Chapter 2 Reflections by Bryan Ladd https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2 Resonate? Classroom? Questions? en-us 2016-10-03 18:30:52 UTC 2017-01-10 02:35:25 UTC hello@padlet.com Ladd Chapter 2 bladd https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/134247957 This chapter really hit me between the eyes...I think even in my position as an Instructional Coach, there has to be more of the talking coming from teachers and less from me. On page 49, the authors use a pretty powerful statement, "the person talking is the one doing the thinking." I had to stop and reflect on my practices as an instructional coach and admit that sometimes I do way too much talking! The two sample discussions on pages 47-48 seem to be a great example of how to actively engage all learners in a more productive conversation. If the goal is always to move students to become independent readers/writers, how are we assuring that our instructional practices support that and provide enough practice/application for the students to become successful as independent thinkers/readers/writers?]]> 2016-10-31 14:59:38 UTC https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/134247957 Patrolia Ch. 2 https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/136203492 This chapter spent a good amount of time making the case for a strong reading/writing connection. It also discussed the idea that the vehicle for learning is talk because talking is thinking.  As a teacher I struggled with the idea of "how do I teach my kids to think?" It did not occur to me that having the kids talk more might be the key. Reading always seemed like such a solitary activity to me.  But now I realize that improving  comprehension takes work in helping students talk through their own thinking about the text. It takes allowing them to have conversations with the teacher and their peers about the text, and about asking questions of the text. It needs to go beyond talking about their own experiences to linking those experiences to larger ideas.  Figure 2-15 on p. 45 is a list of The Benefits of Talking about Texts. These benefits address building a deeper understanding of text, but also address social and emotional skills that some kids are lacking in today's society. "A talk filled classroom that is grounded in reading and writing will give students powerful learning opportunities." (p.49) of all kinds.

]]> 2016-11-08 18:54:54 UTC https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/136203492 https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/136248125 Stanley an]]> 2016-11-08 21:29:29 UTC https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/136248125 Junot Ch. 2 https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/140060897 The thing that really resonated with me in this chapter was the comparison of the samples of the two different guided reading groups. Sample A is too teacher guided and the teacher seemed to be prompting the students a little too much and not allowing them to think and come up with the answers on their own. I love how Sample B showed a perfect example on how to prompt the students enough to where they can take control of the conversation. The conversation is so much more meaningful when the students are discussing amongst each other and learning from each other rather than answering one answer questions to fill time.
 As for in my classroom, I'm going to be implementing interactive writing a whole lot more. It is such an easy way to get the students more involved. Especially for ELLs, contributing a letter, word, or just the punctuation will make that lesson so much more meaningful to them.]]> 2016-11-27 23:23:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/140060897 Beckwith Chapter 2 Reflection (late but completed) cbeckwith2 https://padlet.com/bladd/chapter2/wish/146152110
I really enjoyed how it broke all of the different ways to work with students down into detail. In my class, we use several of those but not all. It gave me another perspective and made me realize how beneficial all different types groups can be so I will be wanting to implement some of the other ones I don't currently use into my room. It also made me realize that sometimes I need to step back a little more and let them show me what they are capable of.
I have some questions about this chapter regarding some of the things they mentioned during conversation. For example, one of the parts said not to repeat student responses. I am curious why repeating a student's response is not recommended. From my experience, when I repeat a response, the student appears more confident of their answer, and any student who didn't hear them well also has received the response that may have been missed. They didn't really go into detail on why they didn't want the teacher doing this besides saying that they wanted the discussion more student led.
One thing that stuck out to me that I already knew that I needed to work on was allowing the students to choose their own books, even when the books are out of their level. I allow them to choose their books but I still have them choose from a range around what level they are on. My reasoning for this is because I feel if they choose it then that are choosing something that interests them, but by choosing near their level, they are more confident in reading and understanding the text. I'm not sure if all grade level teachers feel like this or if I do just because I work with younger students, but my students that aren't reading at all yet, would have a very difficult time with hard books if I allowed them. However, with that said, I am going to try to implement them choosing at least one book (no matter what level) of their choice for their independent reading bag.
Another thing that I wanted to start implementing is the "book club." I am thinking about creating book clubs in my room with readers of varying levels and skills. I figure students will help each other grow and be able to all talk about a book that they were all interested in. I love this idea!
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