high school

I agree with Tammy - I found very little that was beneficial to me from this chapter. I think writers workshop is an elementary concept, we are trying to tweak it to the middle school level, but I hope the high school does not buy into and start doing this. I want my son prepared for college...prepared for what college english professors are going to want out of him quite honestly! It hit me while I was reading this chapter for some reason - I think at the middle school and high school levels our focus needs to be on getting students engaged through technology - that's what is going to peak their interest and even help them as they go in to college and beyond. I can see more benefit from that than there being such this overwhelming push of writer's workshop! Kelly - you engaged students last year to reading through the use of MP3 players...bet that was a great tool! How cool would it be for there to be a real push in the English depts for some new and innovative technology to get our kids engaged, become better readers, writers, etc... On a scale of 1 - 10... I would guess students would rank being able to use technology as a 10 in learning. Wonder where they would rank writer's workshop?

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 is on high school methods. Quite honestly, it offered little in new ideas (that are practically applicable to middle school). It's quite a challenge in itself to apply concepts to the middle school setting.

Chapter 6-Booktalking

Booktalks are something that I definitely need to improve on in my classroom. I have modeled a booktalk for my kids with a book I was reading at that time. After that, the students were very excited to share the books that they were reading. Booktalks are a great tool in the classroom because they grab the attention of the other readers in the room. The genre of the book might be something that at first they thought they would never be interested in, but after hearing the booktalk they realize that it might be a book for them. I do agree with Atwell when she says the booktalks should stay positive.

chapter 8 response..."Boys"

Yes...boys will be boys - they don't like to read as much as girls do!! It's harder to find the perfect read for them than it is for the girls in our classrooms. Of course, I am sure that it is because the majority of the books out there for middle-school aged students are pretty "girly."
I struggle, myself, with helping the boys in my classes find those just right books - but I will continue to work on it!

Chapter 8 Response

I would definitely agree with Atwell's comments in regards to the extreme importance of making a strong effort in instilling a passion for reading in our male readers. When I reflect on my classroom, very rarely will I have to refocus students during reading; however, when I do, they are always boys. I definitely need to improve on by individual reading conferences with my male students, teaching them to analyze their interests...leading them to find authors, genres, and themes they enjoy. I need to make more of an effort with this at the beginning of next year.

Chapter 7 Response

Atwell's discussion of letter-essays is a beneficial method of assessing student reading and comprehension in a critical thinking manner. While at the middle school, we are currently administering the Accelerated Reading program, but many students want (and should be able) to read non-A.R. novels. I currently give oral book report conferences with students who read non-A.R. books; but these letter-essays described by Atwell would be much more worthwhile for my students. They can anlayze a passage, react to the book's theme, problem, character development, plot, or author's style. Students can also tell about their experiences reading the novel, explain what surprised them, and pose wonderings. I think these letter-essays would be great to experiment with at the end of this school year in preparation for my reading program/goals next year.

Response to Chapter 8 - Boys

I complete agree with Atwell on her assessment of "Who are these guys? I don't recognize them." Our September 8th grade boys may come in scoffing at "some" books -after all, there is still gender bias in the publishing industry, ie; "girls are the ones who buy all the books so we're going to publish more books espcially for girls vs. boys". After a few weeks in our classroom, most of the gender bias falls away and books become fairly gender-less. I've had boys pick up "Twilight" and "Nineteen Minutes" and at first they may not be as receptive to reading, but after awhile, in a safe environment that encourages reading based on interest and not gender, they loosen up and are willing to try a number of books which may or may not be deemed feminine or masculine.
Wow! I am amazed that Nancie's boys read an average of 40 books per year (and that's at the low end, she states). Think about how many books that is - at least 1 a week for the entire year. I know that I don't have averages that high - I have some higher and many more lower than that, but what we've done is to create a passionate reading environment for boys and for girls - all done in 15 minutes a day! Kudos to my collegues, that's something to brag about.
Kelly