LAST ASSIGNMENT
Please read Chapters 7 and 8 and respond to the questions below. All responses should be posted by 11/20.
Chapter 7 "Writing and Differentiation"
In this chapter Robb discusses the use of journaling and other forms of writing to develop students' comprehension and provide assessment information which drives instruction. She provides detailed examples of journaling and using bookmarks.
#1. Share one form of writing you use (or plan to use) as an assessment tool or to develop the students' compehension of what they are reading.
#2 What do you think of Robb's bookmarks P. 232-236?
Chapter 8 "Professional Development and Differentiated Reading Instruction"
This chapter provides suggestions for teachers to continue to move toward differentiating reading instruction. It is truly a journey and not something that can happen quickly. Robb suggests three to five years. Please notice the goals she shares on Pages 255 and 256. Please enjoy this chapter and the appendices that follow.
#1. Review the chart on page 252 and 253. Share one area you think is a strength or need in your school. Share your reflection on how this need could be solved or strength could be made better.
#2. Look at the bibliography of professional books on pages 287-294. Share one book you would like to read as a follow up to this book. If you have read any of them, please share your thoughts on that as well.
I hope you've enjoyed the book!!
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Chapter 7 "Writing and Differentiation"
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this chapter. I like the way that Robb uses journal responses to assess comprehension. In class, I had the students in three groups and they read Knots on a Counting Rope. This book lends itself to higher level thinking and thoughtful responding. In the lower group, I wanted to see if the students understand the complexities of the text so I had them write a summary. They worked very hard and worked independently!!!!!! I did check in with them and gave a mini-lesson on understanding words in context and reviewed what a summary would look like. After reading the summaries, I was able to see that they got the gist of the book, and predictably, missed some of the inferences. I will follow up with that group to explain and expand the concepts. In my middle group, I gave them a worksheet that asks them to explain the theme of the book and give examples from the text to prove it. I modeled the activity with them and we worked together to talk about the theme and how to really develop it. They worked on their responses individually when I felt that they were ready and I see that the modeling really helped them to expand their ideas. They understood the theme, but needed some coaxing. In my high group, I just gave them a worksheet. The worksheet had the theme, and then it asks them to examine figurative language and what it means, similes, and symbolism in the text. It is much harder. The students talked about the theme(s) and decided that there were really two. They wrote individual responses and then they tackled the figurative language questions as a group. They had to really stretch and I intervened when needed. I will do a mini-lesson on symbolism before they do the rest of the worksheet. The responses were varied and showed that even within the top group; you can clearly see the students that understand all of the inferences in the text. By looking at their responses, I am able to better assess the level of understanding that each child has.
The bookmarks are wonderful. I forgot about them. I used them in second grade and now I have gotten them out again. It is a quick and easy way to assess understanding. I love it!!!
ReplyDeleteChapter 8 "Professional Development and Differentiated Reading Instruction"
ReplyDeleteOkay, I know how this will sound, but I thought that it would be interesting to study the way that students are grouped heterogeneously. We were just talking about this the other day. It is soooooo difficult to teach such varied groups! The range demands that you make three or more groups, but that is difficult when reading novels. I am interested but not convinced it would behoove us in the long run to group whole classes according to ability.
I would like to read the Judy Dodge book, Differentiating in Action. I enjoyed her workshops here a few years ago and still use some of her strategies i.e. exit cards, posters of whole units to illustrate each concept…
Chapter 7- I really enjoyed this chapter. I too like the way journal responses are used to assess comprehension. I find that since reading and writing go hand in hand it is important to teach them writing through their reading. An assessment that is often used in 6th grade for comprehension is written responses to the reading. We focus on writing responses with support/evidence from the text and restating the question in the answer. Written responses allow students to connect with literary elements (character, plot, etc) and make necessary connections. I like the idea of journals/writer’s notebooks, but quite honestly, teaching 100 students and 3 content specific areas there is not enough time for me to collect 25 journals to respond to them in a timely fashion. Instead, I find up to 3 selections of varied levels to assess recall and higher level thinking for 2 chapters at a time. Student responses are then graded as a quiz. This way they are still keeping logs of their responses in their binder, and I have a cushion of time to return them before receiving the next set. We also focus on essay writing in 6th grade- often comparing books, books to the corresponding movie, or relating fiction in the book to non-fiction learned in class. We focus on 3 paragraphs using details/evidence from the text and introduction and conclusion paragraphs to expand their reading response to understand the big picture. This worked when we read the story All Summer in a Day. The story is very different from the movie, so as the students watched the movie, they took notes comparing it to the book. Then they wrote an essay to choose one element that was different in each to explain. This really forces students to dissect the reading and understand its deeper meaning. Comparing one aspect was a challenge for them. Most students wanted to list everything that was different as opposed to focus on the one element that was different. This will be a work in progress I can see. I think the bookmarks are wonderful. I have never used them, but I agree that it is a quick and easy way to assess understanding, so I look forward to implementing it.
