An interesting way to look at it, but yes, this is definitely how we absorb information and then make our own of apply it to our own purposes.

I think it's a valid concern that this will have adverse affects on literacy in future generations

This is very true and something I have noticed. I think its also true that video is another way that written texts are being replaced

Alan Kay understood that in order to maximize what could be achieved out of Bruner's three levels of communicating (learning), the computer first needed a democratic change in accessibility. Bruner's influence led Alan Kay imagine a change in the conceptual use of a computer into a dynamic personal media system that would be easy for even (especially) children to utilize by both learning through and creating/innovating on the same screen. *See MOD 3's Alan Kay and Adele Goldberg, “Personal Dynamic Media” (essay, 1977)

This a great time to incorporate hand motions if the classroom allows it. Some teachers have hand waves for if students agree with another students share or if they wrote the same thing. This way, students are engaged and support one another's sharing time.

The concept of adapting our practices is so important as teachers. I think looking over lessons and curriculum after a certain number of times preforming the same lesson could avoid outdated information. It could also help if a teacher develops a lesson specifically to each new class they are given.

Students need to make connects to the texts they read. This helps them be able to make connects through a lot of other things, and this is something they can use when they get out of school. Also, the best type of conversations between the students is when they can find a way to build off each others responses.

When teachers use ways for students to connect themselves to the text they read, or they read about something that interests them, the students end up participating better. Teachers need to be able to do activities and lessons around the students interests to keep them involved and focused. When students read mirror books or books about their interests, they end up achieving more and that is one thing all teachers would like to see their students do.

I thought this was interesting. I know different teachers have their own ways to making sure the students share within their groups, but I have never heard of this one before. I actually think it would work a better this way and I think that if teachers come up with interesting ways for students to share their thoughts, then more students would find a reason to participate.

When students know their group members, its easier for them to work together and be able to look past their differences. Yes all the students in the class know each other. However, it is important for students to know similarities between each other because if they have something in common with another group member, it truly helps them bond as a group and work together, instead of antagonizing the other members.

This happens a lot inside the classrooms. Even when teachers set up students in small groups and give the students certain things to talk about, there are still distractions. We as teachers need to make sure that the directions we give and the responsibilities we put on our students, we need to make sure they understand them well before moving forward.

This is a great example showing the literacy circles can work. However, as a teacher, you need to make sure you have the right atmosphere for your students so this example can truly work. Higher-level thinking is something all teachers should aim for their students to be working towards, as well as being able to respond to text.

I like this strategy because although the teacher is instructing within the circle they are equipping the students with the skills to communicate effectively and independently, which is crucial in discussion.

I really like the thought behind the activity/mini lesson. In order for children to discuss a text with their peers they cannot go into the group having a negative attitude. By doing and activity and creating an environment that focuses on unity rather than division more productive discussions are going to be had.

I agree with this statement. If students do not know how to have academic conversations, especially how to disagree and show you disagree in appropriate ways, literature circles will not be effective. It is the teachers job to teach the children how to communicate effectively especially in academic settings.

Unfortunately sociocultural forces that negatively affect learning always come into play despite the attempts for them not to be. With instruction teachers could help lesson the negative effects on education, but they will never be able to completely "erase" them. Culture however makes students different and can provide fresh ideas and conversations in circles.

When children behave and act accordingly I agree that literature circles could be beneficial. In addition if children could choose (based on two or three choices) what books they could read they could also become more interested in the texts.

This just really shows how distractions (as well as students who think it is okay to be distraction) affect a discussion. It only takes one or two comments to really derail a lesson or discussion.

Creating a concept of reading for students that elicits a positive reaction and not an aversive one. Reading should be enjoyable for students! We want our students to LIKE reading.

A community, not a classroom of individuals. A community directly relates to the idea of togetherness. The mentality in the classroom is not, "Me against you", but, rather, "us, as a team." This allows for perspective taking and empathetical skills.

Developing respect and gratitude for one another by initially reflecting on positive attributes, IE, what we appreciate about the student, what we feel similarly about, etc.

This is interesting and very real. How can educators break through tensions existing outside the classroom to help students feel comfortable and positive within the learning space? How do we turn a classroom into a community when the community these students live within, outside of school, is so vastly different? I think at this point, educators need to take on the role of role-models. In this, educators should not only be teaching, but also modeling behaviors appropriate for school. These behaviors should also coincide with a positive trajectory of life outside of school, to help students better problem solve in scenarios existing outside the domains of the classroom. This reminds me of the other reading, Engaging African American Males in Reading.

