D&Z Chapter 12

I really enjoyed reading about the major conclusions from recent reading research presented in chapter twelve. I think these few points really narrow down the top five ways students are taught to read and the top five things students should read. I really want to focus in on one piece of advice given in each of these categories:

What Students Should Read

1.     Teenagers need genuine choice of reading materials: much of what they read should be self-selected, based on interest and curiosity (293).

I can’t help but wonder how much more I would have enjoyed school if I had the opportunity to select novels that sparked my interest. The only time I ever remember selecting books I wanted to read was in middle school, when we had to read 25 books each year and fill up the sticker chart (I ended up filling more than one line)! This is the first experience that comes to mind when I think about self-selected novels.

I am by no means saying that students should have a choice when it comes to everything they read in the classroom (that would be difficult because each student has a favorite genre and opinion). But, they should be able to choose some of the books they read. I think a good way to do this is give a list of novels that have the same main ideas or highlight the major topics you are trying to teach (maybe 5 books max) and have them choose from that (much like our summer reading book list- we always had options). I think this would really give students a bit of freedom, and according to D&Z, “researchers have found that the ability to choose their own reading enhances teens’ motivation to read (299).” I couldn’t agree more! So, to my fellow teacher candidates, lets give our students options!

How students are taught to read

2.     Teachers make their own reading habits and processes visible by regularly reading aloud and by explaining and modeling their thinking about content-area texts (294).

Here we go again! Model, model, model. A reading strategy we have been seeing a lot that involves teacher modeling is referred to as a think-aloud. Think-alouds were introduced in an earlier chapter, and I really think it could help students understand how they should be reading, what questions go through the minds of experienced readers, and the ways in which experienced readers get through difficult reading material. According to D&Z, all teachers are reading models whether or not we are comfortable in the role. Furthermore, students benefit when teachers share their reading lives with them, talking about books or articles they are reading, sharing information gained from texts, and modeling a literate life.

I have never actually thought about my experiences this way, but I have realized that my professors are constantly sharing their reading lives with me. A lot of times, my professors will say “I read on ScienceMag that…” or “I watched a video on NOVA PBS about…” I have never actually considered this as sharing their reading lives with me, but I suppose that is just what they are doing!  

D&Z Chapter 11

While reading D&Z chapter 11, there were a few topics that really caught my attention. I found it interesting that struggling readers don’t see what is happening in the text until a considerable amount of discussion brings the picture into focus. I think as individuals, it is easy to take our reading skills for granted and disregard those who are struggling. This is because when we read, we see the picture, and we believe everyone else does. This is where teachers are gifted! Teachers are able to understand that in order to help students understand and learn from the tasks we assign them, we must work with their reading process. If they aren’t seeing the picture, we must paint it for them. In order to help them, D&Z propose key strategies for helping struggling readers on page 281.

I especially liked these key strategies for helping struggling readers. At the beginning I understood the idea of supporting readers and pushing them to succeed, but I was questioning “How?” I think these are great strategies and definitely something to keep in mind because we are all going to have struggling readers. It is enough to help them through the text, but it will mean so much more if we incorporate these strategies. One word I have been seeing a lot is the word “model.” D&Z have definitely stressed this idea of modeling throughout various chapters in their book (including this one… specifically modeling thoughtful reading). But, I am finally understanding why… especially from observing these last few weeks and being in the classroom. Students like to see that you are performing and doing what you expect them to do. My cooperating teacher was teaching a lesson on annual parallax (the difference in position of a star as seen from Earth). There is a little demonstration you can perform to help drive home this idea of annual parallax. You have the students hold their hand out in front of them (making a fist) with their thumb sticking upwards. Have them close one eye and focus on an object in the background. Then, ask them to switch their focus between eyes (so now they close the one that was open and open the one that was closed). What they should see is a shift in the location of their thumb in relationship to the background object they were focusing on.  At first the kids felt embarrassed to sit there with their hand stretched out in front of them, but when they saw the teacher doing it, they joined in.

Believe it or not, modeling occurred to me one morning during my observations. Regardless of where I am and what I am doing, if the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem is to be sung, I stand up in respect for my country. However, this particular day, during my observations, I felt I NEEDED to more than ever. I thought “Wow… I’m really becoming a teacher!” For some reason I felt obligated to model this behavior. It really seems silly that I felt I had to model the pledge of allegiance, but if I expected them to participate, then I had to too.  I’ve noticed this is something I have been getting better at as I progress through my studies, and I never realized how important modeling is to students.

