Hi Debbie,
I was just going over some past emails trying to purge my list and found
this note from you. I am really interested to know if you are still using
the unit you created and if your success rate is still positive. I teach
7th and 8th grade students in Language Arts and I think my system for
encouraging independent reading is in need of revision. I do have those
who
beg to read, but also I have those who will not pick up a book in class
even
if it costs them points on their grade. They know what is required,
however, they will do the bare minimum each 9 weeks to get by without a 0.
If you could share some ideas I would be grateful. My students sign a
contract for the number of pages they think they can read for each nine
weeks. Then they work toward that goal. The minimum number of pages I
will
accept is 500, many of my avid readers go well beyond that number. It is
not unusual to have 10-12 kids who will read well over 2-4 thousand words.
They can take a Scholastic Reading Counts test if the book has one, do a
book talk, book review, or have a round table discussion if there is no RC
test. We also have a Reading Counts report for any book read during the
nine weeks. As I look at this on screen, there has got to be a better
way.
The novels we do in class or in literary circles do not count toward
toward
their contracted pages.
Thanks for listening and any ideas for improving our SSR would be welcome.
Nan Slone
_____
From: middle-lit-owner@interversity.org
[mailto:middle-lit-owner@interversity.org] On Behalf Of Debra Parker
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 7:39 AM
To: middle-lit@interversity.org
Subject: Re: [middle-lit] SSR -- book selection
I have really worked at independent reading over the past 7 years and
wrote
the unit for our middle school to implement it across gr. 6 through 8.
I've
read lots of research on it and Atwell certainly has had an influence on
me.
It is really important that kids read books they want to on their reading
level. Our school uses Independent reading Inventories by Johns as a
basis
for understanding students' reading levels for independent, instructional,
and frustration.
My kids never stop reading independent novels. They are expected to read
indep. even when we have a whole class or lit circle book -- I have had
lots
of success getting kids interested and improving their comprehension by as
much as 2 years.
I have various projects due every 4-6 weeks that show the kids knowledge
about their indep. books. WE also have quizzes, discussions, and use the
indep. novels as practice for reinforcing reader response, character
analization, and reading strategies. My kids beg to spend a period
reading!
Debbie Parker
debbieparker@msn.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Nancy Vait <mailto:vait3@yahoo.com>
To: middle-lit@interversity.org
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2005 6:48 PM
Subject: Re: [middle-lit] SSR -- book selection
Cathy -- When I first instituted SSR I often worried
that kids were getting one over on me by reading books
below their level or rereading books or . . . . But .
. . some then approached me with valid requests to
reread favorite authors like Roald Dahl or yes, Lemony
Snickett, or other favorites they might have missed.
I think of the many shorter books which kids would
have missed had I mandated a book length of 150 pp.
minimum. I also allow kids to read graphic novels and
magazines, though I do require one book a quarter.
Given choice and time, kids read -- and then they
share what they're reading with others -- and continue
reading. I do think a few kids probably take the easy
route (and probably would, no matter what I required)
but by far, the large majority benefit and would be
quite aggravated if I limited their choices. I also
now have moved away from reading logs into Friday book
letters, which allow for more latitude in their
responses, because they aren't as structured as my
reading logs were.
For SSR I teach one girl, a senior, who's rereading
all the Harry Potters 1-4 because she can't remember
the characters to start 5 or continue with 6. I see
this as an absolutely valid reason to reread, as I
returned to the earlier HPs in order to read #4.
She's an avid reader and finished Speak and The Bean
Trees earlier this fall. When I see her now during
SSR, she's absolutely engrossed and miles away. I
couldn't ask for more. Go Ask Alice (very short in
length) is currently hot for checkout with some of my
other students, but I also have one student in
Catch-22 and another girl in Bean Trees. I vote for
choice. I think sometimes kids will choose "easier"
books, but in my experience, they alternate with more
demanding reads. I do the same thing in my own
reading all the time. (Just finished Janet Evanovich
#11 but am now beginning Allende's House of Spirits
because I will hear her speak at the NCTE convention
in Pittsburgh.)
Nancy Vait
Homer, AK
--- SommerWind410@aol.com wrote:
Hi all--
Hoping to get feedback here from those of you who
have IR programs. Do you
have any rules or limits for book selection? For
example, one of my former
colleagues required that all books should be at
least 150 pages in length;
the novel could not have been adapted to film; and
students could read no more
than two books by the same author in a single
marking period.
I'm also wondering how you've handled the students
who want to take the easy
way out and read below their level. I have an 8th
grade student who read
five books this marking period -- four of them were
from the Lemony Snicket
series. I have a number of other students reading
the Snicket series as well.
Am I wrong to want to nudge them to challenge
themselves more? Or should
SSR simply be for the joy of reading?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
~Cathy :-)
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