Christina L.'s 11, 12, 13
CHAPTER 11
This chapter focused on matching the right books with the child’s appropriate developmental stage. I like how Taberski compares choosing the right books to choosing the right sized pants and jackets for your child. We need to be choosing books that match our students abilities at the present time, and this will constantly change if we are doing it the correct way. Taberski states that she devotes the first three weeks to getting to know her students and appropriately matching them with “just-right” books. I think this is a great idea, because, how are we to know what literacy level our students are on if we don’t get to know them first? I also think that this is beneficial because it will get you better acquainted with your student’s interests, as well as, their abilities, so you can better match them with books that they would probably be interested in. When Taberski said that she believes that 1,500 books is the right number of books to have in a collection, I was shocked! I don’t think I have ever seen a collection that large, but I do understand, how the books can add up when you have many books that are under eight pages long.
I would also want to have an ample supply of books, but as Taberski states, I would also have to know them all well, or they could potentially cause more trouble for me than good. I like how Taberski gives the reader tips of what to look for when choosing appropriate books for our collections. She says to focus on font size, spacing, and background when choosing books for early and emergent readers. This made me think of the books my mentor has now for his class of Kindergarteners. I thought about what his books look like, and realized that they all contain many of the characteristics that Taberski says they should have. He uses many books that have repetitious language, and predictable texts, also with the text consistently in the same place on the pages of the book. I am glad that he is giving his students the right books for their level of development.
I also like how Taberski organizes her book collection. She uses color-coding, as well as, numerical ordering to show increasing text difficulty within each of her stages. This helps the teacher by keeping his or her book collection very organized, and also helps the students, so they can easily pick out a book that is in the appropriate category for their developmental stage. Another thing that Taberski does that my mentor also does is the book bag, but in my class it’s called, “I Can Read”. The only differences are that my teacher only gives his students the opportunity to take home one book at a time, unlike Taberski, who gives her students the privilege of taking multiple books. Taberski’s students also do not get to take them home, and by her reasoning, it seems logical that she wouldn’t want to risk having her students take home the books she’s worked so hard to match them with, only to have them lose it at home, or to constantly forget to bring it to school. On the other hand, my teacher lets his students take their books home to practice reading them with their parents, and he doesn’t seem to have much trouble with them bringing them back.
CHAPTER 12
I was surprised to learn that Sharon has two daily independent reading sessions in one day. After reading about the first session, I now think that this could be very beneficial to students, because during the first session the students get to read, or explore any text they want to. This is good because if they choose a book that is too hard for them, they can simply look at the pictures to try to get an idea of what the book is about. If the book is too easy for them, it would prepare them for more challenging reading, which they will do during the second session. This is a win-win process, in which the students just being exposed to different types of text will better prepare them for becoming strong readers, and feel more comfortable being around many different types of text. I understand that this process is a very difficult one, and I appreciate how Taberski gives some specific questions to ask yourself when you are thinking about trying this process out. The questions will better help to guide the teachers who want to try this one day with their students, and I believe that by answering these questions, a teacher will have a much easier time trying to master this process.
The most interesting part of this chapter is the section that addresses what the other students in the class do when the teacher is conducting conferences. I think that it would impossible for a teacher to do this if they did not have a plan for the rest of their class. This seems easy to do, but a teacher must have an effective plan ready, and one that is not boring for the rest of the class. I really like how Taberski has not only one, or a few things that the children can do, but has many things that her students can do while she is busy conducting conferences. Her students can read books, respond to books, read with a partner, read a big book, and more. I believe that this plan would keep any class filled with students busy, and still engaging in strengthening their literacy skills.
CHAPTER 13
Chapter 13 focuses on different ways of responding to text. As Taberski states, it is so easy to read a book to your students and immediately move on to the next lesson, without even taking time to question your students about the book that was just read to them. I am guilty of this, although I don’t just move on, I do ask some questions, but not ones that prompt critical thinking, or get the students to delve deeper into an answer. That is why I really enjoyed reading about how to improve your student’s oral responses. I agree that it is tempting to ask students to answer questions, but not giving them adequate time to answer them. After reading this chapter, I think that it is important for a teacher to give their students adequate time to respond to the teacher’s questions. I agree that this sets the stage for an interactive classroom where the children know they are expected to participate and enjoy the exchange. This can only be achieved after the teacher has established that he or she wants their students to actively participate in each oral discussion, not giving generic statements, but well thought out responses.
I also liked this chapter because Taberski gives her students many different ways of responding to text in written format. I think that it is such a good idea to have a variety of choices that your students can make for themselves, because wouldn’t it be so boring if all they could do was limited to one type of response? This relates to what students do when Sharon is conducting conferences. I really like the fact that she gives them the choice of what they feel like doing. I can bet that these methods keep her students much more interested and engaged in her literacy blocks than it would if she had them doing the same monotonous tasks each and every day. I like how the students are able to respond in interesting ways, such as, writing about their favorite part, which I have seen and done. What really caught my attention was how creative Taberski was in giving her students the option of relating the book to their lives, and relating the book to other books. I particularly like the option of relating the book to other books, because this gets them to analyze each book, and really look for parts of each book that relate to each other.
Finally Finished!