ReplyDeleteWeek 7:
ReplyDeleteI feel that this chapter was the most useful for my classroom. As a fourth grade teacher, I feel faced with a double-edge sword. The children need to be able to read efficiently to answer multiple choice questions for the state test. On another section, the children need to be able recall specific details pertaining to a story that is read to them. The main issue here is that a child might truly understand the story and be able to explain the central themes, character traits, different literary elements and underlining issues orally; but when asked to convey this on paper, it is a whole new ballpark! Therefore, I rely on class discussions to model how to write and share a proper response on paper. I want the children to listen to the positive and negative ways to be able to learn how they can work to strengthen their own written responses. I begin each year with exploring character traits. In all stories, a character undergoes changes in his/her personality. Therefore, I want the children to learn how to identify these traits throughout a given selection. With many of my mini-lessons, I will use the “double-entry” journal writing. On one side, the children will list the specific trait pertaining to the character. On the other side, the children will provide a specific detail(s) from the story that demonstrates this trait. Now the hard mini-lesson…. The children need to learn how to draw conclusions and make inferences to help explain their thinking. Inferential thinking is like pulling a horse across sandpaper! To help model this type of response, I have the children highlight the detail in one color and their inferential thinking in another color. Being able to identify the specific trait is inferential thinking.
As a tool for assessment, I will have the children identify the character traits, with specific support in an organized paragraph. For my higher group, I will have them identify two traits and the change from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. My lower group will require more guided practice; therefore, the higher group will be expected to share orally their ending trait.
One other all time favorite tool that I use is called a “thought-shot.” This strategy is when the children become the character in the story and write from the character’s point of view. It is a quick and easy way to maintain a discussion and share responses. Additionally, there is no hang-up on the grammar and sentence structures of the responses. Here’s how I implement this strategy….I will read a section of a chapter or have the children read a given section independently. At a certain spot, I will have the children flip their books and write directly from the point of view of the character or write what is on their mind. Sometimes the best discoveries are revealed.
The bookmarks are quick and easy tools to assess a specific skill. The biggest problem is finding enough time in the LA period to do everything that I want to do.
I agree with Patty that studying the heterogeneous groupings of students would be a good thing to investigate. In math we have worked our schedule to have our groups more homogeneously grouped. I have noticed that although there are 3 main math groups on the grade level, there is still a range within each class. This makes it much easier to teach. I think the same thing would be beneficial in Language Arts. It would be much more efficient to teach students if there are fewer reading groups within the class.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read Robb's book (2003a) Teaching reading in social studies, science, and math: Practical ways to weave comprehension strategies into your content area teaching. I think this would be a great book to focus on content area reading since written material written in the content area does not reflect the students independent reading level.
Ch.7
ReplyDeleteI liked the cartoon created by Danny following his reading of a short story. Over the years, I have worked with several dyslexic students. Many of these students are very bright. However, getting their thoughts down on paper becomes a daunting task. I think the cartoon is a nice change of pace and it taps into Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Patty, you suggest some great ways to assess students through writing. Even structured formats like worksheets allow us to see what they did and did not get. In Part 2 of this course I will share many of the worksheets Robb has developed which require students' written responses -- showing their strengths and weaknesses. That's an interesting suggestion to group students for reading according to their level. It would definitely be easier than planning for 2 or 3 novels in one room. Thanks for all your input.
