[LIT] Adolescent Literacy Discussion

[macwendy at cox.net]

Thank you for sharing your experience.  Your motherhood sure came  out and I applaud that.  Perhaps they are learning but I just don't see the trees for the forest.  Perhaps I need to give them more credit, listen a little more, be patient and put my mom hat on as well.  I have been successful in getting these very challenged students, many of them, to discuss our stories and when I relate the themes to life and them and the world, I do think some of them 'get it.'  It is so very difficult for them to put it in writing.




---- ljackson at gwtc.net wrote: 
> 
> I am putting on my motherhood hat to put my two cents in on this one.  I am the mother of an eighteen year old boy with 
> significant developmental delays.  He reads at a mid-second grade level and comprehension is a huge issue for him--not just 
> reading, but sort of getting things in general.  This year he is in a reading workshop with students very much like those you 
> describe and his teacher is focusing hard on comprehension strategies.  My son is simply not going to achieve in the same 
> way that other readers do, but this class and this year have impacted his thinking skills.  Case in point.  He was watching the 
> Nebraska=Oklahoma game on television, and I was sort of (and mostly not) watching with him.  I had not been paying 
> attention to the game, but a questionable call against our team (NE) caught my attention and I was surprised how quiet the 
> crowd was.  Both teams are big on red, so the crowd wasn't much of a clue as to where they were playing (I did tell you I 
> wasn't paying attention) and I asked my son where they were playing.  He said he did not know and then began watching 
> intently.  He turned to me and said, "I infer they are playing in Oklahoma because it says OU on the field."  You have to realize 
> that the question could just as easily have frustrated him and resulted in a bit of a melt down.  I honestly believe his 
> thinking--his ability, to best of his ability, to think critically and to be patient in doing so has been significantly impacted by 
> this class. 
> 
> Now my literacy coach cap.  I have modeled in this classroom and seen amazing things happening among a group of 
> disenfranchised and underabled readers.  I recently met a young man who entered high school unable to read and found him 
> to be the most involved and eager speaker, wanting to help me model by doing the oral reading and doing so quite capably at 
> a fourth grade level.  He has been in this class for three years and a thinking fourth grade level reader vs. a child on the 
> outside of the literacy club is proof positive for me.
> 
> Lori
> 
> 
> On Sat, 27 Jan 2007 14:36 , <macwendy at cox.net> sent:
> 
> >It has been a while since I have written but I do have some thoughts and a question or two.
> >
> >I am teaching English to 7th graders in San Diego.  I have three Honors Classes (Proficient and Advanced) and two Basic 
> English (Basic, Below, Far Below, ELD and Resource).  All of my classes read, write, and discuss.  We use graphic organizers, 
> group discussions, essays, debates (more on the debates).  Naturally, I format a different style / strategy for the two different 
> classes.  However, as high as my Honors students are in critical thinking and writing; as much as I help and aid my Basic 
> Classes, when it comes to the Assessments they have a difficult time doing well on their own, independently.  Am I doing 
> them a disservice by discussing and teaching literary skills to the point that they cannot do it very well on their own??
> >
> >Debates - I am for a resource book of step by step lessons and activities that would help me to teach my Honors Classes 
> how to debate.  I think it would help them when they have to write the District Persuasive Essay in the Spring.
> >
> >Thanks to all of your advice.
> >
> >Mrs. Mac
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >---- Bill IVEY bivey at sbschool.org> wrote: 
> >> Hi!
> >> 
> >> I seem to have a knack for scheduling these discussions to start when my
> >> son's athletic life requires me to drive many hours to cheer the team on
> >> at far-distant away games (particularly ironic today because he has a
> >> badly strained calf muscle and can't even play!). So while I'm off to
> >> central New Hampshire, here are a few thoughts and questions to get things
> >> started.
> >> 
> >> First, I feel as though any discussion of literacy has to, at some point
> >> in time, discuss what literacy actually means. The article brings up these
> >> factors (page 5):
> >> 	- including purposeful social and cognitive processes
> >> 	- helps individual discover ideas and make meaning
> >> 	- enables functions such an analysis, synthesis, organization, and
> >> evaluation
> >> 	- fosters the expression of ideas and opinions
> >> 	- extends to understanding how test are created and how meanings are
> >> conveyed by various media
> >> 	- builds on, but is not limited to, phonemic awareness and word
> >> recognition
> >> What are your thoughts and reactions on these points - straight-on
> >> accurate, besides the point, good but incomplete, all of the above!?
> >> 
> >> Secondly, I find myself focusing on the specific strategies for adolescent
> >> literacy outlined on pages 6-7 and focusing on:
> >> 	- motivation
> >> 	- comprehension
> >> 	- critical thinking
> >> 	- assessment
> >> Again, what are your thoughts and reactions here? Where are your schools
> >> particularly successful? Where do your schools need to be strengthened?
> >> Are there other specific areas of strategies to promote adolescent
> >> literacy which your schools are doing well and which aren't mentioned in
> >> this article?
> >> 
> >> Thirdly, of course, if you have a burning question of your own, please
> >> don't hesitate to ask it!
> >> 
> >> As a reminder, the article is entitled "NCTE Principles of Adolescent
> >> Literacy Reform" and is a .pdf file downloadable at:
> >> http://www.ncte.org/middle
> >> 
> >> See you this evening...
> >> 
> >> Take care,
> >> Bill Ivey
> >> Stoneleigh-Burnham School
> >> 
> >> 
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