I must admit up to this point my mind was beginning to spin thinking about all the state-appointed literature i must teach, the literature that may or not coincide appointed by the school board which i should teach, what i want to teach, and what the students really want to read. I enjoyed the concepts of letting the students chose their own literature and experiencing the "joy" some authors talked about of learning from my students about a book... however, like a hangover, reality hit me after the high. Do i really expect all my students to value and respect the freedom given to them to chose any book they want, and do i really trust myself to trust them to give me a true and insightful synopsis of a book i have never read? Plus i already know from this semester, even sometimes with this class alone (not to mention the other three lit courses i'm taking this semester) that i simply will not have the time to read all the books a completely free choice would place at my desk.
Now it was time to read Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs & Reading Groups...and my intial thoughts were," More Choices, More Reading?! HOW?!" Of couse by now you may have noticed that i am realistic and prepared (read "pesimistic and cynacle") and maybe even heard the thunderous noise of my eyes rolling as i opened the book. Though the flipside to my condition was realized again, as i was pleasantly surprized by this text. Harvey Daniels does a great job at constructing a book that is entertaining, quick to the point, stays on target, offers solutions, work sheet examples, and plenty to resourses to aid in implementing all you have just learned. i liked the balanced approach of student-lead, teacher-managed small groups. i found it releaving and insightful that he recommends beginning lit circles in the classroom for a portion of every class, then weening them to once a week, then fledging them to outside of class.. it's good for the students as they get to become comfortable with the new concept... it's good for the teacher as we get complete involvement from the students in the beginning, rather than just a flopped extra-curricular activity... and it's vital to the longevity of the lit circle itself. I also liked the concept of offering 4-6 selections for students to choose from, each ideally having some tie to the in-class assignment. I also appreciated the suggestion of having students list there top 3 choices to give the teacher the ability to keep small groups each with a book they want to read and also the ability to [ i won't use the t-word ] construct appropriately mingled groups of like-abilitied students so that the burden does not on one kid to support the group. I liked the idea of assigning different task-leaders within the groups and i very much appreciated the honesty and inclusion of failed ideas that are listed with this too. And i will stop there so i can save some thoughhts for my presentation...The Book Thief- Kudos to anyone who finished this book already! I am certainly not there yet, but hope to be soon. I can say at this point, i find this book intregingly written- I mean, Death as the narrator! This book is also filled with humor, heartache, love, and nazis... if there happens to be a ten-story monster and a quality restaurant review later in the story i may never read another book again!
"Do i really expect all my students to value and respect the freedom given to them to chose any book they want, and do i really trust myself to trust them to give me a true and insightful synopsis of a book i have never read?"
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really *honest* genuine question. I hope we can talk more about this in class!
I definitely worry about the things I HAVE to teach rather than having the opportunity to teach all of the thinks that I WANT to teach. But, I have decided that I will make the best of it using methods such as literature circles. Even if I can't choose every book my students read, at least I can give them a little bit of say in it.
ReplyDeleteThe negative aspects of lit circles also dawned on me after all the excitement settled. It seems as though we, as teachers, will have to be reading all of these books simultaneously while our students are reading them to keep up. This presents more work and time constraints for us. In addition, junior high and high school students most often choose what their friends are choosing when given an option. So how can we ensure that our students are even choosing based on their own interests? I would most likely ask students to write down on a piece of paper which book they want to read, without any in-class talking, to avoid this issue. So many things to consider being a teacher!!
ReplyDeleteI am also very worried about what I am going to have to teach. I think that literature circles is really going to help to mix what I HAVE to teach with what I WANT to teach.
ReplyDeleteI love how much freedom lit circles give students. :-)
I thought it was very interesting that you questioned if you could trust the students to give you a true and insightful summary of a book you have never read....what if they give you more than that? What if they even inspire you to read the book yourself? I think that sometimes we underestimate our students and their abilities. We as educators feel that we need to constantly play the role of expert, when in reality we are anything but. I think that the classroom is one of the most dynamic platforms of learning because everyone (including the teacher) is given the opportunity to learn.
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