ReplyDeleteLauren, sounds like 6th grade uses writing pieces for assessment already. I like the idea of having them compare 1 thing between the movie and the book -- otherwise they might just list and not develop anything. It sets a clear focus for them as well. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteKim, I like how they have to find proof in the text to support their answers. They need so much practic in this area. I like the double journal entry -- it forces them to find accurate proof. In Part 2 of this course, I will provide you with a lot of sheets that Robb developed to guide students in their written responses. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteChapter 8:Question #1:
ReplyDeleteI love your first question.... what could be done to improve an inbalance in our own school. I hope my honesty is appreciated and not viewed as an attack on anyone or program....
Over the past 3 years, I have seen a significant decline in the children's writing skills. I am am true believer that editing has always been a challenge for the children, but the basic conventions of a simple sentence, with proper capitalization and puntuation seems to have fallen at the waist line. I am not placing the blame on anyone or any grade level, but something needs to be done. It is one thing for the children to be struggling in reading comprehension skills, but there needs to be an equal balance between reading and writing skills. Unfortunately, the hours within the classroom have become more and more limited. Therefore, i question whether the basic concepts of sentence structure is addressed with an awareness to the various parts of speech. In order to teach the children how to read, they should be able to notice the basic foundation and principles, which make a sentence catchy and/or exciting. In the past, our school used to administer an ERB writing sample, but this assessment has been removed. I think this assessment or another writing assessment needs to be implemented immediately. As a fourth grade teacher, it is a challenge to differentiate the reading levels and work on teaching a varied grouping of how to write a sentence with the proper mechanics. Coming into fourth grade, each child should be able to write at least one thorough paragraph with a topic sentence and 4-5 sentences strengthening the topic with support. I can honestly state that no one in my class can do this skill. Therefore, once i am able to have the children locate central ideas and conclude strong inferences ALOUD, there is a major digression in their translation on paper. After reading Patty's response about grouping according to levels, it makes me wonder. I recall that there used to be a pull-out group for reading and another pull-out group for writing skills. Yes, in a perfect world these two should walk hand-in-hand.... however, this is the year of 2009. Maybe, leveling the groups would work and teachers should pair up and divide the children. But, this sounds good on papaer, but in reality i feel this is too much for each teacher to do. Yet, once the children move on nto middle school and high school, aren't they group once again with the remedial and honors/advanced placements????? A food for thought.... Additionally, i realize money is also an issue for programs....
Chapter 8:Question #2:
ReplyDeleteAfter perusing the bibliography, i wish there were more practical books. I love the resources that provide specific books pertaining to certain skills and levels. I recall my all-time favorite type of resources were the books that gave specific titles of picture books to teach skills. For instance, I have been teaching sensory details for years. This specific resource showed me how to identify a specifc sensory detail such as slowing down time with concrete lines from the story. This type of resource paved the way for me to show the children how to locate what i refer to as "memorable lines," and to explain why this line does this skill. So, the children were given an opportunity to strengthen both reading and writing simultaneously.
This book has taken me on a wonderful journey as I re-think how I teach and assess the concepts based on the curriculum and each student's IEP. For so many years, I've been stuck on summaries and response writing. Each having a value for me to assess how the children express their ideas/opinions. Generally their sharing was to me vs pair (peer) sharing. When I mark up their entries, I always try to find one positive thing they did--especially if they did not follow the directions of the task. It's usually these students who take the least amount of risk in small/large group instruction as well. From there, I use questioning techniques to help me assess whether they get the main ideas or whether they can go deeper into the text to respond to themes/issues of the author.
