Strategy 5 to grow as independent readers - students need access to texts.
According to Miller & Moss, "For children to find things they want to read, they need access to lots of materials." This strategy could not have come at a better time. I have just been introduced to NewsELA (thank you Melissa) which is an online resource for informational texts. I created a FREE online account and will be able to assign students articles to read online (at least during the trial for the next 30 days). But wait....here's the BEST part....I can vary the difficulty level of the text!!!!!!!!! So I can give my students articles that they will be interested in (there's a good many on sports, current events, health, etc.) AND it can be on their level! There are quizzes to test comprehension and writing prompts too! Boy, I cannot wait to look at this more!!
Strategy 6 to grow as independent readers - students need teacher monitoring, assessment, and support during independent reading.
Research shows that "time spent reading without teacher guidance has a limited effect on achievement." What better week for us to learn about Reading/Writing Workshops? This week, I used Nancy Atwell's Writing Workshop strategy to help a student who was writing a scary story in English. And it was so easy! (Time-consuming, yes, but EASY!) As a high school teacher, I have never used a Reading or Writing Workshop, but I think this is something that could easily be implemented in my present self-contained class (even if it is a math class, we can still read).
Stay tuned for next week's 7th and final strategy....
Oh my gosh Elizabeth!! I LOVE the idea of implementing a reading and writing workshop in high school. This could make a huge difference in your students !! I suggested earlier for someone to watch the movie FREEDOM WRITERS. Have you seen it?
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ReplyDeleteI am going to have to sign up for this trial to use with a group of students we have discussed. I love the idea of being able to select different genres and levels that are appropriate for the student!!
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to sign up for this trial to use with a group of students we have discussed. I love the idea of being able to select different genres and levels that are appropriate for the student!!
ReplyDeleteYay, I'm glad that you're finding NewsELA to be a helpful resource! Once your trial is over, we'll have to think of free ways to share those resources with students, like through a learning management system or Google docs. I'm thrilled you were able to try out writing workshop this year! It can be a scary shift to move to something that is so student-centered, but it is so much more meaningful to meet students' needs that way.
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