Please comment on one or more of the articles. What resonated with you and/or challenged your thinking as you read?
28 Comments
Christa
6/23/2014 08:46:24 am
What resonated with me when I read the article analyzing the Hunger Games book is that when texts were initially looked at for text complexity they were only analyzed using quantitative and qualitative measures. It wasn't until awhile later that they decided to measure the texts based on the reader and task.
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Marsha Diemert
6/23/2014 09:38:29 am
I enjoyed reading Close Reading in Elementary Schools. The part that put it together for me was the list
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Nancy
6/23/2014 01:36:31 pm
Agreed! I liked the part about the frontloading too. I had written down the part that said it "should not remove the need to read the text".
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Lise
6/24/2014 09:19:39 am
I too really liked the list, it made the whole idea of implementing close reading more user friendly.
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Christine
6/23/2014 09:44:55 am
As I think about my approach to front loading prior to reading a text aloud, I find myself wondering if I give too much information away concerning the story. In asking about certain ideas, do I sabotage the engagement with the story that my students could have had? Hmm?!
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Sheila Freehill
6/23/2014 12:43:28 pm
Yes, the issue of front loading caught my attention as well. I agree that sometimes it is a good idea to have the kids read the text once alone and then see where they are at by asking some probing questions or having them share what they understood from reading the text. I want to try this with my ell students and experiment with how it goes.
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Kelly
6/23/2014 11:20:38 am
In the Close Reading article the "Limited frontloading" section stood out to me as I am certain I do too much frontloading when it comes to a new text that I think my students will struggle with reading. Also, rereading a text with a different purpose/focus, starting the first reading with finding the basic details and getting more in depth and complex with each additional reading is fantastic.
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Jan
6/23/2014 11:28:29 am
The first article talked about giving students a purpose or a question for each successive reading. It would seem that by making the purpose or question meaningful, the students would actively engage in repeated readings and, in so doing, would build the perseverance that is so necessary for complex texts.
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Kim
6/23/2014 11:38:47 am
I appreciated the article on close reading. I liked that the recommendations came out of observation of best practices and discussion among elementary educators. I'm looking forward to applying the suggestions for length of text, annotation, and questions. I'm wondering how long a passage can be and still be considered "short." (Also, no frontloading? What an intriguing idea...)
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Donna
6/23/2014 11:49:05 am
I was intrigued by the article, "Close Reading in Elementary Schools". One aspect that stuck out was the idea of not front loading so much information. I think I have been giving too much information for the students to draw upon instead of letting them question themselves as they read and want more clarity in our discussions. I also liked the idea of using short passages to teach from. I'd like more info about this!
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Amy
6/23/2014 12:25:36 pm
There were several things that stuck with me from the Close Reading article. One was the need for stamina...kids have to be able to persist with repeated readings. Another was the idea of doing minimal frontloading. I really like the idea of frontloading a text only as needed and then letting the kids dive in and explore what they know, as well as gaining new information.
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Joan Maher
6/23/2014 12:45:29 pm
The CCSS Text Exemplars article help me to understand that this is a new area that we are all getting use to. I appreciate that there will be some reference charts to help us adjust to this new area of teaching.
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Patricia Sickbert
6/23/2014 01:07:33 pm
In the article, Close Reading in Elementary Schools, one idea resonated with me throughout the reading.
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Valerie Pelletier
6/23/2014 01:25:17 pm
There was one particular part of the Close Reading in Elementary Schools that stood out very much to me. In the first page, it is stated that habits "include building stamina and persistence when confronted by a reading that isn't easily consumed". Doing this forces students and teachers to slow down and delve into the heart of the text. This seems like it will be a challenge, especially in light of the statement from discussion board 1 regarding turning away from complex text.
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Patricia Sickbert
6/23/2014 01:53:04 pm
The CCSS Text Exemplars article reminded me of something said by the poet and teacher Robert Frost, "I am not a teacher. I am an awakener."