ReplyDeleteJournaling, the way Robb describes it, is one form of writing that I will continue to pursue, incorporating the QtA queries. Due to the nature and needs of my group, I will start by utilizing my TA as a member of one group and I in the other group (mainly due to behavioral management issues prevalewnt among some students). Some of my students need so much process time to respond, there needs to be an adult who can present choices in order for the child to be able to share an idea or opinion related to a theme. Then I have the AD(H)D ranges within the group that require more intensive reinforcement in order to gainfully participate in journaling and/or sharing. This year, of my ten students, I believe ther are four who may be able to manage working more independently to read, stop, journal then repeat the process. Thus far, I've taught them the difference between retelling and summarizing. We've also had mini lessons related to understanding character traits based on details in the story, as well as how to draw conclusions using examples form the text that show cause and effect. Now, I feel I may be able to have useful journals that don't go home and that can be more reflective of what the students comprehend--whether it be issues, the main ideas, and/or text structure such as figurative language and words in context. I plan to incorporate the journaling format described on pages 210-211. I'm not sure I'm ready for two-three journal responses in one class yet, but that day may soon come! I certainly will work on using the journal writing to help them begin varied writing projects--I liked Coleen's suggestion of having the students make a cartoon. I also thought it might be a good idea, that I've experienced with Patty Siver and used in the past, of writng a new chapter or a similar story, based on a theme or issue.
I always use chart paper (and recently the SmartBoard) when I'm trying to help the students generate ideas related to character traits, parts of speech, and examples of figurative language, etc. I think Robb's suggestion of modeling detailed responses is a good idea for the population I teach. I would write my own, then have them jot quietly at their seats in class, collect their journals, then chart examples beforehand using the entries they submitted, having them see their writing as a positive model.
The bookmarks sound great too. I especially like starting with the post its to question the author. I generally stop to reflect in stories the second time I read them to the students--whether it's a picture book (especially during the beginning of the school year), with a chapter book (throughout the year). Most of the times I pause to look for examples of the author's writing style, a message related to inference or words in context vs reflecting to question the author. I will explore this idea a little more purposefully--after I internalize all the ideas I'm getting from Ms. Robb.
Regarding chapter 8, I can see how this journey can take three to five years! I'm already ovwerwhelmed... I certainly have to take better stock of the reading material on hand on my grade level and in the school library. This is particularly true if I want to seriously explore reading groups at my students instructional levels. I can truly relate to the concept of homogeneous groupings especially when I look at the gammit of reading levels and abilities within my small group. I have a lot of respect for general ed teachers who can handle three reading groups when I'm struggling to manage two! I definitely need to evaluate what I/we already have at our fingertips so there'll be less waste of money when ordering for the coming year(s).
ReplyDeleteThe reading list of professional materials seems quite extensive. Besides the Judy Dodge book, I saw a few that I may try to explore (in my spare time! :D). First is K. Beer's "When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do", next is "Understanding Reading Problems: Assessment and Instruction" by Gillet and Temple, then I think it would behoove me to explore "Trade Books..." by Block and Reed, as well as Fountas and Pinelli's "Guiding Readers and Writers Grades 3-6: Teaching...". I have the Lucy Caulkins book, "Living Between the Lines" from back in the days when we started moving away from basal readers. I need to dig it out again and practice some of the writing and conferencing techniques we used to do more regularly.
I am sensitive to the demands of our rigorous curriculum as Kimmie alluded to, and the demand to maintain data related to the productivity of our students via assessment tools mandated at each grade level. However, at my age, I'm learning to do as Robb suggested, "start small, reasonable goals when differentiating reading instruction", especially as I'm in the midst of concurrently becoming technically saavy with the SmartBoard and internet resources. I'm blessed to work with wonderful colleagues as we look at the new challenges of each year and figure out ways to work around them. We look at the assessment tools we have/use, then discuss the general strengths and weaknesses across the grade level and try to brainstorm ways to improve our delivery of concepts to increase the knowledge base and strengths of our students. Right now our challenge is the battle to balance reading and writing skills. I think Robb has given me plenty of food for thought. Now I, along with my colleagues have to figure out how to work around the time constraints, pull outs, etc. that may conversely affect the students' academic successes... Thanks for letting me share. I've enjoyed this part of the journey!
Journaling is a great way to help children self monitor their reading. There are some students who may read every word on the page perfectly, but not be able to discuss what s/he read. In my groups I incorporate a lot of comprehension before, during and after reading. In fact, I suggest to parents at PT conferences that they have discussion while their child is reading, not when s/he gets to the end b/c then it may be too late! Robb has the readers keep their journal out on their desks while they are reading. That is something I can try. I usually have the kids write on post-its in the book, then share at the end of the lesson. Then I spend time pulling out their post-its. I may try both ways, but put the post-its into their notebooks and save them. I use the Active Reader Strategies (connecting, guessing, etc.) and have them jot down a phrase about what they were thinking. I would like to keep these ideas together in a journal, or maybe a section in their binder. This way I can easily see growth or problems.
