I found that the reading on working to synthesize the text in read alouds validated the methods I have been using in the classroom, but also provided me with more ways to have the students really think about the text that they are reading. My students are only in first grade, so they are still working on
learning to read text more than meaning, but read alouds are a good way
for them to not have to worry about deciphering the words and just think
about the story. Usually when we do read alouds, I read the book to the students and at the end we discuss it, typically with some guiding questions from me so they will get the point of the reading more easily. Still, they have managed to come up with some very thoughtful responses to books that we have read all on their own. As we work through the year, I'm sure they will get better and better and figuring out the point of a book without so much help from their teachers.
One way that I feel I have somewhat followed Sunday and Cate's methods is through our "Me Book" unit. The kids are writing very simple books about themselves in which they complete sentence starters like "When I grow up I want to be a..." or "My favorite food is..." As a way to introduce this project, my lead teacher and I read them books about self-confidence and learning to like you. This included Todd Parr's It's Okay to Be Different. In our discussion about the book, one student said that "if we were all the same, life would be boring." The students learned from the book that differences are good to have. One page of the students' Me Books is a drawing of the students' families. Our classroom has a wide variety of family units (students with two dads, students with divorced parents, students with just a mom), so it was really important to make all students feel comfortable drawing their families. We read a book called Families Are Different, and after reading, we discussed that if it's okay to be different (like we learned from Todd Parr's book), and families are different, then it's okay for families to be different. In this way, the students were able to synthesize the information they received from multiple read alouds in order to understand the main points of the readings.
I really liked Sunday and Cate's analogy of baking a cake and reading a book. Later in the year when my students' reading skills are more advanced, I would love to try this method with them, including the drawing of the cake ingredients and matching those up with facts from the text. This might be good to incorporate into science lessons or social studies lessons so that we can sneak those topics into reading lessons.
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What a reflective post. I really like how you have examined your experiences in the classroom and provide not only explanations about what they are doing, but also how you feel it's going. Todd Parr's book is absolutely amazing and allows space for conversations to happen that are difficult, yet important to have. It's so great that you are at a school where there are so many different families and that you are able to have these conversations in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteHaving never had much exposure to a first grade classroom, I find it fascinating and encouraging that students with so little exposure to life or texts are making such meaningful connections. It is sometimes difficult to strike a balance between purposefulness and engagement, and I like the idea of drawing students in by making the subject matter personal but also using it to build a sense of community. Sounds to me like great things are happening in your classroom.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about content vs. structure when doing a read-aloud. I too have previously focused on picking literature on context. I still believe books are an incredibly resource for opening student's minds on social issues, but I think will place an importance on the structure of writing and 'thinking like a writer' when doing read alouds also. In fact, for my first practicum observation I read from a book and paused when I reached places in the story that represented the elements of fantasy!