Helping our students own their reading and writing

So much of what our students struggle with is due to a lack of knowing who they are as a reader (and writer). They bring misconceptions to the process that block their ability to read and go deeper with text. When we note their frustration, we too often jump in with answers and solutions rather than waiting or using Ellin Keene's famous line - "If you did know, what would you say?"  They need time to think and respond. As teachers with a time crunch in every day, we look to the first responders and breathe a sigh of relief. But if we provide wait time, the responses are often quite brilliant!
But what happens to those kiddoes who sit back and watch the rest of the class discussion go by? I think we need to point out to them the misconceptions they bring to the page.
1.  They hold a misconception about the process of reading. 
We can model how we:

• interact with the text
• write in the margins
• read slowly and with purpose
• hold onto confusing passages as we read looking for ways to clarify the text
• struggle with text
• reread

2. They fail to adjust their reading strategies for different purposes.
We can model how we:

• adjust reading speed depending on the text
• skim for gist 
•  slow down for close scrutiny

3. They experience difficulty in understanding the structure of the text as they read.
We can show them how to:

• Chunk complex material into discrete parts  and describe the text's purpose.

"This part gives evidence for the argument.
"This part summarized the opposing view."
"This part provides historical data."

• use  mentor texts of different genres for different purposes.

Together we read a mentor text, I model, and then they practice.

4.  They have difficulty in appreciating the text's rhetorical context.
We can model:

• finding joy in the challenge of reading
• evaluating the author's thesis, reasons and evidence
• looking for weaknesses in the writing
• constructing new ideas out of a text to meet our needs

 We can nudge students toward new ways of seeing.

5. They experience difficulty in assimilating to the unfamiliar.
We can model:

• being open to different perspectives (reading several texts/genres  about the same topic)
• recognizing our own biases ("I don't like science fiction. I prefer non-fiction.")
• ways into an unfamilar text

6. They view text as inert.
We can model:

• how to carry on a conversation with a character
• how to carry on a conversation with the author (in our mind)
• how we challenge what the author is saying
• how we overcome our resistance to new ideas

7. There is lack of background knowledge assumed provided by the author. (especially with textbooks)
We can determine how much scaffolding to provide. The Common Core calls for students to be able to read "independently" and "proficiently," without "significant scaffolding" - instructional supports- by the teachers.  Worth reading is the Education Week article (April 24,2012) "Common Standards Ignite Debate over Prereading" by Catherine Gwertz. It helps to clarify this point. Material above their reading level may need teacher assistance. It makes us contemplate, "what is necessary scaffolding and when do I want my students to wrestle with the text?" They is no definitive answer. It depends on the students, the text, and its purpose.
8. They may bring inadequate vocabulary to the reading.
We can model:

• how we approach unknown words (not always a need to look it up in the dictionary)
• how words may have different meaning depending on its use in context
• how to appreciate the author's choice of words/vocabulary

9. They may have difficulty with sentence structure of primary sources or scholarly articles.
We can model:

• how to chunk grammatical units
• pull out key words
• isolate key phrases
• identify places of confusion
• how to write in the margins to anchor our thinking

10. As readers, they may not always know how and when to adjust their strategies.
We can model:

• how to recognize the source that is most helpful
• know who we are as readers- where we struggle- and we all struggle in some way!
• how to enjoy the journey!

Model, model, model!

Points to ponder:
Our students can be overwhelmed and baffled  by the process of reading. We can model for them how we enjoy the challenge and overcome any roadblocks that prevent them from enjoying the journey.
What roadblocks do your students bring to their reading?
Post your thoughts about ones I may have missed on my blog!
How can you model overcoming these misconceptions?

Recommended reading:
The Art of Slow Reading by Tom Newkirk (Heinemann)
Talk to Understand by Ellin Keene (Heinemann)
Growing Readers by Kathy Collins (Stenhouse)
Teaching Read-World Writing Through Modeling and Mentor Texts by Kelly Gallagher (Stenhouse)






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Helping students own their reading and writing through a partnership with their favorite authors

"The act of reading is a partnership....The author builds a house, but the reader makes it a home."  In her recent book, Between the Lines, Jodi Picoult and her co-author and daughter, appreciate the sincere relationship between writer and reader.
Gary Paulsen writes in The Winter Room (pages 1-3; 1989; Bantam Doubleday)
    If books could be more, could show more, could own more this book would have smells...
It would have the smells of old farms; the sweet smell of new-mown hay as it falls off the mower through the field, and the sour smell of manure steaming in a winter barn, It would have the sticky-slick smell of birth when the calves come and they suck for the first time on the rich, new milk; the dusty smell of winter hay dried and stored in the loft waiting to be dropped down to the cattle; the pungent fermented smell of the chopped corn silage when it is brought into the manger on the silage fork. This book would have the smell of new potatoes sliced and frying in light pepper on a woodstove burning dry pine, the damp smell of leather mittens steaming on the back of the stovetop, and the acrid smell of the slop bucket by the door when the lid is lifted and the potato peelings are dumped in- but it can't.
Books can't have smells.
If books could be more and own more and give more, this book would have sound...

He continues on with rich description of the sounds, of the soft gold light but he writes that books can't have sound or light.
If books could have more, give more, be more, show more, they would still need readers, who bring them sound and smell and light and all the rest that can't be in books.
The book needs you. 
G.P. 
 Wait... the Common Core guidelines are advocating for two stages of reading: one where the reader is focused on the "four corners of the text" and only after a "clear understanding of what has been read" do they recommend that the reader bring in prior knowledge and connections to the text. Wait...let me  think about this!  This drawing a line in the sand separating the reader's experience and the text goes in direct opposite of the sentiments of the books' authors. Is the Common Core Standards really asking readers to neglect the responsibility they should bring to the page? Wait...(here I go again!) If you read a previous blog I wrote about a young reader who brought in the fish and game newspaper, you will remember that this boy did not view himself as a reader in the classroom but he sure was engaged with every page of that newspaper because he loves to fish. The only reason why he was reading in the first place was because he loves to fish followed by a desire to learn more about fishing. BUT first and foremost, he loves to fish. The only  way into text for many kids, especially those who struggle and/or dislike reading,  is through finding themselves on the page. AND the authors expect this.
Now, it seems unlikely that those in charge of the Commom Core Standards will listen to teachers or even principals, probably not even to the Superintendents when we voice our concern about this approach to reading BUT maybe it is time for the writers to step in and explain how their books should be read.
How can a student truly understand the message in The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson if they must remain within the four corners of the text? They need to use their personal experiences of jumping rope, of being a kid in summer, building friendships, and recognizing Mrs. Beasley with the help of an older reader (a much older reader -my age!) to  arrive at a greater understanding of prejudice. It is clear to me that the writer was very intentional in wanting and needing to meet the reader on the page.
So, I am asking authors to put their voices out there along with educators to bring to light the importance for  honoring both the aesthetic and efferent stance in reading. The books need us!