I have long clung to the belief that children need to be reading books at their own individual reading level and at their interest level. For this reason, I have never given up on independent reading and one-on-one reading conferences. And during these one-on-one reading conferences, I often assign "personal" vocabulary. Personal vocabulary is a word that a child struggles with when reading and conferring with me. If the child miscues, or even if they decode it perfectly, but can't explain it to me, I assign it. The child becomes accountable for that word, for learning its meaning and being able to use it with me in future book talks. Obviously, some children end up with more personal vocabulary words than their peers, but so what? Isn't that our job, to meet the individual needs of our students, instead of forcing them to fit into some kind of mold?
Happy reading,
Christine
Showing posts with label independent reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label independent reading. Show all posts
Monday, March 9, 2015
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
The Teashop Girls
Over the past few years, I've had some students choose The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer as their independent reading book. I've always been impressed with the vocabulary as students read aloud to me and discuss the book during our weekly conferences. With words like "blissful," "Zenlike," "amidst," "precariously," 'deranged," and "luxuriantly" appearing in the first chapter, I figured I should give the book a try. Besides, how could a book which touts the obvious superiority of tea over coffee, be bad?
After reading it, I think it is a fine choice for independent reading. I'm not sure it is literary enough for a classroom text, as I don't see enough opportunities for the deep analysis called for by the Common Core, but there are definite teachable moments. Aside from the challenging vocabulary in context, there are also epigraphs at the start of each chapter. These epigraphs offer opportunities to discuss primary sources and what they reveal about the time period, as well as the chance to make connections between the epigraph and the central idea of the chapter. There are also delightful recipes and tea-service tips, as well as copies of vintage ads for tea.
So... curl up with some scones and your favorite brew, and enjoy!
Happy reading,
Christine
After reading it, I think it is a fine choice for independent reading. I'm not sure it is literary enough for a classroom text, as I don't see enough opportunities for the deep analysis called for by the Common Core, but there are definite teachable moments. Aside from the challenging vocabulary in context, there are also epigraphs at the start of each chapter. These epigraphs offer opportunities to discuss primary sources and what they reveal about the time period, as well as the chance to make connections between the epigraph and the central idea of the chapter. There are also delightful recipes and tea-service tips, as well as copies of vintage ads for tea.
So... curl up with some scones and your favorite brew, and enjoy!
Happy reading,
Christine
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