D&Z focused on modeling thoughtful reading in this particular chapter. The idea is for teaching to help struggling students by modeling their own mental processes as they read rather than throwing them to the wolves, so to say. One strategy proposed in chapter 5 was this idea of using “think-alouds,” where teachers go through their thinking as they read a passage in the text or a word problem. Eventually, the students grew familiar with this kind of thinking, and when asked to perform think-alouds on their own, they used the same kinds of inner dialogue. This goes to show how powerful modeling can actually be!

Anyway, I apologize for the rant on modeling, but it is something I have been thinking about extensively. Another topic I liked in chapter 11 was the idea of building engagement with the text. I liked how Jeff Wilhelm did this by incorporating drama and drawing in his classroom, and I also liked the idea of taped books. However, I think taped books would benefit middle school students much better than it would benefit high school students.

D&Z Chapter 9 and 10

After reading chapters 9 and 10 of Daniels and Zemelman, I have a deeper appreciation for book clubs and inquiry units. I have always envisioned a book club as a bunch of older people sitting around, reading a book. It can obviously be much more than that! I have never actually been involved in book clubs/reading circles, but I think they can serve as a useful learning tool. I could definitely see myself using the strategies proposed in chapter 9 and 10 in my future classroom. Now, there are a couple of things I really liked in each chapter that I would like to touch upon.

First I want to touch upon chapter 9. I like how D&Z emphasize and stress the fact that book clubs should be student-centered. They tell us, “kids must take responsibility for running these discussions; we cannot get tricked into spoon-feeding them topics.” Granted, the teacher’s role is to assist, observe and facilitate, but it is the students’ role to run the discussions. I think this is important. Talk about releasing responsibility… this is a great way to do it! I especially like one of the tools specifically designed for reading circles (book clubs), referred to as the role sheets. Although D&Z suggest that role sheets be used for only a brief training period, I think this is a great way to set a purpose for reading and ensure that each student is contributing to the discussion. This tool also encourages students to focus on one particular kind of thinking that smart readers use (247). I never thought that I would be able to implement book clubs/reading circles in a science classroom, but I could easily have students read biographies of scientists, or science articles from www.sciencemag.org. Many times, scientific writing is extremely difficult to get through. However, if students are discussing and working together in a reading circle, they will be able to interpret and understand scientific writing in more detail. So thank you, D&Z… I am now an advocate for reading circles!

Now I want to share something that stuck out to me in chapter 10. I really enjoy the idea of inquiry units. I especially liked the example given towards the beginning of chapter ten, in Jacqueline Sanders’ class. She has students choose a job with a salary they think is adequate, and subtract taxes, rent, and utility costs from the gross pay. Then, they use the IRS instruction booklets to figure their final income tax return. How cool is that!? This example, in particular, gives students a snapshot of the real world, and opens their eyes to things they’ve never really sat down and thought about before. In the end, they often find that money is tight after subtracting the costs of living, and they have a greater appreciation for their parent’s hard work. Luckily, I can relate to this project, as I did something similar to this in my junior year of high school in my business skills class. The project had to do with budgeting. I forget the details surrounding the project, but I remember computing numbers based on a given salary (what type of car we could afford, the mortgage on a house etc).  We did a lot of stuff with resumes, researching colleges, etc in that class…stuff related to life in the real world. Overall, I think inquiry units grant students a unique opportunity to explore life outside the classroom and dive deeper into historical and current topics and events. I would definitely like to implement this strategy in my future classroom, as there are plenty of topics in science that could be researched in such a way (vaccines, medications, disorders etc).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

D&Z Chapters 5 and 8

After reading chapters 5 and 8 of Daniels and Zemelman, I literally want to photocopy these pages or purchase my own copy of the textbook (I rented it from Chegg). Although it was one of the longest chapters, their strategies for before, during, and after reading are great for any classroom!

I have read a handful of the blog posts already, and a lot of people spoke about the strategies themselves. I want to touch upon them as well, but I think it is important we understand the key to teaching the strategies. D&Z explain that an essential step in ensuring that the reading strategies in this chapter truly help students to comprehend and make use of what they read is a process called “gradual release of responsibility (89).” I remember learning about this in one of our previous classes (if I remember correctly, it was the Wilhelm chapters that spoke about the gradual release of responsibility). Just to recap, the idea is (as the title suggests) gradually releasing responsibility from teacher to student. It follows four different steps:

1.     “I do it, you watch”

2.     “We do it together”

3.     “You do it with my support”

4.     “You do it alone”

Following these four steps will help students internalize a reading/thinking strategy until it becomes habitual. So, model, model, model and gradually flip the roles.

Now, I will touch upon a couple of my favorite strategies. First, I like the idea of coding text. However, I would probably have students annotate the text (book or supplemental materials) using sticky notes. Then, I would have them leave them in the book/on the page and read their comments and questions. From there, I would compile a list of questions and revisit them next class, answering any of those questions (only for about 10 minutes or so).

