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Knowing the Resources
by Marlene Beierle
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- Support standards-based instruction across the curriculum.
- Review information on the academic impact of "knowing the resources" in order to better match books to readers.
- Recognize how knowing the resources and providing time for increased volume of reading will impact reading achievement.
- Read annotations and get website support to review new books and books on a specific theme or representing a particular genre.
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| According to Janet Allen's article, "Choosing What Matters for Adolescent Learners,"
published in the September 2004 issue of the Adolescent Literacy In Perspective journal, there are three broad areas that professionals need to consider when meeting
the needs of students: "knowing adolescents, knowing the resources, and knowing the research."
This module addresses the question of resources—specifically, how can we keep our
knowledge of the resources current so we can better meet the needs of all our students.
Realistically, it's impossible to talk about knowing the resources without touching on
the other two areas, knowing adolescents and knowing the research. However, the major
purpose here is to study the resources available to stay current with trade books. |
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| Introduce the module by discussing the points you have chosen from Appendix A. Place
one discussion point on each table, and ask participants to read the point and write comments
below on the chart paper. Then have each table pass the point to the next table. Ask
participants to read the new point and the comments and add their own comments. Continue until
all the groups have seen all the points. End this part of the activity with a group discussion. |
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Learning About Your Readers
Introduce this section by noting that the range of student abilities, interests,
and motivations varies tremendously from class to class and year to year, but the
constant is that there is always a range. Teachers must strive to find the right books
to challenge the voracious readers, hook the disengaged readers, and expand the
interests of all.
Read aloud this quote from Karen Broaddus and Gay Ivey (2002), which makes the case for providing a range of material:
"What middle school students report that they like to read outside of school,
such as popular magazines, scary stories, and mysteries, are typically not available in their classrooms (Worthy, Moorman,
& Turner, 1999). However, reluctant readers report that they would be more willing to read if they had time to read
and access to their preferred materials in school (Worthy & McKool, 1996). In our survey of over 1,700 sixth graders
(Ivey & Broaddus, 2001), we learned that good reading materials were the greatest factor in these students'
motivation to read in school."
Emphasize the idea that it's not enough just to know the resources; teachers need to know their students in
order to match the right books with the individual. An interest inventory is one way to get to know the
community of readers in your classes.
Hand out the interest inventory provided in Appendix B, or use one you have used with previous classes. Designate
four meeting areas of the room by the numbers 1 to 4 so that participants can share results using the following
snowball activity.
- Have participants fill out questions 1 to 5 of the inventory.
- When completed, ask them to lightly crumple the inventory into a "snowball" and throw it into the center of the room.
- Have the members of the group each retrieve an inventory from the floor (but not their own).
- Read aloud the first question, and have participants move to the area of the room that corresponds with the answer on the inventory they have retrieved.
- Discuss the findings.
- Repeat the process for the other three questions.
- Ask participants to find a partner and talk through questions 6 to 8.
Having Readers Choose Articles
Explain that now that everyone recognizes the diversity in the group, it's time to start using resources
from the articles in the Adolescent Literacy In Perspective journals to build everyone's knowledge
of current books and ideas to meet diverse interests and needs.
With the whole group, share the summaries of all five articles for the session. Explain that
each person will choose one of the articles to read.
Display the five sheets of chart paper you have already prepared, each featuring the title of one the
five articles. Ask participants to select one article to read and then stick a Post-it with their name
on it on the appropriate chart. (If you want to mix up the groups, request that participants not sign
up with other people they know.) |
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| Group the participants together by the article of their choice, and provide the already prepared
chart paper along with individual copies of the double-entry chart (Appendix C). Ask the
group members to individually choose one or two quotes from their article and respond on their
own double-entry charts. Allow the group members time to share and discuss the article and their
responses and then select two or three quotes and connections to share with the whole group. Have
them copy their selections onto the large chart paper. |
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Large-Group Discussion
Bring the groups together, and have them share and discuss the quotations and connections that each small group selected.
