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Read alouds
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From: KayWin at aol.com <KayWin>
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 08:48:03 EDT
Dear CCBC: I wish every teacher in America was reading the comments this month. I am so encouraged to hear that Reading Aloud is still happening in classrooms. As Shelly Harwayne, a Supt. in Manhattan says..." Reading aloud is a non
negotiable practice" .Yet I am sad to say, as I travel across the country speaking to teachers at Reading Conferences and Children's Literature Conferences, so many teachers tell me, we just don't have time to read aloud anymore . We have to get ready for the test. No Child Left Behind has created such pressure to " increase test scores" that instead, children are treated to worksheet after worksheet. I had a teacher from Wyoming tell me... I can't read aloud anymore.. the administration says I have to get the children up to level 6." She taught kindergarten. At reading conferences the exhibit hall is filled with workbook after workbook and texts for teachers showing them how to Up those Scores. No trade books. Except for the table of books by the authors who are speaking. I can't imagine a life without story. As a former reading teacher I spent part of each period I had with students,reading aloud. Their teachers reported a renewed interest in books and stronger reading skills. ( And in fact, their test scores improved as well) But my payment was the looks on their faces as we laughed and cried over story and built a community in our classroom. For story builds community. I was one of the lucky ones. My parents read to me every day. My teachers read to us every day. Going to the library was the highlight of each week. And my life is richer because of that. A favorite book when I was four was The Little Engine That Could. As an adult when I lost my voice for 2 years, and had to practice sentences 5 times a day with no obvious improvement, the mantra of I think I can ,I think I can, repeated in my head and helped me through that terrible time. So I am delighted we are celebrating the pleasures. the wonders, the magic of reading aloud.
Kay Winters Children's book author Abe Lincoln: the Boy Who Loved Books My Teacher for President
Received on Thu 05 Aug 2004 07:48:03 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2004 08:48:03 EDT
Dear CCBC: I wish every teacher in America was reading the comments this month. I am so encouraged to hear that Reading Aloud is still happening in classrooms. As Shelly Harwayne, a Supt. in Manhattan says..." Reading aloud is a non
negotiable practice" .Yet I am sad to say, as I travel across the country speaking to teachers at Reading Conferences and Children's Literature Conferences, so many teachers tell me, we just don't have time to read aloud anymore . We have to get ready for the test. No Child Left Behind has created such pressure to " increase test scores" that instead, children are treated to worksheet after worksheet. I had a teacher from Wyoming tell me... I can't read aloud anymore.. the administration says I have to get the children up to level 6." She taught kindergarten. At reading conferences the exhibit hall is filled with workbook after workbook and texts for teachers showing them how to Up those Scores. No trade books. Except for the table of books by the authors who are speaking. I can't imagine a life without story. As a former reading teacher I spent part of each period I had with students,reading aloud. Their teachers reported a renewed interest in books and stronger reading skills. ( And in fact, their test scores improved as well) But my payment was the looks on their faces as we laughed and cried over story and built a community in our classroom. For story builds community. I was one of the lucky ones. My parents read to me every day. My teachers read to us every day. Going to the library was the highlight of each week. And my life is richer because of that. A favorite book when I was four was The Little Engine That Could. As an adult when I lost my voice for 2 years, and had to practice sentences 5 times a day with no obvious improvement, the mantra of I think I can ,I think I can, repeated in my head and helped me through that terrible time. So I am delighted we are celebrating the pleasures. the wonders, the magic of reading aloud.
Kay Winters Children's book author Abe Lincoln: the Boy Who Loved Books My Teacher for President
Received on Thu 05 Aug 2004 07:48:03 AM CDT
