I hope you all enjoyed Jim Trelease as much as I did (even though he said I’m now classified as a stalker since it was my third time seeing him). One thing that really stood out for me that I haven’t heard Trelease mention before is that seven percent of incoming kindergarteners from poverty score the same on tests as students from high income families, and that is the exact same percentage of students from poverty who are graduating from college each year. I think we’ve all known that income level has a great impact on student achievement (hence the reason why a neighboring district always scores so well on standardized tests), but do you think there’s anything we can do to increase the number of poverty level students going on to college and graduating? What can we do at the high school level to promote lower income families to become more literate? For this post share any ideas you have to answer that question as well as one thing that you learned from Trelease or something that you found exceptionally interesting.
As a side note, if you look under the links on this blog page, you’ll find one to Jim Trelease’s website. He basically has his entire Read Aloud Handbook posted on it.
11 comments:
I’ve always said that particularly with my students, it’s not the 6 hours a day I have them that I worry about the most, it’s the 18hours a day where we have no idea what they are doing and who and how they are being influenced. I really found it interesting that in the meaningful everyday study they found that there was no significant difference in the vocabulary spoken to children between the socio-economical groups, but there’s a huge gap in how many times the words are said and in the form they are used. I had no idea that in order to have a word committed to memory meaningfully, it must be used at least 12 times.
Looking back, I do remember that in a lot of friends and family member’s homes, as well as my own, we did have the simple things like the bed lamp and the book basket. My family likes to tease me for how I gained my love of sports. My older brother always had to have the sports section first from the newspaper. So before I could even read, I would try to find it and hide it from him and pretend I was reading it so he couldn’t have it. As we got older, I continued to grab it and read it first and to this day, it’s still the section I read first.
The story of the Carson family is very endearing and it goes to show everyone what’s possible when you set rules, standards and change the way your and your family’s lives are being run if you aren’t seeing the results you want.
I really enjoyed the Jim Trelease presentation. He said many things about reading and educational statistics that were both true and entertaining. There were many bits of his presentation that stuck with me. I've noticed that a lot of what we read in this class is helpful to the topics I'm studying in my master's program, and Mr. Trelease's presentation was no exception.
When he was discussing modeling in regard to children learning to enjoy reading if parents also read for pleasure, I found this to be very true. Modeling is, in fact, one of the best ways to teach children. I most especially enjoyed the story about modeling, where he showed the little girl from his grandson's kindergarden class. It was funny to recognize how kids pick up on everything, including this story of the little girl 'cooking' at the play stove while she chatted away on the phone.
I think that the SSR we do as a whole school is an important practice in modeling. I do find it disturbing, however, that students make office deliveries during this time. I think that EVERYONE should be responsible for modeling the behavior of reading for pleasure; all students and staff should be included in this requirement.
Jim Trelease
I thoroughly enjoyed Jim Trelease’s presentation. He made me laugh, and he had some interesting points to share. What stood out to me the most from his presentation was how he discussed the importance of parents’ roles along with teachers. He mentioned that if students don’t do well in reading, we blame it on the teachers, but as soon as they are doing well, everyone pats the parents on their backs. Amen! Diane, I wish I could come up with a perfect answer to your question. We really do need communities of readers. I believe wholeheartedly that when students are encouraged by their parents to read, they are, in turn, going to naturally become better readers. However, we have so many parents who sit around and never pick up any pieces of literature. Students need models. And while I try my best to model good reading habits to them all that I can, I cannot hold a candle to what their parents can teach them through leading by example—reading.
Another point I enjoyed from Trelease’s presentation was when he shared the importance of challenging students in their reading. If we know students’ Lexile scores, comprehension levels, etc., why do we water down the text? We have to challenge kids. They are not going to work hard if they know they are doing the simplified version of literature. I’m studying Romeo and Juliet now with my ninth graders. Of course, I will be scaffolding more for certain classes; however, I’ve decided that it’s important that my struggle readers have exposure to the real Shakespeare text just as much as my college prep students do!
Jim Trelease was terrific. I enjoyed his entire presentation. I completely agree that kids need role models who read - but I can't stop thinking that there are kids who develop into life long readers without those role models. Each of my parents immigrated to the United States when they were 15 years old. This meant they had learned to read and write in another language. English was not easy for them to learn. Thus, reading and writing in English was a chore for them and with having 5 children in 10 years, there was no time for extra chores. I never saw my parents read for pleasure. And yet, I read constantly. I read anything and everything in the house (which basically meant the World Book encyclopedia and the Readers Digest series of abridged classics that a salesman had talked someone into buying). Trelease did mention that some immigrant parents push their children to achieve at higher levels than they themselves had. But how does that explain the fact that none of my brothers or sisters went to college (or read for pleasure)?!? I'm not sure what the answer is....
I believe that modeling is good. But I also believe that we need to explicitly tell kids that reading is beneficial to their lives and show them that it is pleasurable. We need to encourage them to read things they like while they are in high school. The more YA literature that we have available, the higher the chance that everyone will find something enjoyable to read. (And I am very impressed with the sheer amount of YA lit that Airport has!) The more they enjoy it, the more pleasurable it becomes. The more pleasurable any activity becomes, the higher the chances of engaging in that activity again. As long as we can get kids to enjoy reading, they'll become better at it. Once they become good readers, their grades will improve. Once their grades improve, then college becomes a real possibility. And there are scholarship opportunities out there for children of poverty.
