Connections

The first several weeks of Reader's Workshop were spent settling in to routines and establishing good practices such as how to choose a "just right" book, how to use time well during independent reading, and how to share in a conversation about one's reading. There have been large-group and small-group lessons on sight words, spelling patterns, vowel sounds, vocabulary, and reading with expression. The children have collaborated to make a web of their ideas on what good readers do. I have also begun charting their strategies for reading unknown words. Over the last two weeks, our focus has been on thinking about our reading. I have been reading aloud and modeling my thinking as I read. The children join me in stopping to think, predicting, and making connections. The children have learned that one of the most important things readers do when they read is make connections between what they already know and information in the text. We call this "using your schema." We've been sharing personal or text-to-self connections to stories we have read. We are beginning to distinguish between a useful connection, one that helps us understand the story the best, and a more random connection. For example, here's a personal connection from one student after reading Koala Lu by Mem Fox, " I have two brothers and one sister. I have to help my mom with them. I have to wait for her to play with me because she has so much work to do. I'm like Koala Lu."  This is a useful connection because the child identifies with the feelings of the character. A more random or less useful connection might be, " I have a stuffed koala at home."  As we continue to work with this strategy, I hope the students will begin to see that a useful connection connects with the "big idea" or main idea of the story. I am pleased to see so many of the children willing to participate and share their responses. I look forward to the months ahead. What a great group of readers!

Posted on September 26, 2008 2:33 PM | Permalink