A second strategy I liked was “sketching my way through the text.” I think this would appeal to all students, whether or not they enjoy drawing because it is simply a rough sketch. I really wish some of my teachers used this strategy because when I draw things out, (especially in science) and try to walk myself through the concept; I tend to remember it more. Although it sounds fun and enjoyable to me, it may not be enjoyable to all of my students, so I would use this strategy sparingly.

Now just to touch upon chapter 8… I like the idea of reading workshops. I think they could be used as a form of assessment, especially if you conduct the one-on-one conferences during reading time. According to D&Z, these meeting will enable you not only to assess students, but also to inform yourself about their learning needs and their achievements. Then, you could focus more on the topics students are struggling with, and less on those they seem to have grasped.

D&Z Chapters 6 and 7

After reading D & Z chapters six and seven, there were a couple of things I wanted to touch upon. I wanted to talk a bit about the jigsawing activity presented in chapter six, and the idea of creating a classroom community presented in chapter seven.

I really enjoy the idea of jigsawing as an activity that can be implemented in the classroom. I remember doing a jigsaw activity last year in SED 406. I enjoyed it, but I felt it went a little too quick, and I didn’t have enough time to formulate my thoughts. For that reason, if I were to implement this strategy in my classroom, I would ensure students have enough time to read the article, understand it, and be able to formulate their thoughts in such a way that they are able to present it to the rest of the group. I didn’t like the way it was implemented in chapter six, in the english lesson. I feel as though a novel is best understood when read individually, from cover to cover. I feel as though if I did a jigsaw activity with a novel, I would miss some key facts, events, and characters.

However, for history, I think it works a bit better. I liked the history example in the book, and I think it would also be useful when learning about amendments, laws, and historical figures (etc). I’ve been trying to think about ways to implement jigsawing in a science classroom… I was thinking something like constellations or elements from the periodic table. If anyone has any other ideas, I am eager to hear them! I’m finding it a little difficult to come up with something biology related, as I feel a lot of the content is important for every student to study and know. Overall, I think jigsawing is useful in the classroom once in a while, but it definitely should not be used constantly.

A second point I wanted to elaborate on was creating a classroom community. In chapter seven, Daniels and Zemelman explained that “we need to make the classroom a community, a place where students feel safe to take the risks involved in learning, where they see it connected with their lives, and where they help and learn from one another instead of working only as isolated individuals. And we do this not just to make students feel good, but to enable them to learn meaningfully in our subjects, through reading as well as the many other avenues we use in our teaching (204).” I think this is really important because I have sat in various classrooms, where I’ve felt intimidated to speak, or scared that what I say might be laughed at or critiqued. I think we have all felt this way at some point… it definitely isn’t a welcoming feeling. I think it is important to form some type of contingency contract where students know the rules of the classroom, and they collaborate along with the teacher to create these rules. When I was at URI, I took the equivalent to CEP and the professor I had was amazing. She brought up something she did in her own classroom in order to create a strong community. She took poster paper the size of the entire wall, and the class came up with rules in a collaborative manner. If they agreed to comply with the rules, they signed the paper that the rules were written on. This way, they understood exactly what was expected, and helped create their own classroom climate. I have considered doing this in my own classroom so that all students feel welcome and comfortable. I want my students to be able to voice their opinions without worrying whether or not they are being judged. This way, my students will be interacting, engaging, and learning in a meaningful way.

Here is an example!

Strong Chapter 6

After reading chapter six of Strong’s book, I can’t help but think about one of the opening quotes by “Darth Vader.” He says, “using writing to discipline students is a wonderful approach… coupling punishment with fear, we can virtually guarantee non-writers later on.” Of course he is writing in a sarcastic tone when he refers to it as a wonderful approach, but I really wanted to elaborate on this quote because it brought back some vivid memories of my own schooling.

I think teachers simply, and without worry, correlate punishment with writing. When do you ever see teachers “punish” a student by making them sit and solve math problems, or read a science textbook? It just doesn’t happen. It must have something to do with the mechanical movement involved when a pen is introduced to paper. Whatever it may be, it makes teachers believe writing can be used as a form of punishment. However, coupling writing and punishment makes it that much harder for teachers to implement writing in their classrooms, especially English teachers. If the students are constantly forced to write as punishment, they are never going to enjoy it.

