What is essential?

In a time where breadth seems to be the way to go, Ellin Keene, author of Mosaic of Thought, argues for a "National Conversation" and so I would like us to be a part of that conversation. What is essential for our students? Keene would argue for a the learning theory that asks this of us...

Learning Theory:
To focus on a few key concepts;
of great import
taught in great depth;
over a long period of time;
and applied in a variety of texts and contexts.

Seems simple almost...doesn't it? Please take the time to think about and respond to this in terms of you and your students. Let's begin this conversation with your thoughts and ideas in response to this theory. Think about an area that you have done this, or would like to do this....and ultimately what IS essential for our students?

Thought Provoking...

"The cognitive actions that readers employ while processing print are essentially the same across levels. Readers are simply applying them to successively more demanding levels of text."

Someone gave me this quote and I find it very interesting to think about. Please take some time to think this over and react to this statement. Do you agree? Disagree? And if so why? State your case clearly and let's see where we end up. There has been a great deal of discussion about our younger primary readers...what do you honestly think and believe in terms of this statement?

Observations

Please post your observations here....feel free to comment back and forth to each other.

What is Reading?

What is reading? What are the different pieces of reading that we need to teach to our students? If you had to break it down, how would you do that and how much importance would you put on each individual piece? How do those pieces add up to make a "full" reading/learning experience for our students?Take some time on this one and really think it through. Where do we want to emphasize our instruction and how do we do that?

Reader's Workshop

What are you thinking about a Reading Workshop after our last class? What about the idea do you like? Not like? What seems to make sense? What is confusing? I am very interested in your thinking so that we can figure out where to go next. Please write anything you are thinking...there are no "right" answers...
Think about one thing that you might try with your class. Perhaps you left thinking you would organize your library with your students, change the format of your reading time, begin conferring with students, try to "organize" and try a workshop...the possibilities are endless. What is one piece that you will try right away?

A Piece of Your History...

Now that you have taken the time to go through all of your closets, and attics and basements and anywhere else you could find items for your Bio Book Bags, what does this collection say about you as a reader? As a writer?Choose one of the items from your bag and do a quick write on it...right here on the computer...right NOW!

This is not something you have to draft and revise, just let your thoughts flow as you explore the corners of your mind to discover how this item influenced you and who you are today in terms of attitude, your teaching, your likes and dislikes. Have some fun with this. Here is mine as a model.

My Winnie the Pooh cookbook makes me think of my Nana. Nana was the one person in my life who really saw me as her "favorite". How do I know this? I know this because of the way I felt when I was with her. She listened to me and really heard what I was saying about what I liked and what I didn't like. Her gifts, which include this cookbook and my Raggedy Ann and Andy chalk board, were gifts that "showed" how she knew me in a way nobody else seemed to. Somehow she knew that I loved to bake and that this cookbook would be something I would always treasure. The chalkboard was something that validated my desire to one day be a teacher, but it was even more than that because at that time in my life I was an avid collector of Raggedy Ann and Andy. Anything with Raggedies on them...I HAD to have!It was not just the gifts, but the fact that she really listened to me and would take the time to hear what I had to say. This meant the world to me and now that I think about it, that is one of the things that I carry with me as an educator...a teacher...a mom. To listen, to really listen when someone is talking shows that they matter. It shows that their thinking, their thoughts, and their ideas count. Yes, that is what my Nana showed me. She showed me the power of someone hearing you out and truly listening to what is in your heart.

That is my quick write. Notice how I get "off track" a little bit. THAT is what a quick write is! Just start writing and see where it takes you. I had NO idea that was where I was going. Quick writes ask us to follow our stream of consciousness...to make connections where there might have been none. It is a way for us to discover what it is that we did not know before.

Not answers so much as thinking....

Wow! There are so many questions lingering out there! This is good news. It means we are all in a place where we are trying to figure out what works best for ourselves and our students. This week I am going to ask you to go through the wonderings (from last week's post) of your classmates and choose one of their questions to do a quick write in thinking about the quesiton that you choose!! Be sure to post the question you will be writing to and who that question came from!!