What are some different ways in which we can create a classroom climate where these issues can not permeate the learning environment?

Allowing for more student-choice/ free-choice activities and learning helps students perceive learning more positively. Learning and literacy should not be about trapping students in confined learning structures that are implemented primarily by the teacher. Interaction between students allows for more learning opportunities.

I agree with this statement entirely. I think that literature circles are a great way to foster critical discussion about the text between the children. The exchange of ideas and inferences about the text differ amongst the children, making the conversation even more meaningful. In essence, every student gets something from the conversation and can thus further develop their understanding of the literature.

Having students react to the text is better than having them summarize what they read. This is important because if the students just simply summarize what they read, then it isn't showing what they think or have learned. It just shows what they remember and that is not the key idea of reading. You want students to express their feelings, and connections to what they read. This is more useful to the students than having the students just recite what they had just read.

I think this reading workshop component is important because if the students and teacher know the responsibility of what they are suppose to do, then the whole process would flow better. Students should have a clear understanding of what they are doing and the purpose behind them doing it. If they don't have a clear idea of why they are doing what they are doing, then they may have a hard time staying on track.

I believe that these five components are important to reading workshop. In my opinion, I think that sharing time and state-of-the-class is most important. Sharing from the teacher to the students is important, just like sharing from student to student sharing. State-of-the-class is also as important because it reminds everyone in the classroom of their responsibilities during reading workshop.

Completing worksheets is sometimes an inconvenience for students. When students have to worry about filling out worksheets on their readings, they are not even focused on the reading, rather they are focused on finding the answers to the worksheet. If the classroom is managed to the point where the students can talk about the texts, then it would be better for all the students because then they can actually focus on the reading.

There are many situations in which students are not using their classroom time wisely. This is a situation that I feel many teachers struggle with. For younger students, worksheets are not something I would use. It is sometimes even hard to get students to even sit down and read at a young age. I think if the teachers have the students talk about what they read instead of using worksheets, they will be better off and the students could possibly do better that way as well.

I think this is would accomplish the same thing as a worksheet. If a child is able to share what they read and give a presentation on it, then they clearly need to have read the text and have understood it. Worksheets tend to check these concepts, so a presentation or discussion post reading could replace the worksheet idea.

I like this concept. I have noticed through my education and field work that there is much more emphasis placed on being able to speak effectively with others, but not so much emphasis placed on reading and writing.

I agree with this. I have always found that when I know I need to fill out a worksheet or answer questions or take notes while reading a text, it detracts from what I am doing. For example, I find myself rereading the same paragraph multiple times over, not because I did not understand it the first time, but because I lose my place and need to find it again.

I am currently doing fieldwork hours in a 1st grade classroom, and I don't know if I can attest to this claim, but I can say that more often than not, the children are reading with a partner. That being said, this is because there are several kids who cannot read at grade level and there are several kids who are above grade level. The teacher uses the kids who are above grade level to help the kids who are under.

I find this to be very interesting. The article is claiming that the more engaging the material is for the students, the easier it is for them to read and the more they enjoy it. I easily buy into the premise that they enjoy it more, but I do not understand the claim that it is easier for them to read. Just because a child likes the text they are reading, does that make them a more fluent reader?

It is so great to see the readers workshop having such success in classrooms. If this process is allowing students to enjoy reading books as well as increasing their involvement in the classroom then i think it is definitely something that should be used in all classrooms.

I think this is one of the most important parts to have in the readers workshop because it allows for students to finish up their time by coming back together as a class to share what they learned or discovered and to also hear what other students learned during their time. This sharing of ideas can help students to look for different things in the text the next time they read that they might not have caught this time.

I think using mini-lessons for pre-reading purposes is a great idea. It is important to help students make predictions and draw on their own past experiences that may connect to the book because this could help them make more sense of the story. It is also just a good skill for students to develop in order to be a good reader.

This is such a great point! I think the environment of a classroom can sometimes make or break the way a student will learn and absorb knowledge on any given day. With this being said, the teacher should create an environment and routine for the classroom that encourages children to spend any free moments they have in the classroom reading or discussing books and ideas with other students.