Book Pass—An Engaging Preview
Arrange chairs so that the group is sitting in a large circle. Ask each participant to take a seat
with the book he or she brought to the PD session. (Make sure every participant has a book.) Distribute
a copy of the book pass from Appendix D (adapted from Janet Allen's book pass in Tools for
Teaching Content Literacy). Explain to participants that the purpose of the book pass activity is
to introduce participants to a variety of books in a short amount of time.
Ask the group to first fill in the title and author on the book pass, then silently preview their book,
and finally write a short comment. Limit the time to one or two minutes—ring a bell or use some
other signal—and then ask participants to pass the book to the right. Limiting the time allows participants
to do a quick preview, find something interesting, and write a comment. This note-taking procedure serves
as a record that lets participants go back to some of the books that look intriguing. After three or four
book passes, stop and ask the group these questions:
- Is there a book you want to go back to? Why?
- How did you manage to preview the book in such a short amount of time?
Sharing answers will introduce participants to various techniques for previewing books and expand a teacher's
ideas for their use within the curriculum. In addition, this kind of discussion serves as a great alternative,
or companion, to book talks, and it acts as a recommendation process as participants hear about books that might
appeal to them too.
As a variation, have participants form groups of four people and review books just within their small group.
Again, participants should use the book pass to fill in the title, author, and comment. They can then share
the books within the group.
Wrap up the book pass activities by asking the entire group to talk about the differences between the larger-group
book pass and the small-group variation. Which might be better for students who are shy or for whom English is a
second language? Might the variation encourage more active participation and conversation than would occur in a
larger-group discussion?
Discuss the virtues of holding the activity in a library setting and focusing the activity around a theme or a
genre. As part of the wrap-up, help participants understand that the activity quickly introduces a number of books,
provides ideas for choice, gives time to practice making decisions about "just right" books, and gets people sharing
and talking about books. It's engaging, concrete, and participatory (social).
The Hunt for Good Books
Finally, distribute "Favorite Websites, ORC Resources, and Print Materials" (Appendix E). Discuss the list,
and note its usefulness as a guide to finding good books for students. If time and computers are available, let
participants look at the websites. If not, use this resource in a follow-up session. |
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- Hold at least two follow-up sessions in which you engage in professional conversation
focused on both increasing student's access to books and explicitly teaching students to
make good reading choices. Note that when talking about independent books, the issue of
matching books to readers, a major part of which is teaching students to choose "just right"
books, is an important one to address. Discuss with participants the following ideas:
- Creating a "class favorites" chart. Collect recommendations from students throughout
the year as they discover favorite titles and authors.
- Asking students to bring in favorite books from home, which they can lend to the
classroom library to increase access to good books.
- Scheduling weekly book talks to "sell" favorite titles or authors. Invite a variety
of speakers—students, the school and/or public librarian, and other adults in
the building and in the community—to share a current favorite.
- Involving other teachers in the building. For example, post charts outside classroom
doors: Mrs. _____ is currently reading_______. These lists turn into Mrs. ______ favorite
book recommendations.
- Doing one-minute read-alouds with print from a variety of favorite genre, newspapers,
magazines, books, poems, etc., just to give other students a hint or a "teaser" to build
interest (this idea is adapted from Kelly Gallagher, 2004). Hand the read-aloud responsibility
to students when appropriate—keep a list of readings.
- Working with the school librarian to have a "quick-pick" shelf or cart. Books chosen might
be good books for reluctant readers or "what's brand new" selections.
- Listening to short excerpts from a book on tape. These models can demonstrate fluency, spark
interest, foster discussion, and open up new options about "reading." Books on tape or CD are
valuable tools to use with struggling readers or students who can, but choose not to, read.
Ask participants to choose an idea from the list, implement it, and report back to the group at the next
session. At that next session, discuss the participants' experiences and create a chart based on the best
ideas that arose during the discussion.
