Ok - I know chapters 2 and 3 are not posted yet - but I wanted to get my chapter posted on time so we don't get too behind schedule. This was a very big chapter with a lot of great thoughts - but I'm going to really try and narrow it down. :)
Schmoker reminds us in this chapter that students need to "...spend hundreds of hours actually reading, writing and speaking for intellectual purposes" (pg 94). Students should be exposed to literature and nonfiction text. I think incorporating nonfiction text is not only an important reminder for reading teachers - but for social studies, math and science as well. I thought the section of the chapter that discusses bringing in a weekly article could easily fit in to any content area's curriculum while increasing student literacy. No matter what the subject area - students should be reading varied text, then discussing and writing about that text using textual evidence. This should be happening often.
Schmoker also writes about his frustration seeing students working below their skill level in reading. I think it's wonderful that all students at JB are challenged at their skill level. The students who still need very basic phonics instruction get that - but all are working where they need to be working. I also like how he called classroom time "sacred". That is very true - and a message I think some of our new staff may need to hear. We simply don't have time for free time.
There is also an argument to simplify reading standards down to Schmoker's big 4: argument, drawing inferences and conclusions, resolving conflicting views and documents, and problem solving. I don't think Schmoker is really advocating getting "rid" of any Common Core standards here. I think if any student can do the big 4 with a piece of text - they are showing mastery of the Common Core standards already.
Schmoker also advocates for a very rigorous writing curriculum. Students should be writing at least one paper per month. I think our overall data team focus in intermediate was getting there this year. However, although the length may vary, Schmoker advocates that primary students should be writing formally just as often.
Finally - Schmoker reminds us of his lesson plan design for reading: teach vocabulary, establish a purpose for reading, model, read, discuss the text, and write about the text. It seems as though gradual release fits right in here!
I agree that we need to emphasize that classroom time is “sacred”. I think reading the Annual Growth/Catch—up Growth book along with Focus shows us that. Our students are behind and the thing they need most is repeated practice every day for as long as we can keep them engaged. Many of our kids especially need as much time to read and write as they can get to catch up. This definitely makes me think of all of the articles, news stories and literature out there having to do with current science that can be tied directly to curriculum that students can be-and should be- reading and writing about.
ReplyDeleteThis book along with the green book discuss that often the reading block time isn't spent efficiently. Schmoker says that during the reading block, students spend about 2/3 of their time waiting to read because they are working on other activities that are not as crucial. In the green book, they talk about centers taking a significant time away from direct instruction. I'm interested to see what the ideal set up would be (and maybe I will get it after I read more of the green book). Either way, I think we can all agree that our students have no time to waste on activities, including free time, that don't teach them the skills they need.
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