Reading is so important to the development of students and I think them reading independently for only about 7-8 minutes per day is just not cutting it. That is not nearly enough time for students to develop good reading skills or even just enjoy what they are reading.

This second grade teacher does a good job in organizing her strategy by picking three stories that function during 2 or 3 days. This keeps the students more focused and the teacher better prepared for the 3 stories of those 3 days. I like how the group membership is constantly changing so that students get more excitement in their reading and its not the same boring routine for them.

This is very interesting to me because I think it is very beneficial for the teachers to see where his or her students are at with reading and to aid and guide the students in a better direction. Also if students need that extra support, this would be a good time for that.

I agree with the idea of giving pre reading activities to students. This will encourage students and get them on the right track to draw from previous learning and experiences.

I agree that students must learn how to manage their time wisely when reading as this well help them later in the future in school and in jobs. This will make them a more responsible reader. Teachers can observe and suggest strategies to improve their reading choices in the classroom.

I agree that students need to be using their little reading time in school more wisely because teachers and students get wrapped up in the worksheet they need to complete after the reading. They skim through the reading so they have enough time to get the work done. However, I think it's important to make reading less stressful on the students and give them the opportunity to enjoy the reading rather than rush it to do worksheets.

I think this last piece of Readers Workshop is extremely important. It brings closure to Readers Workshop by gathering students together to collectively discuss and respond to the literature. Each student can share his/her reading and the inferences they made about that reading, which is a wonderful way to ensure that everyone's thoughts and progress in learning are being appreciated, acknowledged, and respected.

While I feel free-choice approaches to activities are awesome, I do feel there is issues with this. Students may opt to have their LRGs with close friends. When this happens, distractions and side-conversations run rampant and productive work rarely gets accomplished. I do think, however, teachers should assign mixed-level groups. There is a lot of research on how mixed-level groups are truly effective, especially when looking into Lev Vygotsky's research on learning and learning theory. Students working together from different levels of learning and understanding can better help guide each other as well as foster good conversation about the material than students working together from similar levels of learning and understanding.

I observe my main teacher's mini lessons during the very beginning of our reader's workshop everyday, and they are super effective. Each day, she teaches the students a new strategy to help them critically think about several ideas in the book, including what they might learn, the plot, the characters' feelings, the lesson, etc. For instance, today, she taught the kids a "sneak-peak" strategy, wherein she sat in front of the classroom with the main text as the students sat across from her on the carpet. She asked the class several questions about the cover and back of the book. She guided the mini-lesson by engaging in a conversation with students that went something like this:

"Hmm I see that there is a Raccoon on the front of my non-fiction book, and the blurb on the back of my book lists different animals you can find in your backyard! So maybe this book will be about Raccoons and how they are a type of animal you can find in your backyard? Raise a quiet hand and tell me if you agree or disagree and why."

After that conversation, she told the students to look at the Table of Contents of their own non-fiction books. Each "chapter" would hint to them what they would be reading about.

She's done "sneak-peak" with fiction books as well. The strategy pulls the readers in entirely! They are really excited to use the strategy when they go back to their seats for independent reading time.

Sparking interest with students in their reading is a sure-fire way to make reading and literacy, in general, an enjoyable experience. If the primary educator is engaged in the text and introducing some interesting ideas that will be presented in the text, but not telling students ALL of the details, naturally, the students will be curious to read and discover exactly what the literature entails.

Yes!!! This is so important. Reading, whether it is completed together, as a class, or independently, should be an enjoyable process of delving into literature through several modalities. It is important that reading is not something that students interpret aversively. It should be a positive stimuli! Worksheets in place of instruction are busy work, anyhow. Let's engage the students. That's where the true learning occurs.

In essence, higher fluency rates and rates of enjoyment/pleasure are reported when children are continually presented with books containing engaging material. Engaging material may include relevant thematic statements, relatable characters, dramatic/funny/interesting plots, imaginative scenarios, etc. Stories should be both relevant and meaningful to what is developmentally and age appropriate for students.

This is a good idea, especially if it is random who is going to be called on when. This makes the students actually try when they are writing, rather than just putting words on a paper for the sake of getting the assignment done.

This is SO SO important. So often I am told to plan out my writing before I do it, but I was never taught it that way. I was just told to, never taught how or have practiced it in a classroom setting. The closest I have ever come to this would be writing a first draft of a paper. I think this is such a valuable and important skill to learn.

