Thanks to all of you who were so generous with your responses!
Here's the hit.
I too am concerned about story. Books that have controlled vocabulary or
worse yet are part of the Accelerated Reader program dominate the minds of
teachers and their brain-washed students. If I could get rid of AR in my
library I would be very happy.
Yes, we have lots of teachers who read aloud just because. We also have
lots of teachers who just don't use the reading incentive programs as the
tool they were meant to be. I can't tell you how many times a students says
to me " I can't read that book because it isn't AR." This of course breaks
my heart because they are missing so many wonderful books. I encourage them
to write tests for the books they read that are not AR but only a handful
of students take me up on that offer.
***
That would have been the teachers who loved reading and stories themselves.
I am thinking of the 7th grade teacher who loved the book Holes and read it
to all her classes, conveying her love for the book with great enthusiasm.
Kids came in droves to the library wanting to check it out and read it again.
I wanted to share the organization I've begun volunteering with. It's just
fantastic and brings books, song, and story to low-income kids in day care
where I live. It's called Play Partners, and
here is the link: <http://www.cyfs.org/pp.html>http://www.cyfs.org/pp.html
***
I have a number of teachers who faithful read aloud during a ten minute
quiet period. I know because their kids come to me and ask for copies of
what is being read - books the kids wouldn't know about if a teacher wasn't
reading.
I have two teachers who read a variety of Roald Dahl, one that reads
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and a few that read Charlotte's Web
and Junie B.
This read aloud time is in addition to DEAR time that each classroom in my
school does independent of each other. The teachers do it whenever it fits
in their day.
***
I agree with you. It seems like we are moving back to "formula books"
instead of literature based instruction. I have to admit though, that
Dick, Jane, and Spot were all dear to my heart, even with the lack of plot
(I was one of those kids reading the 'big kid' books at an early
age). Dick and Jane lived in a Leave it to Beaver world that none of us
lived in even at the time ;>)
***
somehow insert that the joy and love of reading is being driven out by
AR. there was an article sent to a listserv to which I belong that
realllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeee hit the nail on the head about
AR. the word "BRIBE" was used in the article. if you are looking for
reasons for decline of reading/stories. I feel like I am teaching a mini
class/course within my duties due to A R. instructing how to find/locate AR
books...A R 101 for kids !
***
I agree with you 100%! I am fortunate in that my teachers do value the
importance of loving books and literature. I am in a very small South Texas
District. I am also a consultant for Renaissance Learning--and have been
for the past six years. Before you cover your ears and scream, "oh no--the
dreaded AR!" let me say that we implement AR the RIGHT way--AR has gotten
much criticism over the years, mainly because schools have implemented
without proper training and guidance from the company. And the complaints
from teachers and librarians are valid--if AR is not used correctly, it can
become almost abusive and turn kids OFF of books. In our district, by the
fourth grade, about 90% of our students are reading fairly thick chapter
books. By fifth grade, most of them are what we call, "adult readers,"
meaning we no longer worry about their book level or points---we just
expect them to read books that they love--and boy, are they reading! We
don't reward for points, and we don't give any recognition for individual
"top readers." Reading is such an individual thing that there isn't such a
thing as a "top reader." AR is NOT our "Reading Program." It is a
supplement used in addition to a very strong curriculum. The way I explain
it to teachers is that when we read, it's like magic--because we can't
actually "see" what's going on in the brain. As soon as a child starts
reading books without pictures, the magic in the brain kicks into high
gear--once that magic starts happening it's the teacher's job to show the
kids how to harness the magic by teaching skills they can transfer to their
reading. It's so much more effective and meaningful for a student to find
examples of, say, cause and effect, in a book that they are reading for
pleasure and are interested in, than to identify the same things on a
worksheet that is totally detached from anything they care about.
****
I looked up the article in Newsweek - about 4th grade slump - that someone
mentioned earlier. I realized there is a big drop here in library use by
the 4th and 5th grades. I am preparing a note to send out reminding
teachers of the services and policies in hopes of encouraging more free
reading selection.
***
In the elementary school I'm a student librarian at, several of the 2nd,
3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers do several projects to help keep "story"
alive. Just recently the 2nd graders came to the library to choose chapter
books. For many this was the first chapter book they were reading. The
teacher had the children read one chapter a night (the books were no longer
than 10 chapters, AR books, and on the child's reading level). Each day
they would summarize the chapter read and the culminating project was a
Mardi Gras float themed after their book. The floats ran the
gammut with some children really grasping their books and summaries and
producing amazing work surrounding the overall theme of their book. I
thought this was a great idea.
The other teachers often choose chapter books such as some the Newbery
winners or other notable titles to read in class to the students. There is
an allotted time in class for them to read a chapter or two to the class
and then discuss what's happening in the story. This helps younger readers
to discover the types of books they may be interested in reading on their
own and many students come to the library asking for books like the one
their teacher is currently reading in class.
I think it is really a personal commitment by the teachers as well as
having a supportive principal that allows them the opportunity to keep
their classrooms literature rich.
The principal pushes basic instruction but has also made known her
commitment to producing children who have a love of reading as well as ones
who can find or can ask the right questions for the information they
need. I think without her support, the teachers would not have time or the
passion to do this.
