Finding the "sweet spot" in teaching reading to me seems to be the most delicate balance that a literature teacher can have. As Gallagher points out over and over again within this chapter there is a balance that is necessary between underteaching and overteaching of text within the language arts classroom. I find that often many of the books that we read about problems in the classroom or schools point out the problems but do not give solutions, but in this chapter Gallagher gives definite solutions.
Gallagher starts out by discussing the importance of framing a text before reading it. This is an awesome solution; however, I have found that often teachers will do this, but with no end result in mind. They may frame a text through historical context (which may be important) or focusing on a particular aspect of a book, such as symbolism, but if that is not what is ultimately important, especially when it comes time for assessment, then why give them this framework? I think that students need a specific framework, but only one that has a specific end result in mind. Gallagher touches on this, by commenting that he uses this with an end result in mind, but does not discuss how vital this is to this process.
I have also always found it very important to re-read text, and Gallagher also comments on this. I like that he gives specific way to do this within a classroom though. I think that it would be beneficial. And he also talks about the need to do adopt a big chunk/little chunk philosophy in your classroom. By this he means that you should allow your students to achieve reading flow with some aspects of it, but when you get to a more difficult passage or chapter then you need to stop and re-read here. This philosophy should really help with the overteaching issue. This is a format that several of my college professors used, which is when I developed my love for reading. We would be assigned text to read on our own, and then we would come in and discuss. If we were at a place that was confusing or even complicated without us admitting to confusion, we would go over this aspect of the novel during class time. I could see because of my own experiences with literature why this philosophy would work when applied to any classroom.
There has to be a balance when teaching literature...you do not want to KILL the reading for the students, but as Gallagher points out, you also do not want to leave them to difficult text to grapple with the difficulties on their own either. There needs to be a balance, and I love that he offers real solutions within this chapter that seem really applicable to the language arts classroom.
You really hit it on the nail when you mentioned that framework was a very great tool for teaching the students but pretty much is irrelevant when it comes to preparing the students for assesments. For example, as a child in elementary school my teacher made it her duty to inform us of nouns, verbs, and other grammar, but when it came to standarized testing, majority of the students, including myself did not do so well on the vocabulary section. Also, rereading text is a very good way of understanding. I for one am one who has to read everything more than once so that I know for a fact that I understood the text. Rereading for some also gives the reader a deeper insight of what they read the first time. For example, it's like watching a movie, you always get more out of the movie and or you notice something new the 2nd and 3rd time you watch it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the ideas of framing the text. As with any lesson you have to give it purpose and make connections in order for the students to take interest in whats being taught. You also have to set a goal. With my previous host teacher she didnt reallu teach the novel she talked about the symbolism in the book however the students spent the unit just reading the chapters and taking a quiz after every section. In the case with my present teacher she gives them prereading activites and background knowledge which makes the students interested in the novel and encourages their reading. These are the types of things I want to succesfully accomplish in my future classroom.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, you are absolutely right finding that balance in reading is hard. But with the techniques from this chapter it makes it a bit easier. I actually used some of them in my placement this week. The class was studying a document on the Aztec ritual of human sacrifice. I began my instruction by framing the document for them. I told the class that my goals were two fold. First, I wanted them to understand how to read I primary source, and secondly I wanted them to understand the context of the document and what it told us as historians about Aztec society. By framing the document in this way the student were better prepared to following along during my instruction. After I laid out my goals I showed the class my copy of the handout. It was covered in highlights and notes. I told them that this was a great technique they could use when reading primary sources. Next I went over the text with them. I read the first paragraph to show them my thought process when I read a document. We discussed author bias, and the meaning of the text. The class stayed involved through out the lesson, and my host teacher said it went really well.
ReplyDelete