Please list:
3 things that really resonate with you
2 things that you can efficiently work into your classroom routine
1 lingering comment/question that still remains
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This page is designed as a platform for sharing as we participate in a book study centered around the works and writings of Dr. Steven L. Layne.
After reading through this book, what are your “take-aways”?
Please list: 3 things that really resonate with you 2 things that you can efficiently work into your classroom routine 1 lingering comment/question that still remains
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Prior to the start of Chapter 10, author Joan Bauer recounts the memory of her eighth-grade English teacher Miss. Huff. She recalls, “I can hear her prodding me, saying, ‘But why Joan? Why did you love it? What does it mean?’ I loved Miss. Huff and sometimes she scared me to death. She had the fire. It lit up her eyes and roared out of her mouth. She shook thoughts from me, she burned books into me, and branded me forever” (pg. 144). Have you had a teacher like this? Do you aspire to be a teacher like this? In what ways?
As you read through the Quarterly Plan what thoughts do you have regarding the implementation of Layne’s suggestions? Keeping in mind Layne’s chief goal, “to promote thought that leads to change that will ultimately impact instruction” (pg. 145). “Author visits are exciting! A visit from an author can expose students to the wonders of reading and writing in a unique way, one they may have never considered before.”
Do you believe this to be true? Why or why not? Although this may be true there seems to be a dilemma regarding the frequency of author visits to elementary vs. middle and high schools which Layne describes in this statement, “But I am baffled that the closer in age our students get to actually becoming more competent writers, the closer they get to reaching an age where they are thinking about career options, the less teachers and schools seem inclined to promote and fund author visits” (pg. 132). What are your thoughts? Is this something that has been neglected? Should we be advocating for more author visits to SMS? On page 134 of this chapter, Layne provides a valuable resource for teachers and schools regarding the promotion and funding of Arts in Education. Out of curiosity, I went to the mentioned website to see if indeed there are funding opportunities in our state for author visits and found that yes there are! Check out Curriculum-Based Project Grants http://www.arts.state.al.us/programs/AIE/education.aspx Throughout this chapter, Layne describes various opportunities for students to celebrate books. His suggestions include the Golden Recommendation Shelf, First Read Club, Read Arounds, Café, Poetry, Comic, and Magazine Breaks, Newspaper Day, Club Read, and Picture Book of the Month. Of these suggested strategies, which one stood out to you? Was there anything that caught your attention and made you think of an idea that could easily be implemented at SMS? If so, what is your idea and how might we incorporate it into our school culture “to provide opportunities for students to engage with text through activities that generate some excitement about reading” (pg. 115).
As I began reading this chapter my initial question was, How is a reading lounge different from the library? and then I turned the page and saw the heading …A LOUNGE, NOT THE LIBRARY :) Layne explains that, “Reading lounges do not belong in libraries because the lounges need to be accessible for classroom teachers to reserve for read-aloud time and SSR” (pg. 104). As I continued to read I actually “got it” and became excited about the idea of "how powerful it can be for students to have a comfortable space to be with text” (pg.102-103).
Layne asserts that reading lounges “belong in any building where part of the instructional goal is to create lifetime readers” (pg.104). Is this REALLY one of our instructional goals? Layne outlines the “Buzz About Books” process and how it could look in the classroom. He suggests 2-3 times a week for 15 minutes which sounds reasonable, right? Yet he starts out the chapter posing this question, “Do you think it’s a good use of instructional time for us to allow time for and take part in discussions about books?” (pg.85). What do you think?
This chapter is dedicated to what Layne refers to as “My Modeling Career.” He offers several options regarding how all adults in the building can model what they are personally reading as well as suggestions on how teachers can incorporate a “reading” time in the classroom where everyone, students and adults alike, take time out to read. Consider ways in which you might model the act of reading to students you come in contact with. What is an idea you are inspired to try or have tried?
One statement from chapter five that really stood out to me…”I truly subscribe to the belief that everyone working in a school is someone’s hero; everyone is the right person and, in some cases, the only person to reach some kid with a book” (pg.72). You may never know whose hero you are! Layne describes reading aloud as “a good book read well” and goes on to say that reading aloud “is the number one way to positively impact the disengaged reader” (pg.54).
What did you glean from this chapter that prompts you to want to read aloud to students just for fun, without an assignment connected to the experience? What are some of the benefits that Layne provides in support of reading aloud to students of all ages? Simply stated, Layne tells one of his student teachers to "Tell your students why you like the book..." (pg.48). In this chapter Dr. Layne asserts that, "On my list of all-time best ways to stimulate a positive attitude, interest, motivation, and engagement in text with readers, providing book chats is at the top" (pg.42). He also explains that, "At no point in my teacher training nor at multiple levels of higher education had a learned person ever said, 'Read books written for the age group you teach and then tell the kids about the books' " (pg.40).
This all seems like such an easy and obvious way to "turn kids on" to the love of reading yet it is so seldom practice in the classroom. Why do you think that is? What are your thoughts regarding Layne's advice. At the end of this chapter in the section titled, “From The Trenches” Layne recounts his memory of a former student and conveys to the reader that, “It was the first time I’d considered that kids who are not readers would not necessarily ever think to go find books about their interests!” What implication does this realization have on our relationship with students?
Think about the following statements: “…any effort we make to know our students better, any visible attempt we demonstrate to take an active interest in them will yield more cooperation, more motivation, and more determination for them to grow themselves as readers” (p.32). “If I don’t know anything about them as readers, it would seem there would be little chance that I would be able to entice them to read anything” (p.23). Keep this last statement in mind as we consider the possibilities that are available to us every day as we strive to “know our students.” “I may not reach everybody, but every time I reach somebody, I’m doing more than I would be doing if I were doing nothing” (p.23). What are your thoughts? |
AuthorMiddle School Instructional Coach with a focus on ELA facilitating a book study. Archives
March 2014
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