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Home : 2008 : Jul : 25
I don't assign. I let it happen authentically. I changed this after I heard Kathy Collins talk about responding to literature. She said, "When was the last time you finished a book and said, WOW I can't wait to fill out my story map! or Can't wait to get started on that Diorama!" It made perfect sense. So here's what you'd find in my classroom Each one of my students has a response journal. However, they all look different. Because the readers are all different. I use a regular comp notebook and students use it at will. When I teach the strategies I introduce the jounral entry sheets that go along with that strategy and "open the door" to use them whenever they want to keep track of their thinking. I keep them in those plastic white drawer bins and have them labeled. My readers fill them out at will. Some everyday, some once a week, some once a month. THIS DOESNT MEAN THEY ARE NOT LEARNING! They track thinking in different ways, sticky notes/talking with partners/conferring with me/sharing at closing meeting. Some examples of my RRJ sheets: T-S connection, T-T connection, T-W connection Wonder Web (Questioning) Nonfiction fact sheets (Det. Importance) Synthesis - like the Debbie miller 4 block model Authors message (a fan favorite) Character comparison (Text to Text) So when I teach I introduce them so the kids know that they are there. Let me tell you. YOU ARE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAY ASSIGNING THESE IS LIKE USING A SCREWDRIVER TO POUND IN A NAIL! Don't doubt yourself just because everyone is assigning reading response. You have figured it out that assigning response is NOT AUTHENTIC COMPREHENSION. And no you cannot measure their comprehension only on these sheets and really it's not helping them if it's not organic. Now, this doesn't mean I let my kids get away with not responding to reading. That is what conferences are for. If I'm conferencing with a reader and I feel they haven't shown much evidence of comprehension I'll ask them about a few books in their bin. Usually they are marked with sticky notes of thinking they had. I'l ask them to retell some stories. To me, this is real reading and i congratulate them on their success. I may say something like, "Man that was a deep connection, maybe you could use a connection sheet to staple in your response journal so you have a log of your great thinking!" They usually will, but it didn't start with me, it started with them and that's the difference. Hope this helps, PM me anytime
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