Authentic Reading and Technology
I’ve been thinking about 1) providing authentic reading experiences for my 7-8 graders
2) how to assess those experiences
3) how technology applications can help/support both goals 1 and
2 above
I have been reading Seeking Diversity by Linda Reif, and have already read In the Middle by Nancie Atwell. I have also read Strategies That Work (Harvey/Goudvis), The Art of Teaching Reading (Calkins), and Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency (Fountas and Pinnell).
Add to those objectives the fact that I teach English As a Second Language in a Title 1 school that is 80% Hispanic. I also have a pretty limited classroom library of books for my kids to self-choose. We do have a good school library and a great librarian, though.
I believe my students should be
1. Choosing their own books.
2. Trying new genre periodically to see how they like it.
3. Keep a log of what they read (daily? when a book is finished?) This is not necesarily authentic. I personally don’t keep a readng log. Some people do, though. If it was online, in the form of a wiki or blog, maybe it would be more authentic?
4. Respond to what they read (but how is the question? Again, blog/wiki posts and comments to others in the class/school/greater online community? Art? Digital art?)
Just some thoughts for me to mull about in planning for next year.
Also: I need to develop a check out and cataloguing system for classroom library