I can’t help but remember being punished with writing in my middle school gym class. I was constantly forced to sit at a desk, in a corner, and write on a piece of paper “I will not chew gum in physical education class.” I had to write the entire period, front and back, on multiple pieces of paper (yet they constantly stressed the fact that students should be active 60 minutes a day- and here I was, writing for 60 minutes, when in all reality I could have used the exercise at this point in my life). Anyway, can you guess what happened when I handed those papers in? No, they were not graded or kept on file; they were ripped up right in front of my face and thrown in the trash. So, as a student, how am I supposed to form a relationship with writing when it is constantly being used as a form of punishment? I’m honestly surprised that I enjoy writing today, because these memories are so vivid. Luckily, I have not become one of these “non-writers” Darth Vader speaks about, but this is what he was getting at! If we continue to couple writing with punishment and fear, we can guarantee non-writers later on. Students are simply not going to want to write if it is viewed negatively and used as a form of punishment.

Before I wrap up this blog post, I wanted to incorporate a CRAFT I could implement in my own classroom. In case you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of cells, and so this is my CRAFT on cells! Feel free to critique.

Imagine we inject you into a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell (the choice is yours!) We want you to slip on your water shoes and goggles, and swim around the cell. Explain to your peers the various organelles you see, the functions that are taking place, and observe the relative location of these organelles in relation to each other. After making your observations, create a map (similar to that of a city) depicting what you saw. Include streets and landmarks. Label each street with a name (for example the exterior of the cell can be called Cell Circle, or the street near the Golgi Apparatus, Golgi Boulevard). Be creative! It doesn’t just have to include the organelles. Draw in some houses, or some of your favorite restaurants. But, the position of organelles should be fairly accurate with respect to one another. Finally, remember to add some color! We want your friends to be interested in the interior of a cell as well!

Context: Development of a cell city/Map

Role: Observer/Architect/Developer

Audience: Your peers that you want to educate about the cell

Format: Map

Topic: Cell organization

D&Z Chapters 3 and 4

After reading chapters 3 and 4 of Daniels and Zemelman, I can’t help but think to myself, “finally, teachers and other educators are starting to realize how complex textbooks are, and how frustrating it can be to rely on the text for information.” The authors describe textbooks as difficult, superficial, and sometimes inaccurate. I agree with this point. Personally, I have never enjoyed reading from textbooks. I often find that while my mind wanders… my eyes wander down the page. Once I snap back into reality, I have to reread the entire page because my mind did not process the text. So…to my fellow, future educators, I suggest putting less emphasis on textbooks. When our students go to college, the professors that are uneducated in this area will surely give them enough to read.

There were a couple of points that I wanted to comment on. First, was the idea of textbooks, and how many of them are often considered inaccurate. I found it astounding that one of the leading textbook publishers had 86,026 errors across its series of books. But, what I found even more interesting was this idea of how “smart teachers can make textbook errors useful (57).” I loved the story of Don Grossnickle. He took a textbook error and made it into a useful lesson about how the Bubonic Plague wasn’t actually spread by the bacteria of rats and fleas. According to Science News, it was actually caused by a viral hemorrhagic fever. As a biology major, this is something that I can implement in my own classroom. Science is always changing and there are constantly new breakthroughs. (And in a way, this lesson serves as a science and a history lesson!) So, I suppose when publishers make one of their many, many mistakes, us teachers can use these mistakes to our advantage. It definitely makes me question how much of the information I’ve read is actually accurate!

A second point I wanted to touch upon was the idea that textbooks are superficial. From reading the chapter, I realized that I have been a victim of textbook superficiality as a student. As a science teacher, I played the role they asked in chapter three. I thought I knew the answer to this question, seeing I am a biology major and these concepts have been drilled into our heads ever since middle school. But, I was wrong. I thought that the nutrients from the soil contributed to the tree’s mass. Based on my answer, I have learned that my education was textbook dependent. I’m sure I will learn about this in my plant class next semester, but I did not know that the mass came from the air. You know what they say… you learn something new every day!

One thing we can do to ensure our students don’t become victims of textbook dependency is to put less emphasis on textbooks. According to Daniels and Zemelman, “…textbooks continue to be overused, and should be supplemented generously or replaced with other reading materials where possible (53).” If we as teachers select material based on the needs/levels of our students, they will learn more. I think this is good advice, something we should be aware of as we continue on our journey to becoming teachers.

After reading this chapter, I have learned more about the type of teacher I will be in the future. I, for one, will put less emphasis on textbooks. After all, I have observed in classrooms focused heavily on supplemented materials (the students never actually opened the textbook and read from it). I found this to be an effective way of teaching, especially in the sciences. The students understood the material because they weren’t reading a bunch of scientific text, and they enjoyed learning in this manner. Science textbooks tend to be very difficult and dense. So, I hope to implement this strategy in the future. Until then, I will continue my textbook dependent studies to get to that point.