Re: need information

[Robin S <ira_writer@hotmail.com>]

I really am not a proponent of prepackage, canned programs, but and unfortunately in this data driven NCLB world that is what the admin can concretely wrap their heads around.
I believe we need to continue with the SSR and move to the next step of sharing, discussion, focused questions etc... 
I have articles and some research by Krashen and others, but people have to be willing to work a little instead of having technology do it all.
Back to my original question:  Does anyone have any response to Janet Allen's book  http://www.janetallen.org/content/view/14/3/  ?
I read the blurb and our asst principal mentioned it, but she has not read it.  Thoughts?



Robin Sowder 

 
What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers. 
Martina Horner, President of Radcliffe College


> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 14:08:18 -0600
> Subject: Re: [middle-lit] need information
> From: sneofotist@anamosa.k12.ia.us
> To: middle-lit@interversity.org
> 
> On 2/5/08 1:13 PM, "Kruchma@aol.com" <Kruchma@aol.com> wrote:
> 
> > Robin and Sherri,
> >  
> > The expensive programs you have mentioned, along with prescriptive programs
> > that are technology- based, have  poor track records for either improving
> > students' reading  levels or interests in reading when applied to new
> > contexts 
> > (those beyond the programs used).
> >  
> > If you are lucky enough to have a school-wide SSR or at least have planned
> > open reading time within your classroom on a regular basis, the next step is
> > to 
> >  allow multiple responses to what students have read, time to converse about
> > their reading with peers, and then the opportunity to share with the class or
> >  take part in larger discussion.  You can write a focus question for them to
> > consider depending  upon genres, if you need or want a more structured
> > response.  Also, read along with the class,  respond in writing,  through art
> > or 
> > other modes, and then share a viewpoint, new learning, or  your own answer to
> > a 
> > focus question, if that is the case.  You  will find that students' interests
> > are piqued with this sharing, and texts  read by peers will often wind up on
> > their reading  lists.  The teacher modeling along with taking the time for
> > students  to converse are strong motivators for students to consider multiple
> > viewpoints  while refining their own and also to read genres in addition to
> > perhaps the  fiction or graphic novels they may usually choose.
> >  
> > Some great sources on the topic of reading responses and insights into
> > students' interests and motivations are Louise Rosenblatt's Literature as
> > Exploration  and The Reader, the Text, and the Poem , along  with Jeffrey D.
> > Wilhem's 
> > Going with the  Flow:  How to Engage Boys  and Girls in Their Literacy
> > Learning and Engaging Readers and Writers  with Inquiry.  There are many
> > exceptional 
> > texts that will inspire you,  and perhaps others can add to this list.
> >  
> > Feel free to write to me off-list if you would like to explore some
> > additional specific strategies.  It is worth the time you invest in  creating
> > a 
> > reading approach that works for your particular situation.  And  I am pretty
> > sure 
> > that your students will thank you.
> >  
> > Best wishes,
> >  
> > Mary Anna
> >  
> > Mary Anna Kruch, Ph.D.
> > President-Elect,  Michigan Council of Teachers of English
> > K-12 Writing & Literacy  Consultant
> > 
> > kruchma@aol.com
> > 
> > P.O. Box 561
> > Williamston, MI  48895
> > 517-655-1633
> > 
> >
> 
> I agree with you whole-heartedly, but the decision was not mine to make.
> The powers that be have never listened to what I and others have said about
> reading and literacy.  Instead a new "reading specialist" looked into the
> program, presented to the board, and the rest, as they say, is history.
> 
> Sherri
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Thanks to the folks who help keep Interversity
> (and Middle-Lit) going:
> http://interversity.org/benefactors.html

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