This week's readings were hefty! I really did not enjoy the Hinchman article so I am focusing on the Moller and Allen article, which I found very interesting. The fact that thinking can be transformed through speech, wow. The response development zone allows for this and for the safe space to have strong emotions. These girls who had never been invited into literary discussions of this kind really had a meaningful experience tied to literacy! They actually shifted from spectators to "actors" in the course of the discussions. They were engaged and made connections to historical and present day issues.
I found "engaged resisting" to be a familiar concept, but one for which I did not have a name. The girls were obvioulsy very involved in the story, putting themselves in the characters' positions and saying, "I would have..." One girl had to pull back when the material was too painful or scary for her. This makes me think of how I watch cops shows on tv like Law and Order. I cover my eyes for the first scene when they find the body. It is too real and scary for me. But then I want to get into the story and see how the crime is solved. As readers we sometimes cringe and "cover our eyes" only to be drawn back in by our attachment to a character. Low readers need to have this feeling too!
I loved the statement that struggling readers need to focus on meaning, not just decoding and isolated skills. I have a RAP group this year, part of a county-wide program from the Hill Center. It teaches skills in isolation and is supposedly for struggling readers who are below grade level. I really struggle with this class because it goes against my ASU ideology. I think this article is proof that even low readers need to be in meaningful, motivational text.
Ashley Catlett
Comments (3)
Ashley,
I think when you teach anything in isolation, there are going to be gaps for students. I think all readers need a variety of instruction. I think teaching skills in isolation should just be one piece for struggling readers. In my other course, our instructor talked about a student who could not read anything. One day the teacher saw him reading a graphic novel. She asked him to read it, and he did, perfectly! He just wasn't motivated by the other texts.
Posted by Sarah Feinman | February 15, 2009 6:37 PM
Posted on February 15, 2009 18:37
Ashley,
I'm glad that you are so enthusiastic about the article, and that it affirmed many of your own beliefs about literacy learning. My hope is that reading these articles will inspire others to orchestrate these types of literacy learnings for their students.
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 18, 2009 7:21 PM
Posted on February 18, 2009 19:21
Hi Ashely,
how are you? I hate programs like the RAP program you are using. Yes, the students need to learn how to read but they are missing out on truly meaningful text at a crucial age. You are in middle school, right? We do not start teaching kids how to read by only teaching them the letters and sounds. We read and discuss so many types of great literature and build a solid foundation. So my question is where is the foundation with this program? Not to mention, what are we doing to these students self-esteem that they never get to enjoy literature that is meaningful to them and geared towards their age group?
Amy Spade
Posted by Amy Spade | February 22, 2009 8:35 PM
Posted on February 22, 2009 20:35