Chapter 5

I wonder...

• She realized that her students can enjoy reading, and has enthusiasm in reading texts that they are interested in. She realized that sustained silent reading does not work for her students because students need to talk about what they are reading. Students need to interact with the texts they are reading to make sense of what is on the text. 
• I think that the guiding principle Ms. Binn was using at the beginning of the vignette in working with her struggling students is that, "Learning is about skill building." She believed, as practiced in her school, that sustained silent reading was helpful and beneficial to her students. She thought that since SSR is an activity widely practiced at her school, it will work. She thought that if students will read independently for long periods of time, it will improve their reading skills. She thought that if they achieve their goal of reading 25 books, they'll be better readers.
• Since she realized that reading should be an enjoyable, meaningful and purposeful activity, she allowed her students choose a variety of texts, texts that interests them. She allowed her SSR time to be a time where students can discuss with each other what they are reading. She let them interact with the book. She allowed her students to engage in activities that are meaningful to them. When students engage in such activities, it develops literacy in the classroom as well as develop enthusiasm in learning itself.

Questions for Further Reflection

• After reading this chapter, and based on my experience in implementing the Open Court, my question has always been, what are their provisions for individualization? When students don't get "it" with the basal reading program, what then? This has always been my frustration because a lot of students get referred to special education just because they don't get "it." When students are reading way below their grade level, teachers in the general education classroom think that there is something wrong with "the student" and not try something else, because MAYBE...the program does not work for this particular student. Also, a lot of the texts that basal programs have, are not culturally sensitive. 
• After reading about the reader/writer workshop model, I still am not confident that I fully understand how it works. I do like the approach though, because it is "student centered." It allows individualization and it also shows cultural sensitivity. However, I still need more instruction to understand the mechanics because this approach requires tremendous planning and precise implementation. Specifically, more knowledge on how to conduct reading and writing conferences, mini-lesson, and independent reading and writing.