In chapter 3 of Gallagher's readicide he discusses the tsunami that teachers provide when teaching a novel. I agree that sometimes there is too much dissecting and not enough reading. There has to be a an equal balance. As with any lesson you want students to be able to relate the work to real life so that they a have a connection to it. Therefore the analysis should be geared more towards real life connections and current topics/issues in society. There should also be time for the students to be able to just read the book so that they can obtain the flow you would be surprised how much analysis students will do on their own without chopping up te novel if they were just given that space to read.
Another subject that he touched on was the point system for reading books provided by programs such as Accelerated Reader. I worked in a school that uses AR and yes it does use a point system to reward those who have te most points. All of the points that Gallagher made about the program was true however I ave also seen some positive aspects of it. I have seen it spark interest in reading. At our school students were at times allowed to pick out a book tat was not AR as long as they were reading. And even though students were getting books that had high points instead of interest it still was a positive because the higher the points the more difficult the read. Which forced students to immerse themselves in more difficult text instead of your picture books and trade books we had second graders reading fourth grade chapter books with minimal difficulty which increased their over all literacy which is what we want right?
I don't know if once they leave the program their reading levels will drop. I find it hard to believe that if the students are eager to come into the library everyweek and pick out the book of their choice that it will majically disappear because they don't get points for it anymore. I have personally seen Accelerated Reader spark a love for reading that makes the program worth its weight.
My blog is designed to give my insights on reading and literacy in the classroom. All of my opinions were developed over time from my vantage point as a student and an educator. I welcome all to share their perspectives and opinions: )
I think the controversy over AR has strong voices on both sides of the debate. You know often in education, a promising program is mandated - and that "requirement for all" makes it less effective. No one approach will reach all readers.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, time and again we find out that "one size does not fit" all readers.
I think the lack of choice in reading materials drives children to rebel against reading in some cases. No one really likes to be told what to do, what read and certainly how to spend your free time. Children are no different. To get into the zone with a novel it has to reach the reader- as a history person- Hawthorn, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth, don't reach me- I run at the mention of dissecting this type of writing- I rather have a root canal, and I love reading, appreciate historical significance of the authors, and their contributions to literature, but the current methods of analyzing text to death turns me off to the idea of attempting to read this stuff. I can imagine the boredom and damage it would have on a budding reader. How can the Tsunami be stopped? - Try allowing them time and choice to get "into the zone" of an interesting text.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to teach Chaucer, Shakespeare, etc. you have to have a way for the students to learn what they are reading. If you dont disect the text (which is completely foreign to them) you are not helping them in any way. Instead it becomes a waste of time because they are reading text with no content. Just words on a page. An option to have other than having the entire class disect each piece of the novel could be to have the students "highlight confusion" at home or in class during silent reading and you as the teacher can address the students questions either as a class or one on one. Let them tell you what they dont understand instead of you just assuming they wont understand it at all.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have seen lots of kids eager to read because of AR. Sure, it won't work for all kids, but I think it's okay if it works for some. The points system doesn't bother me, and neither does the research that kids stop reading when the points aren't there anymore. Human beings have been bartering for a long time. When we get jobs, we'll go to work and we'll get a paycheck. If they stopped paying us, would we work? Some would, but some wouldn't. I think of the points with AR in the same way: incentive. For kids, I see nothing wrong with developing an eagerness to read by offering incentives for doing it.
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right Taneisha there has to be "an equal balance" when it comes to reading in any classroom. As a teacher you must walk that line between making sure your students understand the text, and not going overboard by dissecting the text into chunks which takes away from the "reading flow" and does not allow your students to fully engage in the text.
ReplyDeleteIn my high school we did not have an AR program; however we did have a summer reading program where we were allowed to choose from a large selection of novels, some were more contemporary while others were classics. Through this program I came into contact with some of my favorite books of all time, and it really instilled me a joy for reading which I still hold today. As long as students are given choices about what they can read (and it sounds like your AR program does just that) they have the opportunity to learn about how much joy they can experience through reading, and as educators that is what we want to instill in our students.