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Nancy Gordon
6/23/2014 02:10:57 pm
I liked the CCSS and Hunger Games article. We were talking today about how great it would be to have a googledoc or shared folder or SOMETHING that had a list of these "place mats" so that we are working smarter, not harder. Obviously, relating the text to the reader section will be different depending on our students, but it would be great to have a place to upload the texts that we have already analyzed so that we can share them.
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Pam
6/23/2014 03:18:21 pm
This is a fabulous idea! We had a group of teachers visit our school who had compiled close reading lessons and writing prompts to go with the small group reading books for Rigby. It would be great to share these resources as well.
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Erin
6/23/2014 02:23:34 pm
Close Reading—I appreciate the clarification that close reading is done in conjuction with other instruction including: “interactive read-alouds and shared readings, teacher modeling and think-alouds, guided reading with leveled texts, collaborative reading and discussion, and independent reading and writing.”
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Pam Antell
6/23/2014 03:03:28 pm
I liked the article about close reading, and I also think that it is important to have students code text as a way of developing meta-cognitive skills. This too reminded me of Strategies that Work as well as Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller. Having kids use sticky notes is highly engaging and empowers kids to take responsibility for their learning. It's also a great informal assessment tool as well.
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Julie Breyer
6/23/2014 04:07:50 pm
Close Reading in Elementary Schools was a great read. It certainly gave me a lot to think about. Having our students immerse themselves in their reading is something we all wish our students would do but, to be able to teach them how to do that is really exciting. I thought all of the concepts were relevant and essential but, I really appreciated the section on text-dependent questions. Seeing how I can scaffold my questioning and keep my students focused on the text will be really helpful as a jumping off point. Once I determine the text that I want to use then I can use the text-dependent questions to help me focus on text as I reread the text to prepare my lessons for my students.
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Deb
6/23/2014 10:17:45 pm
These articles had several ideas that resonated with me after reading them.
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Katherine
6/23/2014 10:56:39 pm
I really liked the article Close Reading in Elementary School. It was clear and gave me a better understanding of the basic steps of implementing close reading in my classroom. Especially, the section about annotation was useful.
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John
6/24/2014 12:05:05 am
What concerns me about this is that teachers become patient with students and allow them to figure out the text or struggle with the text. Too many times you walk into a Language Arts class, especially, in high school as hear the teacher asking tough questions about the text only to be answered by the teacher. The crafting of good discussion questions as important as the literature itself. Additionally, I agree with the article by Fisher and Frey about what constitutes a good piece for a close read. This is important.
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Karissa
6/24/2014 01:35:56 am
I really enjoyed reading the article on Close Reading. Going into my second year of teaching, I found this article very helpful. It had so much wonderful information in how to get my students to dig deeper into what they read and hopefully then, have more interest in their book.
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Lise
6/24/2014 09:25:00 am
I enjoyed reading the article on close reading. It was very informative and gave great examples.
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Julie daley
6/24/2014 09:31:02 am
I still wonder how much front loading should or needs to be done before a close read. Some say spend no time front loading, while others say much time is needed to make sure the background knowledge is there. I believe I will just go with what my kids need.
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Kathy
7/14/2014 02:44:07 am
When I read "Close Reading in the Elementary Classroom" what really struck me that I need to work on is questioning. The specific area I want to improve is in inferential and opinions. Even more specifically I want to have them be able to refer to the texts while giving their response.
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Cynthia Montanez
10/12/2014 04:43:13 am
When reading the article " The Neglected "R" in a time of Common Core I was so suprised and shocked about the percentage of 75% adults/college students that score poor or fair on their writing skills! I had a CU professor come to observe my students and I during a writing session and after we had a discussion about writing skills. She saids even her graduate students struggle with their writing skills. I have seen as a teacher for 19 years how even in our small group instruction, we often neglect the writing piece. I have been here since we started Right Start/Buen Comienzo. I wanted students to not only focus on reading/phonics, comprehension but take it into writing. We have neglected writing and our students will struggle. In our bilingual school, our early k/1 assessment for end of year, do not require them to write, they only retell orally but at the assessments at the end of second, they are required so I am preparing my students now at the beginning to answer in writing about the text that they read now.
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