Thoughts to Ponder

This week I've had a chance to dig into one of Frank Serafini's books (Around the Reading Workshop in 180 Days) and I have discovered he has given me some thoughts to ponder on my own and share/discuss with teachers. Therefore, I've decided to share them with you to do with as you wish. They may be just the spark to ignite a great discussion.

Until teachers' theories and understandings of reading and reading processes expand, any changes made in their teaching practices will be mostly cosmetic.

The quality of student learning is closely linked to the quality of classroom talk.

The types of questions teachers ask have an effect on the types of questions students ask.

Shelley Harwayne (principal at Mahattan New School) said:

Classroom practice must be based on richly understood and deeply held beliefs about how children learn to read. In other words, what teachrs say and do and how they engage children in reading acts must have theoretical underpinnings. Their practice is not based on a publisher's set of teacher directions or a handbok filled with teaching tips, but on concepts they themselves have examined carefully.

I then asked teachers to describe a belief they had regarding reading workshop and give the evidence that supports this belief in their classroom. This was hard for many and their beliefs were somewhat shallow. My goal will be to see if we can go a little deeper as we continue on this journey into balanced literacy. (This information came from Debbie Miller's book Teaching with Intention.)

Does anyone else have any thoughts along this line? We want kids to develop into reflective readers, but how often do we reflect on our own? Everyone is busy and reflecting takes time. I need to take the time. How about you?

Help Needed Quickly!

Next week I am going to see my fourth and fifth grade teachers and we need to get CUCC and MAP stems introduced and understood. Does anyone have a good processing activity for either part? We will be hilighting the elementary stems in the big packet and grouping them. Then what would be a good follow-up? CUCC has me puzzled as how to present it. So any suggestions would be welcomed. I have to get this together this weekend because I will leave on Monday. Anyone have a lifeline to toss to me?

I did come up with an activity for driving home what needs to happen during guided reading. I put phrases on cards that related to Before, During, After on Day 1 and Day 2 activities and some statements of things that should not happen during guided reading. Then I laid them all out on the table and each person had to find the phrases that went with their part. They then glued them to chart paper and we discussed them. I had them take notes on each part so they could talk for one minute with a partner, then switch, then 30 seconds, etc. If this is something you would like, email me and I will sent the sheets to you.

How great is this weather today? I am so glad we were able to get through a week without a snow day! Have a great weekend, but can anyone help?