Response to Nancie Atwell’s The Reading Zone, Chapter 3

I’m all for student choice and student involvement in setting classroom expectations. However, in the book’s reference to “The Reader’s Bill of Rights”, I think it would be difficult to manage this with students (sometimes too common) that are just trying to get out of doing anything. Okay, I already know what the response is, question asked, question answered: If I take that opportunity to conference, check status, and engage those “less-than-ideal” students, problem solved, right? So, with those students, what are the thoughts (within this model of thinking) about imposing “musts” on them during one-on-ones, if the particular students isn’t trying or growing? How about this: incorporate the choice model AND include direct instruction with skill sets so that both are a part of the classroom?
I love the idea of a reading survey; I think it’s a great way to get to know your students and make them feel involved in their education. Often times, throughout the school year, I’ll pole the class for suggestions on activities, titles to purchase, topics,…I’ve noticed that in the beginning there were those “less-than-ideal” students who gave answers they knew were unrealistic, like “Talk all day,” or “No work at all,”…I got frustrated at first then decided to meet them head on. I started responding with “Okay, here’s what we’ll do, activities that require sharing,” or skill review in the form of games (rather than work). It was fun, messing with them like that, but in turn, I noticed those “less-than-ideal” students started giving “real” ideas for classroom involvement. Happy accident I guess.
There are things I’ve tried within the Reader’s Workshop model thinking it wouldn’t work and wasn’t realistic but it ended up working really well. There were other things that didn’t work as well. I have realized that, at some point, I will have to figure out the most difficult part of the model, giving students the run of their learning, administering and tracking actual learning that’s taking place.