"One way of defining a bureaucracy might be that it is an organization that has learned so much from the past that it can't learn anything from the present."
—John Holt (Freedom and Beyond)
Day four of intensive comprehension instruction--discouraged. . . . and discouraging, especially regarding the B day classes. Looking at the MAP results just briefly, the two B day classes are among the lowest of the students I teach. They do have a high frustration level.
So, here's the results of the reading I've done, most of it rereading. Both Tovani and Harvey and Goudvis advocate teaching students how to monitor their comprehension even before teaching reading strategies. Harvey and Goudvis use post-it notes and have students write their thinking on the notes and then share their thinking in pairs and then with the class. Tovani uses a four-quadrant "chart" for students to record their thinking during reading. Tovani teaches students to listen to their "inner voices" and to identify whether the voice is interacting and conversational or distracting and reciting.
When I introduced this strategy to the classes on Wednesday, they were "overwhelmed." They took too much to heart to write down whatever they were thinking, so some students thought they could get away with not paying attention. Then they could justify writing whatever they wanted. I did notice that some students really did write some good things, especialy Marquivous. When I introduced the strategy to A Day classes, I focused just on writing their thoughts about the text. Again, the responses to "Shells" were pretty rich, but today's responses to "Salvador Late or Early" were not as rich. Perhaps it's because the text is more challenging than "Shells.
Tomorrow, I'm going to expand the idea of monitoring comprehension a bit more. I'm going to use Tovani's post-it strategy. I'm going ask students to read "The Boar Hunt" again in class, silently, and to mark the places when they can't "get it." They will have to describe why they aren't getting it on the post-it, and then turn in the post-its for a grade. I can' use the rubric from Going Bohemian to grade their effort. My last period class will be short, so I may not have time for this activity tomorrow. I hope it's going to be beneficial in the long run.
I think I'm just tired right now, tired of fighting the battle of behavior with last block, tired of trying to motivate kids like Ray and Jeremy and CJ. I'm feeling pretty lost.