The teacher I am doing my fieldwork with strongly believes this as well. She tends to air her kids up by putting a strong reader with an under grade level reader. She says that the higher level readers will help the lower ones, and even if it does not necessarily benefit the higher level readers, at least they are reading.

I feel this is quite an interesting thought. I participated in a program called Jumpstart, in which we worked with preschoolers. When we just asked students how someone was feeling when they were at a playground for example, the answers were much different from when they are asked how someone is feeling based on a picture of someone at a playground. So images can very much change the way a person sees and interprets ideas and concepts.

I think this is a good idea to make it take up more time than the other two sections. This is because the students will be learning specific skills during this time, and the less time they are taught it, the less practice they have and the less proficient they will be.

This is very important. Teacher's sometimes just expect their students to know what to do when they are given an assignment. Everything needs to be explained when it is new or even just a new teacher so students know exactly what can be expected of them.

This is a good idea because I have noticed, especially for younger grades, students will pay more attention and retain more if the instruction only lasts for a little while. If the teacher goes on and on, the students will tend to lose focus and get distracted and not care so much about what they are being taught.

I am already interested in this article right off the bat. Knowing that the authors of it are teachers themselves makes what they say in their article more validated for me. The things they will say and suggest will be tried and true, not just based off research done by someone else.

Children thrive in structured days (especially in the younger grades) so by having a daily journal workshop the children can show consistent growth and grow comfortable with the workshop because they are daily.

I like how this teacher gradually adds writing time. When children are not prepared/ do not know how to write an extended period of writing time is wasted because the children don't have the endurance or knowledge base to meaningfully write. By slowly growing the amount of time for writing, students grow without being bored.

I think that keeping conference notes on each child is very important! By writing down goals (especially where children could see them to remember them) teachers can really keep straight both the goals and achievements of each student.

I agree with the mini lesson topic of illustration! This lesson could engage children that learn well with art! This would be a very new and engaging option for a lesson.

Sharing of work is very important in the classroom. Not only does it engage the class in discussion but provides an opportunity for children to learn how to listen well to other peers.

I think that this beginning direct instruction is very important in directing the children (especially at a young age) to get into the mode of reading/writing for the workshop.

The journal workshop is a great way to help students apply what they've learned in class to their own writing. The sharing of each students work allows students to keep their audience in mind and shows that there is a community of writers who are all their to help and give suggestions for each others writing. This motivates students to want to keep improving their writing.

This is such a great idea! An assessment portfolio is not only a great way for the teacher to assess the development of each students writing but it is also a great way to allow parents to see how their child is growing overtime and how their writing is getting increasingly better.

I really like the idea of having a conference time with other students. This can help students develop their writing as well because they are getting suggestions and ideas from a third party which could help improve what they've written.

I agree that having students include drawings along with their writing can help them create a more detailed story in their mind which they can then transfer onto paper in their writing. This is a great tool to help students elaborate on their writing or just spark an idea of what they could write about.

Having students share their writing can be very beneficial in the classroom because it allows other students to get ideas of how they can either fix their writing or add more things to it to further develop what they have already written.

I agree that ensuring more time for teaching, reading, and writing that is meaningful to children will help them relate more and be more focused and engaged. They also will be more motivated to write if sharing is involved. Many students tend to leave blank pages waiting on a topic to come to them. This will improve time management skills.

I agree that having an assessment portfolio to observe the students progress is needed to to see their growth and support them where they are not improving in.

This is essential in getting the students excited to speak in front of the class and share their work. This will make good practice for their future. Also, the teacher gets one-on-one time with each child each week to make sure they are on the right track.

I like this idea. I think it will be effective in helping the students write more and remember what they want to add. This will also help them write more visual details.

I agree with this statement. Students can get ideas from their classmates to make their ideas more detailed and help them in the future.

Writer's craft is essential because it helps writers stay on topic. Often times, beginner writers will go off topic and the writing might be unorganized. This will help them make better choices and be more self aware.

I agree that this should be encouraged to help students with reading, spelling, and writing. Sending home worksheets to practice on their own could be a good technique in getting them more practice.

I agree that brainstorming possible topics for writing before the students go off on their own is very beneficial for them. This will give them better ideas, in a more detailed manner and also help spelling for some students who have a tougher time.