This chapter focused on matching the right books with the child’s appropriate developmental stage. I like how Taberski compares choosing the right books to choosing the right sized pants and jackets for your child. We need to be choosing books that match our students abilities at the present time, and this will constantly change if we are doing it the correct way. Taberski states that she devotes the first three weeks to getting to know her students and appropriately matching them with “just-right” books. I think this is a great idea, because, how are we to know what literacy level our students are on if we don’t get to know them first? I also think that this is beneficial because it will get you better acquainted with your student’s interests, as well as, their abilities, so you can better match them with books that they would probably be interested in. When Taberski said that she believes that 1,500 books is the right number of books to have in a collection, I was shocked! I don’t think I have ever seen a collection that large, but I do understand, how the books can add up when you have many books that are under eight pages long.
I would also want to have an ample supply of books, but as Taberski states, I would also have to know them all well, or they could potentially cause more trouble for me than good. I like how Taberski gives the reader tips of what to look for when choosing appropriate books for our collections. She says to focus on font size, spacing, and background when choosing books for early and emergent readers. This made me think of the books my mentor has now for his class of Kindergarteners. I thought about what his books look like, and realized that they all contain many of the characteristics that Taberski says they should have. He uses many books that have repetitious language, and predictable texts, also with the text consistently in the same place on the pages of the book. I am glad that he is giving his students the right books for their level of development.
I also like how Taberski organizes her book collection. She uses color-coding, as well as, numerical ordering to show increasing text difficulty within each of her stages. This helps the teacher by keeping his or her book collection very organized, and also helps the students, so they can easily pick out a book that is in the appropriate category for their developmental stage. Another thing that Taberski does that my mentor also does is the book bag, but in my class it’s called, “I Can Read”. The only differences are that my teacher only gives his students the opportunity to take home one book at a time, unlike Taberski, who gives her students the privilege of taking multiple books. Taberski’s students also do not get to take them home, and by her reasoning, it seems logical that she wouldn’t want to risk having her students take home the books she’s worked so hard to match them with, only to have them lose it at home, or to constantly forget to bring it to school. On the other hand, my teacher lets his students take their books home to practice reading them with their parents, and he doesn’t seem to have much trouble with them bringing them back.
CHAPTER 12
I was surprised to learn that Sharon has two daily independent reading sessions in one day. After reading about the first session, I now think that this could be very beneficial to students, because during the first session the students get to read, or explore any text they want to. This is good because if they choose a book that is too hard for them, they can simply look at the pictures to try to get an idea of what the book is about. If the book is too easy for them, it would prepare them for more challenging reading, which they will do during the second session. This is a win-win process, in which the students just being exposed to different types of text will better prepare them for becoming strong readers, and feel more comfortable being around many different types of text. I understand that this process is a very difficult one, and I appreciate how Taberski gives some specific questions to ask yourself when you are thinking about trying this process out. The questions will better help to guide the teachers who want to try this one day with their students, and I believe that by answering these questions, a teacher will have a much easier time trying to master this process.
The most interesting part of this chapter is the section that addresses what the other students in the class do when the teacher is conducting conferences. I think that it would impossible for a teacher to do this if they did not have a plan for the rest of their class. This seems easy to do, but a teacher must have an effective plan ready, and one that is not boring for the rest of the class. I really like how Taberski has not only one, or a few things that the children can do, but has many things that her students can do while she is busy conducting conferences. Her students can read books, respond to books, read with a partner, read a big book, and more. I believe that this plan would keep any class filled with students busy, and still engaging in strengthening their literacy skills.
CHAPTER 13
Chapter 13 focuses on different ways of responding to text. As Taberski states, it is so easy to read a book to your students and immediately move on to the next lesson, without even taking time to question your students about the book that was just read to them. I am guilty of this, although I don’t just move on, I do ask some questions, but not ones that prompt critical thinking, or get the students to delve deeper into an answer. That is why I really enjoyed reading about how to improve your student’s oral responses. I agree that it is tempting to ask students to answer questions, but not giving them adequate time to answer them. After reading this chapter, I think that it is important for a teacher to give their students adequate time to respond to the teacher’s questions. I agree that this sets the stage for an interactive classroom where the children know they are expected to participate and enjoy the exchange. This can only be achieved after the teacher has established that he or she wants their students to actively participate in each oral discussion, not giving generic statements, but well thought out responses.
I also liked this chapter because Taberski gives her students many different ways of responding to text in written format. I think that it is such a good idea to have a variety of choices that your students can make for themselves, because wouldn’t it be so boring if all they could do was limited to one type of response? This relates to what students do when Sharon is conducting conferences. I really like the fact that she gives them the choice of what they feel like doing. I can bet that these methods keep her students much more interested and engaged in her literacy blocks than it would if she had them doing the same monotonous tasks each and every day. I like how the students are able to respond in interesting ways, such as, writing about their favorite part, which I have seen and done. What really caught my attention was how creative Taberski was in giving her students the option of relating the book to their lives, and relating the book to other books. I particularly like the option of relating the book to other books, because this gets them to analyze each book, and really look for parts of each book that relate to each other.
Finally Finished!
posted by Christina Lim | 8:34 PM
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