Comments on: New York Times Discovers Reader’s Workshop http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2009/08/29/new-york-times-discovers-readers-workshop/ Closing the Achievement Gap: Teaching Content Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:16:44 -0500 hourly 1 By: Robert Pondiscio http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2009/08/29/new-york-times-discovers-readers-workshop/comment-page-1/#comment-7525 Robert Pondiscio Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:27:14 +0000 http://blog.coreknowledge.org/?p=3208#comment-7525 Your approach sounds perfectly rational, Jillian. The mischief comes when we worship at the alter of student engagement to the point that we are reluctant to choose challeging works of literature because we're afraid they're boring. In my school, assigning students books in the reader's workshop was verboten. We trained them to choose books on their "just right" reading level and drilled them in reading strategies and response journaling. If we wanted to have a whole class experience, that's what read alouds were for. Students should be exposed to great books AND have the opportunity to choose their own. The two are not mutually exclusive. Your approach sounds perfectly rational, Jillian. The mischief comes when we worship at the alter of student engagement to the point that we are reluctant to choose challeging works of literature because we’re afraid they’re boring. In my school, assigning students books in the reader’s workshop was verboten. We trained them to choose books on their “just right” reading level and drilled them in reading strategies and response journaling. If we wanted to have a whole class experience, that’s what read alouds were for.
Students should be exposed to great books AND have the opportunity to choose their own. The two are not mutually exclusive.

]]> By: Jillian http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2009/08/29/new-york-times-discovers-readers-workshop/comment-page-1/#comment-7523 Jillian Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:09:59 +0000 http://blog.coreknowledge.org/?p=3208#comment-7523 I've adopted reading workshop in my classroom this year (9th grade English) in large part because of what I've learned from The Core Knowledge Blog. 1. Reading builds background knowledge, which is the key to further reading/success in school/cultural literacy. 2. Many students struggle in their content courses because of a lack of reading ability. Therefore, shouldn't we be encouraging and facilitating students' reading as widely as possible? This is not a dumbing down or a retreat from actual learning! It's an acknowledgement that what we have been doing has failed spectacularly and that perhaps a different approach might work better. I suspect that you and Diane Ravitch already know that most of the students in my English I courses are NOT reading at a ninth grade level. Many of them haven't read a book outside school since approximately 4th grade. Many of them haven't read a book inside school in that time frame either. They are reading in my classroom now. And as the Times points out, a workshop approach can be combined with core texts. I will be teaching Animal Farm and Romeo and Juliet as usual this year. The only difference is that my students will also read 5-25 *other* books, discuss those books with me and their friends, and use what they learn to improve their writing. If this is what the death of reading looks like, I say bring it on. I’ve adopted reading workshop in my classroom this year (9th grade English) in large part because of what I’ve learned from The Core Knowledge Blog. 1. Reading builds background knowledge, which is the key to further reading/success in school/cultural literacy. 2. Many students struggle in their content courses because of a lack of reading ability. Therefore, shouldn’t we be encouraging and facilitating students’ reading as widely as possible? This is not a dumbing down or a retreat from actual learning! It’s an acknowledgement that what we have been doing has failed spectacularly and that perhaps a different approach might work better.

I suspect that you and Diane Ravitch already know that most of the students in my English I courses are NOT reading at a ninth grade level. Many of them haven’t read a book outside school since approximately 4th grade. Many of them haven’t read a book inside school in that time frame either.

They are reading in my classroom now.

And as the Times points out, a workshop approach can be combined with core texts. I will be teaching Animal Farm and Romeo and Juliet as usual this year. The only difference is that my students will also read 5-25 *other* books, discuss those books with me and their friends, and use what they learn to improve their writing. If this is what the death of reading looks like, I say bring it on.

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