Response to Nancie Atwell’s The Reading Zone, Chapter 1.

I find myself thinking back to when I was a young student, when my love for reading began. Unfortunately, all I remember about reading at all, in the school setting, is that there were Blue Birds, Red Birds, and other “creative” names for reading groups. I can even remember what group I was in, you’d think I would remember that as insignificant as it is. I do know that I can’t remember not loving a good book. It has always been a part of our home. It’s so funny that my mother, who really didn’t stress academics at all, created an environment now the envy of teachers. Mom created an environment where reading was a part of the daily routine, a part of our family relationship. She created in her daughters a love for reading. To this day, my sister who has five children still reads. It sounds weird to point out that someone reads, but I’ve found that it’s somewhat normal for people not to read once they don’t have to for school; many of my students say they don’t have any books at home. I say all of this to say, if I can be a part of creating that love of reading, that routine of reading, in my students’ lives, I would consider it a privilege.

I believe it’s important to create the environment of reading in the classroom, the environment where there’s not assignment attached to what’s being read, just reading for the joy of reading. I find myself, throughout this chapter (and many of Nancie Atwell’s teachings) struggling with the two sides of myself, the ideal and the realistic. Ideally all of my students would love to read and would naturally grow as readers just by reading but the realist in me can’t help but wonder if I can really provide that environment while teaching practical strategies for comprehension and application.

I have a suggestion box in my classroom and I make a point of drawing from it on Fridays. Dare I forget, the kids remind me, so it must be important to them. One of the suggestions I recently pulled said “Give us more time to read.”. Yes, tears came to my eyes, in part, because my kids wanted to read and how exciting is that? But, I admit, some of those tears were for the “How I am I gonna get everything done that is expected of me if I give them more reading time?” More reading time won out, but my other problem still exists.

I really like when Atwell sets up the classroom scenario for us, the relationship she seems to be building with her students through literature. I have a student, Ashleigh, with whom I have developed a wonderful, literary relationship with. We discovered early on that we both liked the same book, so I gave her a biography on the author. Since, she and I read his books at the same time and talk about them on a regular basis. I can tell that she truly understand what she’s reading and enjoys it. In my “mini-conversations” with her, I am able to assess her too (on accident). I was taken back a bit when I read Atwell’s statement “When reading is meaningful, understanding cannot be separated from decoding.” I read it over and over and wasn’t sure what I thought about that. However, my relationship with Ashleigh is helping me make practical application to the concept. I still have reservations though, is this an achievable goal and a realistic form of measurement ” with twenty-nine students?

NEXT POST

I am in the process of creating a time line for the book study, which I will share with you soon. In the meantime, please read chapter 1 only and respond by Sunday, Jan. 31. We will get more specific w/discussion questions, but for this chapter, respond as you feel appropriate. What are you already doing? What ideas come to mind? Maybe YOU have a question to pose.
Oh, and be sure to read what the others are writing. Feel free to comment as well.

Response to article

I, like the others, agree with what Atwell says. The first part that I got to that really struck me and made me question our STAR and AR tests was when she said we shouldn't ever tell kids they aren't smart or trustworthy when it comes to choosing the books that are right for them. The STAR test I guess is a tool that is supposed to be used to help kids pick books within their reading levels...but I have seen kids read beyond their reading levels and do really well on the AR tests - which leads me to believe that the student probably did that well because they truly enjoyed the book and really got in to it...leading to increased understanding of the story! The problem with AR is that it limits the kids to what books they can read, unless we as teachers create tests for those books that do not have AR tests for them. It's hard to do that with lack of time and other obligations. I don't like that it is limited...if a student really likes a book - then I want them reading it!!
I have to agree with Kelly, Mikki, and Jamie about the novels. This is something that I have struggled with this year but I keep coming back to seeing my son in high school and what I want for him as he heads off to college in a couple of years. I want him reading novels. I want him exposed to the classics that I believe professors will expect him to have read. I want him learning the strategies of reading a novel so that he is prepared! I strongly believe that we need to expose our students to some classic novels that they might not otherwise select. I have had students actually tell me after reading a novel that they were really glad we read it because they probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. I can use Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as a great example of this. Not only is it a great novel, but one that students can really learn from. Historical fiction is not a popular choice with my students usually.
So if I want this for my son, I should want that for my students too...right!? I see the importance of mixing it up and not always doing a novel and making sure that we are teaching the concepts - not the novel.
In the part where she talks about what we shouldn't do - worksheets, book reports, etc... The only one I took exception to was the double sided journal entries - only because this helps students make connections to the text! This is always good...kind of like annotating.
I love the way Atwell suggests setting up the classroom! My kids love my beanbags and pillows. I want to continue getting some stuff to set my room up so it is comfy for them when they are reading.