- Arrange computer lab time, and have participants review the resources listed in "Favorite Websites,
ORC Resources, and Print Materials" (Appendix E). Spend time accessing book sites as well as the
lesson sites from the ORC website.
- Create an in-school book club with fellow teachers. You might ask participants to read a common book
from one of the article bibliographies, elicit student suggestions, or let each participant choose a
different book to read and discuss with the group. Everyone will leave with new knowledge and expanded
choices to recommend to his or her students.
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- "Making the Match: Engaging Reluctant Readers in YA Literature" by Teri Lesesne (May/June 2006).This article begins with the following quote: "They are what I term the 'gauntlet' kids. They come to class and announce proudly that they are not interested in any book you have; reading is dumb, boring, stupid, etc. In essence they are throwing down a gauntlet: daring you to find a book they might just crack open and read." Sound familiar? Lesesne's article offers suggestions for teachers who want to change the minds of those "gauntlet" kids. A bibliography is included.
- "Motivating Lifelong Reading Through Fiction" by Jennifer Wolf (May/June 2006). Using Richard Allington's definition of aliteracy, Jennifer Wolf offers practical solutions to working with students who have the skill to read but not the "will."
- "Motivating Students to Read Fiction" by Helen Holdridge and "What Books Make for Good Summer Reading—and Why? Students Recommend" (May/June 2006). Helen Holdridge writes about motivation, an issue all teachers of adolescents deal with. Her advice integrates three essential ingredients needed to encourage students to read fiction. First, students need a say in what they read because control and choice build motivation. Second is access to a wide selection of books, preferably from a classroom library. And the final ingredient is time to read during the school day. This article provides details about these three essential ingredients and suggests ideas to implement them into the school day. Following this article is an annotated bibliography of student-recommended books.
- "Boys' Literate Lives: A Nonfiction Collaboration" by Karen Whitney with lessons by Sarah Ressler and Valerie Plessinger (March 2006). Using information from the Smith and Wilhelm book "Reading Don't Fix No Chevy's," these authors describe how they used the findings to design instruction with boys in mind. Included in the article is a section of implications for teachers, a unit-of-study outline, and an annotated bibliography of nonfiction books for boys.
- "A Conversation with Children's Bookstore Owner Sally Oddi " and and "Boys Recommend Books to Other Boys" (March 2006). In the interview "A Conversation with Children's Bookstore Owner Sally Oddi," Oddi shares her knowledge of what boys want and are choosing to read based on her retail expertise and her knowledge of children's literature. This article includes a bibliography of books that Oddi recommends. The second article, "Boys Recommend Books to Other Boys," features a list of books annotated by the boys who made the selections.
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References
| Allen, Janet. (2004). Tools for teaching content literacy. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. |
| Allington, Richard. (2006). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. |
| Allington, Richard. (2002, June). What I've learned about effective reading instruction from a decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom teachers." Phi Delta Kappan, 83(10), 740–747. |
| Beers, Kylene. (2002). When kids can't read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. |
| Broaddus, Karen, & Ivey, Gay. (2002, November). Taking away the struggle to read in the middle grades. Middle School Journal, 34(2), 5–11. |
| Gallagher, Kelly. (2004). Deeper reading: Comprehending challenging texts, 4–12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. |
| NAEP. (1999). 1988 NAEP Reading Report Card for the Nation, U.S. Department of Education, available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard. |
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| Marlene Beierle is currently working on a Ph.D. in language, literacy, and culture at The Ohio State University. Although retired from her position as the Language Arts Supervisor in the Westerville City Schools, she is back in the district conducting research at the middle school level. She also remains actively involved in the Ohio Resource Center Ambassador Program, the ORC Language Arts Review Board, the Language Arts Supervisors Network, the Literacy Connection, the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, and the International Reading Association. In addition, she works as an editorial assistant for IRA's Reading Research Quarterly. |
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