the power of images

As part of my haul from Barnes and Noble, I brought back 2 copies of a graphic novel called Big City Otto (http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2011/09/graphic-novel-week-big-city-otto.html). I bought it because I was interested to see if graphic novels made for a more engaging read for some of my students, and also if students might be able to read novels at a slightly higher difficulty level than they would with full print text because the pictures give them a greater context to understand the plot and challenging vocabulary words. I hadn't decided which pair of students I would experiment with this book, so I just had the 2 copies on the radiator behind my desk. On Thursday, as we were independent reading I noticed 2 boys, Tyshaun and Rashad, huddled next to each other in the library, reading Big City Otto together. I interviewed them, asking first of all, how they had discovered the book and why they were drawn to it. They responded that they saw the cover looked interesting and funny. When I started asking them questions about what the book was about, what the conflict was, etc. and I noticed that their comprehension was not perfect, but they were able to use the pictures as scaffolds. Say for example, they couldn't remember a character's name, they could point to it in the picture or describe it's appearance. Now, I do think as a next step I need to teach them the nuances of reading graphic novels. But first, I need to know what those nuances are. I mean, I have read many of graphic novels before and never really thought about how I had to process information differently. I guess the biggest difference for me was that there wasn't usually a formal narrator, and if there was, the narration was very limited (if only by space). The pictures are the real narrator in this genre. They tell you the who, what, where, and when. How does this inform their comprehension? What are the pitfalls of this genre in boosting comprehension? Staying tuned...

a good week in literacy

So I'm basically holding my breath and crossing my fingers that things keep going the way they have in literacy. Last weekend I made a trip to Barnes and Noble to buy books for my most at risk readers. I chose books that specifically matched their interest and reading levels. Additionally, I bought 2 copies of several books so that pairs of boys could partner read. I figured this would increase their motivation and engagement with the reading...and it did! Donte and Deavion were super engaged with their Nate the Great story, they couldn't wait to tell each other about what they had read, the thoughts they'd written down, when independent reading was over. All I had to teach them was a couple of things they might discuss when independent reading was over (what surprised them, predictions, thoughts, etc) and how to decide how many pages to read for the next independent reading session. I think there's something social about reading that needs to be unlocked for certain students to really love reading. We need to interact with text not only through the lens of our own mind, but through the splendid, multifarious lenses of our peers' minds.

Follow Up with Donte

I followed up with Donte, asking him to show me what he was in the process of writing while he waited for that marker yesterday. Here is what he showed me:

"Stevie {told} his mom that Opal sade she do not care what her mom say she is not her mom so she can no tall her what to do. An she think her mom is going to tall her dad an her dad is going to {shame} her in front of everyone in the church and he ran of to tall his mom she whant to get in troble because she is mean like she was being with the two boys that was follow her on there bikes. And she sade shoot up you bald hade boys."


Me: Why did you choose to write about this in your reader's notebook?

Donte: Because she was being mean to two people and I think she's going to be mean to someone else.

Me: Why do you think that?

Donte: Because like she was being mean, if someone be mean to two people they always be mean to another person like Sweetie Pie Thomas at her birthday party because she gonna make her mad and then she's going to say something to make Sweetie Pie sad.

Me: What do you think makes Opal be mean?

Donte: Maybe they be saying something that make her mad.

Me: What kind of things make her mad?

Donte: Like if they say something about the preacher or Winn Dixie.

My Thoughts: What Donte wrote about is several chapters ahead of where the rest of the class is with this novel: Because of Winn Dixie. So that's strong evidence that Donte's very engaged with the class novel. You can also see Donte applying the strategy of inferring here, as he explains that Opal will probably be mean to someone else too. He also had a clear purpose for why he was focusing on that event from the story, although it was not a very important event in the scope of the plot. What he actually wrote is a fairly literal explanation of it.

Follow up questions:
1) Why do you like reading Winn Dixie so much (as a possible way of finding other books he likes)?
2) Why do you like to write about what you read? (I wonder if this an attribute more generally specific to boys? or just in general, is it a very sound tool for reader engagement and deeper thinking around reading?)

A Conversation with Donte

I noticed my other "at risk" boy, Donte, spacing out and moving his fingers during independent reading. Clearly his mind was somewhere else besides his book. I've noticed this happens to Donte from time to time, and I suspect that it's not exclusive to reading. I am very curious to find out why this happens, if there's anything that prompts it, and what he thinks about when he's spaced out. I neglected to ask him this final question, maybe I'll ask him tomorrow. Me: Donte I noticed sometimes you space out while you're reading. You're not in trouble, I just want to understand what makes you space out. When do you normally space out? Donte: (gives confused look) Me: Does it happen at the beginning, middle, end of independent reading? When do you notice it happens the most? Donte: In the beginning, or when I'm waiting for someone to get done with something. Me: What are you waiting for? Donte: Shimya to get down with the red marker. Me: Why? Donte: I was finne use red (in his reader's response notebook) I think this conversation illustrates some things about Donte. First of all, his mind wanders to other tasks or ideas easily. He also didn't prioritize tasks or realize that using a red marker to record his thinking was not paramount. Most importantly, he's just not that absorbed in text. He's not eager to find out what happens next in the story. He's often taken out of the text easily.

general thoughts

Reader's workshop is going so well these days. I'm using the class novel as a platform for modeling literacy strategies that students can execute in their reader's notebooks. I've noticed a big surge in the activity in students reader's notebooks during independent reading. Students are compiling post-its with empathy and prediction thought stems, creating t charts to map character traits and inferences, and setting descriptions to visualize the world that the characters of their books inhabit. I've contacted Urban Initiatives as a potential platform for my boy's book club. It's a cool program that combines soccer with teaching, so we'll see...

From Journal Entry on 10/11/11

Deavion and Donte are the 2 most "at risk" boys in my class. They both are inconsistent with homework and do not really read during independent reading. Deavion would sometimes hold his book upside down, a clear indication that he was just pretending to read. I wonder if non-readers understand reading only in its most external: sitting, keeping your eyes on the page, occasionally turning a page. Deavion's a very low reader but he was trying to read more advanced chapter books like Captain Underpants. After a conference with him I've noticed he's reading books much more suitable for his ability level. So that's good. He also responds enthusiastically to our class novel and writing/drawing about recently read chapters. I wonder why this is? I wonder why he doesn't engage this way with his independent reading books? Thoughts about Deavion from today, 10/19/11: I also notice that Deavion is extremely eager to share with me his progress in reading our class novel: Because of Winn Dixie. Why is this? He also loves writing his thoughts about the book on post-its. I think he'd really benefit from a book club with a few classmates. The only thing is that his level is so low, there's not really chapter books to choose...