ReplyDelete#2. I like the bookmark idea. The books I am reading with my students are not chapter books, but books that can be read in a single sitting.....so far anyway. I currently use bookmarks with the ARS on them, and we point and discuss our thoughts as we read. It would be fun to have them use the bookmark as another way to respond to what they have read. I think it's important to have students respond in writing...even if it's phrases or a picture. Great chapter!
Chapter 8: #1 It is imperative to have enough titles that would support different reading levels around a common theme in order to make differentiated reading work. There are so many publishers who now carry themes of books with varied levels. The reading dept gets lots of catalogues, if anyone is interested. One way to solve the problem may be to decide the theme or two that you are willing to start with. Then invite publishers in to see the materials. These days, publishers are so eager to get orders, I think they would be very helpful.
ReplyDelete#2: It's funny, in the last chapter, I looked to the bibliography to see Beck's work. I would like to check out her questioning the author techniques. I think it's a great way to improve comprehension, but it sounds a little deep for 2nd grade. I would like to read Beck's work first hand. Beck's book, "Bringing words to Life" is a book I want to use for a Collegial Circle....it's awesome!
Liz, thank you so much for the class. It was really great reading everyone's responses and I loved Robb's book.
~Gigi
As a sixth grade Language Arts teacher I always used a great deal of response writing, not only as an assessment tool but also as a vehicle for developing thinking. I am a true believer that writing is encourages us to think more deeply about a subject and often, the actual process we go through as we write really expands our thinking and helps us clarify for ourselves. In my sixth grade Language Arts classroom I used response writing a lot, and often it was not for me to grade but truly for the students. Students would share their responses with one another, and would gain insight into their own thinking and the understanding of others. Then I would also assign key responses for my assessment tools and these truly gave me a window into the thinking and deeper understanding of each student about the text, the issues, the characterization, the theme, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis year, as a fourth grade teacher, I have been using response writing as well, but more for my own assessment of their udnerstanding of the text, development of the skills I am teaching them, and assessment of their writing skill development, I agree with Kim about the writing. So many children have so much difficulty communicating their thoughts in writing. I have found that they really have difficulty supporting their ideas with details and even when they have the ideas, they have tremendous difficulty making themselves understood in writing. Their sentence structure is lacking and many times what they write simply does not make sense or needs so much of my editing to make it make sense. We need to do a great deal of work in this area before the students can really convey deeper understanding in writing.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of rehearsal with the children in the form of discussion before we write and that seems to be helping. I also use a doube-entry journal approach to encourage them to find specific details to support their ideas. We have also been working on character traits, as has Kim. The students are beginning to infer the character traits from the events in the book, but they are also limited by their vocabulary. They can often cite examples but they do not have the word to label the behavior of the character so we have been developing vocabulary as we discuss characters. I am doing one book with the class right now, but working in two groups. In this way we can discuss the book together, in particular the character traits, humor and figurative language in the book. However, we break down into the two groups to have more in depth discussions or to teach a skill or strategy needed. The groups also have different assignments at times.
We are currently working on a response piece related to character. We are studying three characters and we had discussions about the traits of these three characters. Students chose two of the characters to write about - the lower group is writing a paragraph descibing at least three character traits of each character with details to support. The higher group is doing a compare and contrast response. First the students used a double entry chart to determine the character trait and cite a detail from the book to give evidence for their thinking. The higher group also used a Venn diagram. We have done a lot of discussion, and the students are coming along with their responses. I do hope, however, that I can get the fourth graders to be more individualized in their response choices and that I will mot have to structure their thinking as much as I have had to up to this point.
Kim, I couldn't agree with you more about the need for a strong writing curriculum. It's amazing that many districts just assume writing will come around -- they do not place enough emphasis on it. I have been using the 6+1 Traits for the past few years. It would be nice, though, if the district had a writing program that we all followed. Students could build from year to year -- same as the math program. Thanks for all you input.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I'm glad you found some helpful suggestions in Robb's book. It is overwhelming and should be digested in small bits. Sounds like you have a solid plan of how you can incorporate some of her thinking into your program. Thanks for all of your input.
