing allows me to "ogranzie mental conversations" and further process what I read.
ReplyDeleteI think, in response to reading being incorporated into math, that students should not only "read" math, but also read ABOUT math. I'm not saying there are overwhelming resources available for this, but there must be literature or articles about how math has advanced in certain lines of work or how it improves technology, etc.
Ha! I meant organize, not ogranzie.
ReplyDelete