| Dr. Quarton's 6th Grade
| | Email Dr. Quarton | If reading is about mind journeys, teaching reading is about outfitting the travelers, modeling how to use the map, demonstrating the key and the legend, supporting the travelers as they lose their way and take circuitous routes, until, ultimately, it's the student and the map together and they are off on their own.
- Keene and
Zimmermann
|
|
|
Reading is Thinking!
|
Reading is thinking. Our goal is to create independent learners who enjoy reading and do it well. They use strategies that help them understand and use what they read. Critical readers recognize different reasons for reading and see the process as a way to gather information they need.
Students learn to skim at a surface level and to read deeper between the lines for authors' purposes. By reading many good authors, students find models for their own writing. Reading always benefits writing. Good readers become better writers.
Fiction, non-fiction and poetry are all parts of the diet of a well-rounded reader. Book Clubs allow us to share a good book and discuss the themes, characters, plots and settings. Informational text provides us with background knowledge to better understand our world. And by looking at the craft of poets - their word choices and ability to capture thoughts and feelings lyrically - we learn to find our own voice.
From the beginning of school, we will consume non-fiction to quench our thirst to wonder and discover. Adult reading is about 80% non-fiction and knowing how to navigate non-fiction text to get to information is critical. Many times we don't need to read an entire book or article. We need specific information! Whether we surf, skim, browse or preview we need to have strategies that work. Information is changing at a pace we can barely imagine! Learning how to access it efficiently is more important than simply knowing information.
Reading should also be fun. Some students love to read when they come to 6th grade and are reluctant. For them it doesn't start out to feel like fun, but often with a routine of daily reading, it becomes a part of our lives. It's a little like jogging or biking. Starting out can be painful but as each day passes we get more comfortable and confident in our ability. Suddenly, we enjoy the daily run and miss it when we don't have time. Hopefully, reading becomes that for reluctant readers as well as those who already chose to do it daily.
Much of our homework is "just reading" and responding to what we read, checking out vocabulary words, and thinking about what it all means. It is the "daily run". It is the process of creating readers and thinkers!
|
|