You could remind teachers that if they utilize their people skills and
advocate for the support of these types of projects they may win their
principals over. If armed with the right tools (studies, statistics, etc.)
and a professional but friendly attitude they may be successful in getting
the principal over to their side...
***
Aloha. Most of my JK through sixth grade teachers read stories to their
students. In the fifth grade, the LA teacher reads two novels aloud to the
students throughout the year. In the sixth grade, the LA/SS teacher reads
picture books to the students that support her SS units. The fourth
graders here study Hawaiian culture, and as a part of that, story telling
is used to enrich the curriculum. The primary teachers all have regular
story time in the curriculum. We are blessed to have teachers who love to
read stories to the students.
My teachers seem to understand that storytelling/reading is an integral
part of teaching the whole child. We also are a private all girls
school. While we do yearly testing, we are not so affected by the
NCLB. It is truly a gift.
Another thing that is important to note is that talking story is a huge
part of the culture here. It is a natural way to help the students relate
to whatever they are doing. Teachers who use storytelling and reading
aloud in my school often have the students with the highest test scores at
the end of the year.
***
I hope that you also discuss some of the information that has come to light
about Reading First--that members of the Bush information are commercially
connected to the company and that some of the "research" that is touted is
very suspect.
In my high school we are really becoming book pushers. I have contests; we
do a big Read Across America push (including a sleep over this year for the
top 20 readers in each class); the English teachers require outside reading
as part of the district curriculum; we use Reading Counts; we have SSR once
a week for 25 min; I buy tons of fiction. All of this has turned our
school from the usually 10% readers to at least 70% over the last 6 years.
***
I am a librarian at a non-traditional public high school of choice in inner
city San Antonio. San Antonio ISD has eight high schools. Navarro Academy
was established four years ago to service students who were for whatever
reason, not succeeding in the regular high schools. We are a small campus
with a little over two hundred students. A large percentage of our
students are teen parents. We service students who are on drugs, homeless,
familiar with the jail system ….you name it. I love my students, but as I
librarian I sometimes find my role to be challenging. Classrooms visiting
the library are rare. I spend most of my time working with the students in
a one on one basis.
On the whole, my students are not recreational readers. When I ask them
what their favorite book is, most reply with “I don’t read.” And yet when
hard pressed, many will answer that they loved “Where the Red Fern
Grows”….not the poems of Tupak, or graphic novels, but a story that was
read to them when they were in fourth or fifth grade. Just goes to
show….even non-readers recognize great literature.
Prior to coming to SAISD, I was a middle school librarian for fifth and
sixth grade. I noticed that students simply had no time to do recreational
reading. Between doing school work during the school day, athletics, boy
and girl scouts, Wed. night church, getting homework done, watching the
popular shows on TV, and getting to bed by curfew, even the most avid of
readers fall short on reading time. So the teachers and I decided to
address the issue …….
Classes came to me at least once a week for an hour. Students came in sat
down and we just talked about what we had read. Students would share likes
and dislikes, and recommend to one another (and to me). After five or ten
minutes of sharing students found books sat down (cushions, couches, on top
and under tables) and read. The teacher and I would join in with the
students. Books were due when the student finished reading it…….. (It
worked honest, did not lose a single book). At the beginning of the year
the students could only sit still for five or ten minutes of reading ….by
the end of the year they found books more quickly, and enjoyed the time to
read. Any book that a student recommended to me, I read as did most of the
teachers. Not only did the students enjoy the reading, as a result of the
time given, students were able to dialog with one another and staff members
about the stories they had read.
I am not sure if I have answered your question, but I strongly feel that if
we want students to enjoy literature, we need to give them the time. And no
matter what a teacher does, no matter how many tricks are performed,
perhaps sometimes it is more important to allow the child to read or listen
to the story, uninterrupted without having to answer questions or give
feedback. Remember when your teacher would read for half an hour after
lunch? It seems that teachers just don’t have that luxury today.
***
In our middle school the language arts teacher all have a different
strategy... the one I'd like to discuss today is 5th grade teacher Mrs. Kim
Barnes' Survivor Day. Her students read "Brian's Winter" and did engaging
actvities throughout the reading, but the culmination piece was a
collaborative effort between Mrs. Barnes and the 2 other teachers on her
5th grade team who conducted a "survivor day". In much the same way that
Brian used survival skills, these 5th grade students used their skills to
survive during an educational and fun 1/2 day based on the hit reality show
Survivor.
This is what I would hope is at the center of keeping the reading alive.
Taking it into reality, by allowing the students to engage in activities
that make the written stories somehow connect to their personal life story.
With time, they will find a piece of their personal story in everything
they read.
Toni Buzzeo, MA, MLIS <mailto:tonibuzzeo@tonibuzzeo.com>
Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year Emerita
Maine Association of School Libraries Board Member
Buxton, ME 04093
http://www.tonibuzzeo.com
Our Librarian Won't Tell Us ANYTHING! A Mrs. Skorupski Story, illustrated
by Sachiko Yoshikawa (Upstart 2006) BRAND NEW!!
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