Atwell Response

I agree with a number of comments Nancie Atwell makes in the article taken from The Reading Zone. It's absolutely essential that our students develop a passion for reading and a "satisfaction for books"; and many of the Reader's Workshop components can assist teachers in developing this love for reading in each one of their students. Despite Atwell's beliefs of disregarding all reading acronyms in the classroom (S.S.R. and READ), with the implementation of S.S.R. in our middle school English classrooms, students are encouraged to experiment with their reading interests and eventually efficiently select those books they are more inclined to enjoy (via exposure to various authors, genres, themes, etc.). The block schedule in our English classrooms has lent itself well towards the ability to give students "personal reading time" that will eventually lead to life-long readers. As Atwell's article states, students claim they want time to read at school; and the incorporation of S.S.R. gives students this opportunity.

As with many of the new ideas we have been presented with this year, I often find myself believing that it is essential that there is some sort of balance with new educational philosophy and traditional educational philosophy. For example, Atwell feels very strongly about giving students the autonomy of choosing their own books. To reiterate my previous claims, I agree with Atwell's claim here. However, I feel there should be a balance of student-selected books and teacher-selected books. As Kelly stated in her response, one must take into account the demographics of Platte City. Many of our students will attend two or four year institutitions. In order to fairly prepare these students for college and the work force, students must be able to take a teacher-given novel or text (many of which are classic literary novels) and completely dissect the novel, identifying and examining various literary elements. Furthermore, when students enter the work force, they must have the capability to read an employer-given text (memo, directions, book, etc.) and comprehend/apply the information given. In other words, not all reading material one is given throughout life is "fun reading"; therefore, we must provide our students with a balance of student-selected reading material to develop a passion for reading and teacher-selected reading material to prepare students for college and the "real world".

Response to Atwell article

I can respond positively to everything Atwell says in her article. I based my own classroom library of over 1500 books based on her ideas pertaining to reading for pleasure. Atwell states that good classroom libraries should consist of 10 books for each student. For most of us teaching in a block period, that would be 800 books or so. With the advent of our new classroom libraries (should be in by next week-thank you Chris Miller!) we should be more prepared than ever to offer our students a nice selection of books tailored to their interests.

One of the most important criteria for establishing a climate of reading that Atwell doesn't talk about is the importance of teachers reading the books that the kids are reading. If I don't read what my kids are reading, how can I steer them to an excellent book based on their interests and reading styles. Granted, I haven't read every book in my library, but I've read hundreds of my own books and when I can say to my students, "I've read this and it's one of my favorites," kids really respond to that connection. When the student begins to read the book, I can talk with them during our SSR time and ask, "Have you gotten to the part where...". This is the kind of student/teacher connection that I LOVE! We are so far apart in age, so far apart in experiences, but we can share that common experience of having read the same book. When I began teaching, I knew that this would be a good connection with my students, I just didn't realize how wonderful it would be and that it would quickly become the cornerstone of my teaching.

