Gallager talks about the prevalence of over teaching a difficult text to the point of destroying any interest the students might have or find reading for enjoyment. In essence the very people who proclaim to promote reading are in fact killing off the lifelong readers before they have the opportunity to develop their own interests in books with a myriad of analysis worksheets, sticky notes, vocabulary etc. His strategies for reversing this are to frame a book like Hamlet in real word situations- he uses a father's advice to his son to generate authentic interest for his students. A guided tour- teacher's guide students through half of a difficult text, then let them finish the book on their own. Adopt 50/50 approach to text selection- half academic and half student selected novels. Topic Floods for generating discussions that relate to the themes of a text. One-pager a sheet to promote accountability for independent reading, and of course giving them time and book selections to generate real reading interest.
I really like the one pager and topic flood ideas for social studies applications. I could see great discussions on real world issues with this strategy. The one pager is a short but sweet way to track student reading for those who may be less inclined to actually read during silent reading, which I will adopt for my classes.
One potential problem I see with Gallager's opinions are: he has great ideas, but in English classes where most of these difficult texts would be taught, implementing his strategies in the micro-managed, high stakes testing environment AYP generates, I can imagine can be very difficult. How much choice do English teachers have to deviate from the highly structured test prep models schools are requiring now to raise scores? I don't know, but I've been told its not much. In social studies I can see his solutions being implemented without much difficulty, except for the analysis of poetry, parts of speech, literary devices, and other English topics that most social studies teachers aren't trained to teach. Historical texts yes, this is a great way to frame and promote interest in primary sources.
Allison, you made a very valid point when you mentioned that the same ones who promote reading are the same ones who are destroying the life long readers as well. It is very difficult for an English or Literature teacher to find ways to keep the students engaged in reading the texts, however, if there is a will there is always a way. Also, when you mentioned social studies and its text, it reminded me of when I was in high school and my world history teacher was so enthused about history that everyday was a great day. We as the students enjoyed her stories as well as the reading because she made it become alive as if we are actually there during those times and the stories were so in depth. This makes me wonder is the reason most student's love and or passion for reading is lost because we as the educators aren't persuading them that we love it? It's almost like working for a retail department and your on commission, how is it that you will get the customer (student) to purchase the item you're trying to sale.
ReplyDeleteOne way to sale your product to several customers (students) you have to first be not only knowledgeable of the product but very enthused about it as well.
Allison,
ReplyDeleteHaving taught in the public school system in Bibb for the past six years, I sneak my "non-standard", "non-test prep" material in any way I can.For example, I introduce my students to Beowulf, an Olde English text written @ 600 AD by an unknown author. Yes, I teach 6th,7th and 8th graders, but introducing this work and its elements (monsters, swords, revenge) gets them excited about reading pieces they thought they would never read. I also squeeze in an excerpt from Chaucer or Poe every now and then- they're funny, scary and thought provoking, preparing them for more challenging readings. Keep in mind, I only spend 1-3 days on these "indulgences," but it is a nice breather for me and the children. Grammar, literary devices and multiple choice questions get old after a couple of weeks - I try to mix it up, keep the kids engaged and excited about LEARNING, not learning a TEST, you know?
Reading the your blog and the two comments already posted I must agree that we are part of the problem. We are so focused on these high stake test that we forget our love of our subjects. When we show no enthusiasm, how can we expect our students to get interested. They must first develop some interest before they ever want to read about the content. I am coming at this from a science teacher's perspective and we have talked in class about how difficult it can be to include reading in the math and science class room. Reading in science is difficult due to the complexity of the science text and lack of connection to every day experiences. All that being said, I beleive that we as educators must somehow make our subjects worth reading about and then provide approriate reading material. Articles, books , etc that won't turn the students off.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with all the comments. I love that Eve is trying to squeeze in richer material where she can even under the stress of covering testing material, and Tashina, you are so right- we have to love our fields to inspire our kids. Lori brings up a good point about her struggles with science text relevancy in students everyday life, but it's great that she's recognizing the need to find material the students can get excited about. One idea here that just popped into my head was stories about science experiments- (Frankenstein, Jurassic Park, Fantastic Four, etc. - most of the kids like the subject matter already - just bring in excerpts from these kinds of stories - and connect science and reading fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteWonderful conversation! You are discussing ways to meet the mandates but stretch beyond to benefit your students.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the 50/50 rule can work in social studies and math the same way it can work in English class. What books would you offer students to choose from that might engage them in the subject? I know you didn't comment on this a lot, but are there books you've thought of already?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I agree with all of the comments about teachers loving their subject. I've wondered before if my US History and Government teacher (same person in my small private school) is a primary reason that I never got interested in history. His real reason for teaching was so he could coach football, basketball, and track. As a teacher now, I'm offended by that approach to teaching, and I wonder if hiring people to teach just so we can have a good coach is killing some opportunities for kids.
Allison, I too like the idea of using a one pager or topic flood in the history classroom. When I read this chapter I got really excited about trying to implement these ideas into my own classroom. As history teachers it is extremely important that we connect the present to the past, because it is when we do this that history really comes alive for our students. By bringing in present day news articles, blogs, and even video it can spur conversation in the classroom. I saw firsthand last week at my placement how this can be done. My host teacher showed a video about the current Supreme Court case involving a church out of Kansas that was going around and protesting at the public funerals for diseased Iraqi and Afghanistan war veterans. The students were currently studying the Bill of Rights so since the case involves free speech it tied into what they were leaning. After watching the video the student became really invovled in a discussion over the topic of free speech. I felt they gained more for the video and ensuing debate than any formal direct instruction could have provided them. If the kids were then given a prompt to write a one page article either supporting or refuting the position of the church it would even further engage their interest and show that they understand the concept of free speech.
ReplyDeletei agree that a 50/50 approach to class room reading is a very good idea. by doing this the students are allowed to express some of their personal interest to the class. by doing this the student begins to feel like they are a real part of the leaning community. by feeing like they are more of a part of the leaning community they are more likely to take part in regular class discussions.
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