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Reading Workshop

Chpater 7 is about getting readers to an independent, confident stage of reading. Students are responsible for sharing with each other in conferences. The environment of the reader must be conducive to reading.  Teachers need to be passionate in their approach to reading or students will pick up on the discconnect between subject and teacher.

 Conversations are very critical in this stage of development.  Teachers are given a checklist to go by and several conferring strategies to help with the dialogue.

 Chapter 8 focuses on practical ways to assess the workshop. Anecdotal records, checklists, running records, analysis, oral retellings, written retellings, reading logs, and journal responses are the ongoing assessments provided. The rubrics of instruction at the end of the book are extremely practical and easy to recreate. 

Reading workshop

Chapter 4 has a lot of mini-lessons that are broken down to accomodate specific grade levels. I liked the mini lessons supplied.  This is to support the first several weeks of instruction for a novice at the Reading workshop experience.  

The fifth chapter focuses on  specific reading strategies and skills. Visualizing, making inferences, and looking ahead are just some of the skills mentioned. There are a lot of books listed as resources, some are actually in the media center.  Students are very independent in this setting and are expected to utilize the books to further their growth in reading.

Chapter 6 has a variety of mini-lessons that focus on literacy elements such as setting, characters, and cause and effect. Students would also learn about writer's purpose, symbolism, and figurative language.

The BEST Reflection on The Reading Workshop EVER!!!!!

Chapters 1-3

I have used Reading Workshop and am a proponent for this wonderful program.  This book provides an excellent framework for those new to this approach to teaching reading.  With Reading Workshop you are actually facilitating the reading process.  Students take a great deal of ownership in their journey towards proficient reading.

Reading workshop has been divided into three sections: Basic Elements, Organization and Management, and Planning. I found the breakdown very beneficial to the novice Reading Workshop practitioner.  The most important aspect of this program is to allow the students to read.  A large quauntity of time must be allotted to Reading Workshop for it to be worthwhile to the students. A teachers role in this program is make long-term and short-term goals to accommodate reading growth.  Long-term goals are those that lay out the major ideas and concepts to be covered over the span of the year.  Short-term goals should address the mini-lessons that are covered in the duration of a week. 

The overall ambiance of the reading environment should invite independent and communal reading.  Reading in this environment, the Reading Workshop environment, is a living, dynamic subject that continually evolves with each reader. Autonomy of the learner should be nurtured via the workshop experience.  Students read independently, with a buddy, and in small groups.  Within these groups students complete tasks that are designed to utilize concepts covered in mini-lessons.  The repetition of these tasks are constantly sprinkled with new tasks and assignments to keep readers' interests piqued. 

The workshop community should also involve the community, especially parents.  Parents can play a key role in the success of the program.  They can help with the facilitating of the program by listening to read alouds, monitoring on-task behavior, and asking key concept questions to individuals and groups. 

Reading workshop affords ownership to the readers.  All reading selections are selected by the readers.  Teachers can assist in this selection process by picking book sets (trade books) of various levels and high quality to add to their classroom library.  Classroom libraries are the main source of books for the Reading Workshop so careful selections should be made.  This is where teachers have control over the program, along with the 15 minute mini-lessons. 

In conclusion, the Reading Workshop is a wonderful experience for both student and teacher.  It affords time and one on one interaction for the developing reader.  The Reading Workshop also provides an environment where readers can discuss strategies and utilize active reading to further their reading development.  I encourage all teachers to implement some form of the Reading Workshop into their pedagogic practices.  You will not be disappointed!

Yours brother in Academia Mayhem,

Gary Allen Jones, II

Conclusion to Student Centered Math

Chapters 9-12 discuss the presentation of mathematical conceptual knowledge to be implemented in a student-centered environment.  Most of the examples given are accompanied by an array of strategies, i.e. in Chapter 9 a general plan of instruction is allocated for the instruction of measurement comprehension.  I find the three summarized in this chapter to be true.  Students do need to use comparisons when measuring to make the measurement relative.  Using model units to portray measurements is also imperative for a visual representation of the conceptual knowledge.  This provides an appropriate amount of duality to mathematical perspectives needed in developing successful students.

The most important of the lessons proposed in these chapters is application.  Students need to utilize these concepts and apply the attained skills authentically. Chapter 12 was my favorite because it dealt with probablity.  The 12.4 activity was one I will use in my class.  I enjoy implementing hands-on learning experiences.  There are many creative activities dispersed throughout the chapters that seem very simplistic in pedagogic approach.  This book would be a good classroom resource if we could keep a copy in our room.  However, once we turn this book over to the media center I fear it will be a resource not many will check out. 

Is there any way we could keep this book indefinitely, as a temporarily-permanent fixture (oxymoron) in our repetoirre of resources.  At least until I become accustom to some of the best activities proposed.

Student-Centered Math

Chapters 5-8 proposes to allow students to come up with their own methods of solving mathematical problems using self-generated algorithms.  They propose that it is okay for the student to manifest algoritms and prove these algorithms successful via trial and effort.  The use of formal algorithms are not a ulitmate priority, but they are to be only aids to the students autonomous methods.  There are several examples of how to allow this process to flourish in each of the chapters.  I already am a proponent of informal algorithms in mathematics.  The Saxxon style of math seems somewhat an antithesis to what is being proposed.  Saxxon is very strong on adherring to formally taught algorithms and does not allocate time for the type of authentic self-discovery that is presented within Student-Centered Math.  I however, I agree with the methods professed in the chapters of this book. They seem to mirror those set by the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics).

 

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