I agree with Mikki about the teaching of novels in addition to providing that all-important pleasure reading, SSR, IR, or whatever we want to call it. Students need to know how to engage in a lengthy novel and how to respond to the literature through group discussion, individual responses, etc. We must think about our demographics at all times when we are thinking about our curriculum. Over 70% of our students go on to college (either a 2-year college or a 4-year college). If we haven't begun and completed the process of teaching our students how to read a novel, how to critically respond to a novel and not just write book reports, then we haven't done our jobs to prepare our students for success after high school. Many college professors have reported that students who are not reading complete novels in whole-group are not as successful in college as students who have not studied a novel in-depth. Where else but in a novel do students learn character development over time? We do have to teach them this process. Experiencing the novel in a whole-group situation first, and then gradually releasing the students to explore and critically analyze novels on their own is good teaching (or best practice).

Atwell is preaching to the choir about establishing good reading habits and practices in the classroom. Instill in a student the passion for reading and you have done a good deed for a lifetime. Additionally, we are blessed with parents who are incredibly supportive of the time and effort we put into our books and establishing good readers. After all, their child is the beneficiary. It's a win-win for teacher, student, and parent.

Response to the Atwell article

I wholeheartedly agree with Atwell that extrinsic rewards (principals shaving heads, pizza parties--which I'm guilty of doing) do not lead to good reading. The desire to read has to come from within and I believe that the best way to get there is to be constantly sharing books, not only what the kids are reading, but for me to share with them what I'm reading.

A few years ago, during SSR, my chosen book was The Lovely Bones. I believe I cried every day that I read it, but I thought it was important for kids to see that a book can do that for you if you connect with it. And every single day they'd ask me what was happening and whether I thought I would make it through SSR tear-free. And then we'd talk about their books, and ideas for new titles would be flying left and right.

I argue that all of these things that Atwell wants us to teach can be taught while also teaching novels. If the right novel is chosen, the whole class can experience an amazing learning experience instead of just a few.

Right now, I'm drowning. Just absolutely drowning. And I'm not teaching as well as I do when I am reading books on my own for fun so that I can have book talks with kids. The excitement about reading really is dependent on the AR program right now. And, in fact, I am in process of teaching myself to speed read so that I can contribute to book talks again for the first time all year.

Whether it's called SSR, DEAR, or whatever is really splitting hairs and is a matter of semantics. Students reading for pleasure is what we really need. Honestly, add AR into that equation and out the window goes the pleasure part of the reading. Just this week I had a kid who brought a Dr. Seuss book to me to get the last point he needed for AR. To me, that just exemplifies what we've done to our reading program.

I don't think it's a matter of whether we teach classroom sets of novels, I use that as my opportunity to do mini-lessons on how to read well, I think it's a matter of not making reading feel like punishment or like that thing you have the kids do when you need to get paper-grading done.

Response to the article in Nancie Atwell's "The Reading Zone".

When the article talks about the “P” word, I can relate. I have found that many parents, who don’t understand methodology in the learning process/the classroom, feel the need to see and have something tangibleby way of grades; they need to see their students doing homework and getting the (letter) grade to feel like they’re learning. As trained professionals, it’s frustrating that our credentials don’t seem worthy of trust. I think rather than “getting over it” and blowing parents off (in hopes that they’ll realize it’s okay eventually) it’s important to create a healthy balance between parent expectations and what we know our students need; to do this, communication is key. Communication before, during (showing growth and benefits, formal and informal), and after (evidence of improvement). I think that communication can help parents feel confident that we, as their child’s teacher, have a plan; it provides opportunity for educators to share their objectives for learning in their classroom.

I think it’s important to allow reading-for-enjoyment time in the classroom. I have been a reader since I can remember; I am always reading at least one book at all times. I truly believe that one reason I love to read is because I observed that in my mother growing up. Reading was a natural part of our household, there were no degrees hanging on the walls and we were very poor but we managed to haul ourselves to the used bookstore every couple of weeks and barter book for book. I do think that modeling a love of reading and providing time for kids to develop that is a crucial part in teaching reading. With that being said, I can also feel frustrated at times that I need to do that while still creating situations that I can assess and assign a grade. I know my students, I know what they are interested in, their abilities, their struggles, but, I struggle with communicating that in the form we’re expected to for documenting and grading purposes.