ReplyDeleteGigi, I agree that the journaling suggestions by Robb are a strong support for comprehension. I still use Nancy Boyles' book -- I combine her strategies and Robb's suggestions for format and structure. I'd be inerested in that CC on Beck's book -- let me know. Thanks for all of your input.
ReplyDeleteJoyce, sounds like you have solid ways of using written responses to build student understanding and provide you with information about the student. The double journal entry is a great way to help students see where they need to show examples from the book. Thanks for all of your input.
ReplyDeleteThere are several ways that I have assessed my students understanding through writing. I tried to put it in the simplest form because a lot of information gets lost throughout the writing process. I first started off with a story consisting of a few sentences. Directly below the story I would have sentences written out with one word missing. The students would have to fill in the blank to complete the statement. While asking who, what and where questions, I noticed that a few of my students did not have the foundation to answer those. The did not understand the difference between a person and a place. I then placed each sentence and the lines in a box. I drew a profile of a persons face and then filled that with lines, so the students who understand that I was looking for a person, I would do the where in the shape of a building and who as a book or object from the story. This helped, but did not really help them understand the concept. I then decided to ditch the stories and use more of an activity. We began cooking in class. I set up and assembly line and colored boxes where each person stood. Each student was responsible for one aspect of the cooking process. At the end questions were asked. Who added the milk?, What did Ryan do? Where was Tyrel? This really helped them build that foundation for understanding their reading and the questions that would be presented to them. We are now back to answering the wh questions and everyone is doing beautifully! I do like the bookmarks and plan on adapting them to fit my class better. I think I can definitely make good use of them.
ReplyDeleteI loved Robb's section on how to differentiate journal writing expectations. I think it would work really well in my classroom. The idea Robb had for students to write right after their reading group is an easy way to differentiate journal responses without them realizing it. I also loved pages 210-212 and plan on incorporating the journal entry ideas into my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of the bookmark! Currently, I have students write on post-it notes and post-it on the page. After students finish the book, they staple or tape the post-it notes into their reader's notebook. I think the bookmarks with writing prompts at the top will give me more of a response I am looking for.
ReplyDeleteI would like to study the way we presently order reading materials. We have already started to improve the way we order by meeting as a grade level to discuss books we need in order to differentiate for each particular unit.
ReplyDeleteI would like to read Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. It sounds like an interesting book!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using journaling to assess how successfully students are applying their reading strategies. Students are encouraged to write their thoughts about making sense of the text before, during and after they read. Students are given opportunities to clarify their thinking and to self-evaluate what works or perhaps is not working so well for them. When students share their journaling, teachers can assess their comprehension and scaffold instruction as needed. I liked the examples of journal entry tasks provided by Robb on pages 210-212. Students really need to think critically in order to complete each journal task successfully. I would like to try using the entry for character’s personality from beginning to end. Since my students are younger, I would have to modify the task. However, if I model several times for my students on chart paper, they may be able to handle it.
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the bookmarks is that students have the opportunity to develop a sense of ownership since the bookmark prompts are so open-ended. In sharing responses, students can learn a great deal from each other and gain multiple perspectives on issues or themes. I also think their comprehension deepens when students have several opportunities throughout the text to stop, reflect and clarify their understandings.
I agree that it would take a few years to successfully differentiate reading instruction in any classroom. I am sure that most of us are in need of more reading materials. It would be nice to have a comprehensive levelled library to share from per grade.
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased R. Allington's book What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing research-based programs, but have yet to read it-perhaps over the holidays!
Sean what a great way you scaffold for your students. It was a great idea to make it a very concrete experience. I'm glad they were successful with the writing. Thanks for your input.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I'm glad you found some of her ideas helpful. I'm trying out the journal writing as a a response to the books we're working on this week. I usually give them questions for each chapter, but I will try a journal response for homework instead. Thanks for all of your input.
ReplyDeleteColleen, I'm glad you found some of Robb's suggestions helpful. I agree that if the district really supported differentiated reading, we would have more materials and more development in it. Oh well -- we'll still do our best. Thanks for all your input.
ReplyDelete