Re: Atwell's _The Reading Zone_

[SommerWind410@aol.com]

Thanks for the responses and the clarification regarding the grammar and  
vocabulary study.  I do understand and appreciate the general concept of  reading 
and workshop, but it is the issue of practicality -- making it work! --  that 
I struggle with.  I feel time-crunched as it is, and after our  curriculum 
sessions last week, it seems as though we are only adding MORE to our  to-do 
list. And unfortunately, the curricullar decisions appear  to be more and more 
test-driven.
 
As I read the Atwell book, I thought that a lot of what she  says makes 
*sense* to me, but now I have to figure out where it all fits  and how to modify it 
so that I'm still meeting what my district is  mandating...An example: I was 
surprised to read that she no longer emphasizes  the Post-its and the 
comprehension strategies.  That is *precisely* the  direction my district is taking.  
Yet, I can see how we are taking the  joy out of reading by making our kids 
notate or respond in writing  every night as I was doing with my weekly IR logs. 
Prior to reading this  book, I'd decided I was going to do away with the logs 
once and for all, and now  I'm convinced that's the right way to go.  I 
really like the idea of the  essay-letters every three weeks.  Not sure about 
assigning 30  minutes of reading seven days a week, though.  
 
Yes, I thought the comments about not interrupting the reading were  
interesting...I can see that interrupting TOO much *would* interrupt the flow of  a 
reading, and I know that stopping does frustrate some kids...But I think with  
shared reading, there *has* to be some interruption.  Aren't shared  texts 
usually somewhat challenging so that the readers *need* a level of  support?  
Curious to hear other thoughts as well.
 
Oh, and I found the chapter on HS English classrooms very  
interesting...seems that we are on different pages!
 
Cathy :-)
 
 
 
In a message dated 7/5/2007 5:02:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time,  
MMINNICK@fairfield.k12.ct.us writes:

I have  just finished reading the READING ZONE and love it.  It really  
prioritizes giving kids the tools they need to become READERS.  I always  feel 
guilty when kids are reading in school ... like they should be doing  something, 
but this book really shifted that perspective.  I really like  it.  I'm 
curious, as others read it, what you think about her criticism  of stopping during 
reading as it breaks up kids' flow.  This is a section  of the book that was 
debated in our district, as some teachers feel that  think-alouds do this and 
they are good instruction.  Once you've read it,  I'd love to know what you 
think. 

Thanks,  
Maureen


 



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