Macy Bombard
Literature-based reading program: Organized around the following;
- Core Books: a set of books that is read by an entire grade level of students.
- Literature Units: A theme is chosen such as genre, author, or a conceptual theme. The theme is chosen by the teacher. A collection of books that surround the theme are chosen for students. Literature units are also known as thematic units or integrated instruction.
- Literature Circles: Students whose book they will read out of a collection. The book they choose will decide which group they are a part of. Usually in elementary school, groups were made up of 3-4 students. In middle school groups are 4-5. In a literature circle, each person in the group has a role. (discussion director, literary luminator, connector, and word wizard. As students are reading the book, when they gather in their literature circles, they discuss what they’ve read.
- Reading Workshop: framework where students demonstrate their use of reading strategies by responding to books and sharing what they are reading in a group of other students. (minilessons, statue of the class report, sustained silent reading, individual reading conferences, group sharing time)
Community of Readers: Encouraging students to read, write, and integrating various texts. How students in alliance with their friends, teachers, and peers work together in classrooms in which school reading becomes like adult reading. Students recommend books to others and vice versa.
How to Hook Students On a Book:
- Immerse students in literature
- Create a classroom climate in which literature is an integral component.
- Read and tell stories. Show films and videoclips of literature selections.
- USe instructional time to show the value of reading
- Use class time for students to read books of their choice
- Model reading behavior
- Help students find and share books they want to read
- Developed annotated lists of books worth reading
- Tell or read the beginning of interesting stories
Selecting a classroom collection of books: should include both informational text and literature. Select texts from various places. Include a selection of e-books. Books should not be chosen just for quantity. Choose series
Choosing Classroom Literature: In order to choose good books, you must be familiar with good books
- Read children’s books yourself
- Read a variety of book types
- Read books at a range of reading levels
- Share your students response to certain texts with other teachers
Determining Good Literature: All collections should contain modern, realistic, and traditional literature. Literature should also present different ethnic and minority groups as well as nontraditional families. Collections should contain books with a variety of themes and of varying difficulty. Nonfiction books should be included in all collections
Literature with a Multicultural Perspective: Books that represent minority groups and people of color can help us understand more about them, can help us appreciate them, and can also show how people are connected to one another
- Criteria:
- Cultural accuracy
- Richness in cultural details
- Authentic dialogue and relationships
- In-depth treatment of cultural issues
- Inclusion of members of minority groups for a purpose.
Designing a Classroom Library: students who have access to books in a classroom library will read 50% more books than those who don’t have the access.
Features should include:
- Should be visible
- Should be a quiet place for 5-6 students to fit comfortably
- 5-6 books per child in the class should be in collection
- There should be multiple copies of the most popular books
- A variety of genres and reading levels should be included
- It should be organized.
Listening to Literature: Students develop a positive disposition towards books when they hear stories and poems. Cumulative experiences are likely to improve reading comprehension and vocabulary development.
Reading Aloud:
- Preparing:
- Setting the mood: if it’s part of the schedule each day, get into a place where you usually read and set the scene.
- Introducing the story: Ask student a questions, ask them to predict what they think will happen
- Activities after reading aloud: ask students to summarize what was read, give time for students to ask questions they have. Address questions as needed.
- Allowing others to present literature: Volunteer, guest speakers, soldiers, people in community, parents, guardians.
Helping students choose books: Students should have an easy to read book to encourage fluency and reading confidence, a “i’m working on” book where they make daily accomplishments, and a “challenge” book that they revisit repeatedly to practice and improve. Ask students what their interests are, series they have enjoyed before.
Responses to Literature: Book talks, free response, or journals!
Reader-Response Theory: Readers must be given the opportunity to respond to what they are reading to have a deeper understanding of what they read.
Videos:
How to organize your classroom: In this video I noticed how the classroom library was organized by topic of the book. This is something I have seen before but I’ve never been quite sure if I would like that or not. This teacher had a smart idea to have a little bun at each table with materials that students would need throughout the day!
How to choose a good-fit book: This video would be such a great video to show students who are struggling to choose a book. It goes through a really nice thought process to follow to guide the student to finding the right books!
How to pick a just right book: this video gives a good look at what each level sounds like when a student is reading. If a book is too hard, students will stumble on many words making it hard for them to comprehend what they are reading, if it’s too easy the student is making almost no mistakes, and if it is just right the student is making a couple mistakes but can still understand the text.
Rick’s reading workshop overview: My biggest takeaway is definitely when Rick is conferring with each student as they independently read. This was his time to check in with each student about their “theory”. His idea of theory is another really great one that could be useful in the future!
Rick’s reading workshop Mini Lesson: Early on in this video I noticed Rick was modeling his thinking. Modeling seems to be very important in all aspects of teaching! In this case Rick was modeling that he was coming up with a theory about the Wednesday Surprise. He was taking students through his thought process so that they knew what process to take later on!
Classroom Application: My biggest takeaway from this week’s blog is from the videos. I really enjoyed the videos this week and think that some of the ideas that were shared could be really useful in the future when I have my own classroom. The content from this week’s chapter was also interesting. I especially liked the sections about how to help students choose books to read!
Macy Bombard- ENGED Blog 