1. Reading in front of the class was more than a simple task. It was a high anxiety event that had an effect on how one's peers valued the selected victim. One could not, would not been seen as a lesser being due to mispronounced words or shuddering. When the time arose for me to read in front of the class I had already practiced the selected paragraph three to four times as to avoid the judgmental glares of my fellow students. To combat this stressful practice I will have a system similar to the reading simulation practiced in class. A handful of strong readers will read aloud small sections of a novel or textbook while the rest of the class reads along. I will also have scribes who record key points and analysts who will summarize and question the text. Through this system there should be less stress and more opportunities to practice critical reading.
2. In high school I was a much slower reader than the rest of the students. If we were all expected to read a page or two at the same time I would read as much as I could and stop just as everyone else finished, even if I was no where close to the end, just so the class would not have to wait for me. I can combat this problem by asking students to read a section of a text and analyze what they read. The faster readers will not grow bored from waiting as they can write while the others catch up. In theory this will help all students despite developmental readiness levels.
3. I hated reading books that were selected for me. Books that I was allowed to choose from had a greater impact on me. I can provide my students with options of texts they can read. I can apply this within my history classroom by allowing students to see the books for the semester. I can then allow them to select the three books that they would like to read in the order that they want to read them. Then students can be assigned one book which they can read at their leisure. When the selected book relates to the unit they will be expected to present a group project and inform the class about the book and how it relates to the material.
Zach, I think it is great that you thought about your own literacy history in order to best impact your students. You can share with them how metacognition is beneficial. This will greatly improve the chances you have to make a difference in how students read, write, listen, and speak about history.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Leah, I really like the fact that you used your own school experiences to help those you're teaching. I also like the first option particularly because it combines multiple ways we've learned to integrate literacy in the classroom, so you get multiple outcomes with just one exercise. I have a few questions though...1) What about those students who aren't strong readers but think they are and want to be the readers? 2) Do you think the students who have the "other" tasks than reading would become distracted with their jobs? 3) Would everyone in the class have another job, or would there be students who were left out? What could be done with these students so they aren't doing nothing?
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