Readings for March 14

I especially liked the readings for this week involving Book Clubs. I can directly relate to the ideas presented in these articles (Salna and Raphael) because for my Literacy Lesson in my 4th grade class I am working with a Book Club group and I meet with them two times a week. The Salna article says that Book Clubs “create the opportunity for discussion about serious issues such as prejudice, injustice, and racism”. I think this is very true and it is seen in my Book Club. We are reading The Watson’s Go to Birmingham, which addresses many important social issues. One that we have recently talked about is bullying. In my placement school there is a great deal of bullying and it was cool to see the students relate the events in the story to their own lives and put themselves in the shoes of a character. We just completed our first journal entry writing and although these were not lengthy responses it was very interesting to read what they had to say. Salna mentioned that writing is easier for some students compared to discussions, which I found to be true also. Writing ensures that each and every student gets to get their thoughts out and then when we discuss they have something to add because they had the time to think about it and write it beforehand.

I really liked the fishbowl idea mentioned in the Salna article also and I think that is a great way for students to listen to each other and offer both positive and negative comments regardless of the book each group is reading. However, in my particular classroom I think this technique would get out of hand very quickly. My students have a very hard time listening and responding to their classmates in a positive way. I think this is why my teacher tends to shy away from discussions. Although that is not a reason to completely disregard in depth discussions it will take a lot of practice and ground rules need to be set before this type of discussion should occur. Raphael explains that “students are taught norms for appropriate behavior such as listening with respect, building n others’ ideas, debating and critiquing ideas, assuming leadership, and following another’s lead”. This is much easier said then done. This takes a great deal of practice. Salna stated that discussions take a lot of practice and over time students will get better at responding to each other and getting their ideas out, which I completely agree with.

The Raphael article also talks about “sustaining the interest of and promoting the learning of students across all ability levels”. This can be very difficult also. Although my students are in the more advanced reading group, there are still some who struggle greatly when they read aloud and others who are completely fluent and have no trouble at all. When we first started reading aloud the students started to make fun of each other whenever they stumbled on a word or phrase. However, they have improved greatly and I made sure to address this right away. I told the students that we all make mistakes when we read aloud; including me (I read the majority of the text), therefore if someone makes a mistake it is disrespectful to laugh because you wouldn’t want them to laugh at you. Also, I told them that they are not to correct their classmates and if I find the need for the correct pronunciation of a word or helping someone with a word they do not know, I will do it not them. I’m looking forward to continuing meeting with my group and continuing to discuss and respond to major themes from The Watson’s Go to Birmingham.