The importance of modeling reading behavior is enormous. But if students don't see their teachers as role models that they wish to emulate, then why should they imitate their reading behavior? I think that we basically have two choices for producing life long readers: parents must model reading behavior, or kids must somehow learn that reading is enjoyable. I think both ways are equally valid paths, but we can only influence the second way. It is imperative that we, as teachers, help kids learn that reading is enjoyable.
The thing that stuck out most that Mr. Trelease presented was the fact that parents need to come more involved. I agree schools cannot do it alone. There has to be parent reinforcement. I know my kids and I are much closer since Caleb has started school. The time together reading has made a difference. I read a couple of books and then Caleb reads a couple of books. He just beams when he reads his book correctly and I praise him.
I also found the part where the kids in Finland were goods readers because of closed captioning on TV to be very interesting. I thought about trying that with my kids.
Jim Trelease was a remarkable speaker. He kept me entertained as well as informing me of the problems we are facing in literacy in America. He gave us instructions and the inspiration to help make improvements in achieving literacy in America. There were two things that stood out for me, the Finland example and that of an extraordinary parent / mother facing the literacy challenge with untold determination.
In Finland, they are number 1 in reading in the world even though they are not allowed to have formal reading instructions until the age of 7. The situation that apparently makes this successful is the closed captioning of most television programs and the kids utilizing this methodology as a means of learning to read while watching these programs. This unique approach to learning while enhancing their ability to read and comprehend is phenomenal.
Second was that of an ordinary determined parent / mother that did an extraordinary thing in taking control of her 2 children and their education. Her strong determination and efforts to ensure her kids were enthusiastic, determined, committed toward learning the basic essentials about education and literacy made a significant impact on them and society. This was gratifying and encouraging hearing such a great story.
Finally, Jim Trelease encouraged his audience to think, be positive, and to take a stand in making a difference in the battle to improve the literacy level in America.
Jim Trelease's presentation was the first professional presentation I've attended. I must say that I really enjoyed it and (even though we had read his article earlier this school year) felt like I knew much more about reading and the importance of reading after listening to him. I never really considered myself a frequent reader, but during the presentation, I began to recall all these books I had read when I was younger. I even recall reading picture books to my younger sister and having her try really hard to read them back to me (she'd remember what words I had used to correspond with certain pictures). Jim Trelease also reitereated the importance of reading, and the next day I told my CWP seniors that the best thing I could do for them was make them better readers and writers before they set out into the real world. What an enjoyable experience!
Probably the most surprising thing I heard all night happened in the first 5 minutes of his presentation. So first, let me just say how much I enjoyed listening to him speak. His presentation was so well planned and so interesting, it was hard to believe that it was over when he finished. I do, however, think he could update his presentation to involve a powerpoint presentation.
Anyways, the real shocker for me was hearing the difference in time between how much time they spend at school and how much time they spend outside of school (ideally, with their parents). I just calculated it, based on our school schedule and our students spend almost 1300 hours at school. Not counting weekends, holidays, etc during that time, that means our students (here at Airport) still have 3030 hours outside of school, just for the 180 days that they’re in school (around 7500 for all time left) Unbelievable!
When I was in grad school, I remember someone asking us if we were responsible for teaching morality and ethics in our classes. I, of course, didn’t think so, but my professor’s point was that, for many of our students, they saw us (especially if we taught elementary school) more than they saw their own parents. So I’ve been carrying this huge guilt about how some of my students aren’t doing as well and I realize that, though I have my part to play, this isn’t really my issue. What freedom!
The other thing it did for me is to bring home to me things I want to have in mind for when I have children. (I’m a future planner – I’ve almost got my wedding planned out, sans boyfriend!)
I want to be sure to think aloud and talk to my children, asking them questions to hear them think aloud. I need to put CC on when they watch TV, so they see the words.
All in all, a wonderful night!
In answer to your question about raising the number of poverty level students: I just flashed on Mr. Trelease’s point that, in order to cause social/educational change, you have to change the family. So it would seem to me that the only way to affect this kind of change would be to raise awareness in the family. I liked that so many of the elementary schools had their parents come to hear. The other thing that occurred to me, especially since I currently have a pregnant student, is that several of our students were raised by practical children as well. Does our district have anything to support our teenage mothers and to guide them with practical ways to teach their own children? This seems to be a problem that encourages itself: I don’t know how to read, so I don’t talk to my children or read to my children, so they don’t know how to read and they don’t talk to their children, etc… If there is a way to break the cycle, however… Just some thoughts.
As Mr. Trelease related to us, reading begins at home. I remember being in the first grade and my teacher telling my mothe that I needed more practce reading. Well, it didn't take long for my mom to take me to the bookmobile when it was in town to check out books so I could pratice. She also took me to the R. L. Bryan Company in Columbia in downtown Columbia and bought me my first grade readers so I could get ahead of the class on my reading ability. History does repeat itself as when my own children started started school, I too went to R. L. Bryan and bought their readers. Reading as much as you can definitely has an impact on our grades in all classes. i remember sitting at the kitchen table and reading to my mom as she prepared dinner. If I needed help in sounding out a word she was right there helping me. That is what it takes and Jim Trelease'
s diagram of teacher time verses parent time with their children definitely supports the theory that what students do at home impacts their learning. I guess you could say I am an example of that. If it had not been for my mom, I would not be a successful reader today. It is important for reading to begin at home. Perhaps state and federal govts. should mandate a law that when an infant goes from the hospital to home that not only do they need an infant seat but also an array of books and reading material!
I enjoyed hearing Jim Trelease's presentation. However, I felt that it was geared toward parents rather than teachers. If/when I have children I will definitely read with them. But how can I translate his message to my students? I am not their parents, and I haven't been there from the beginning. I do a lot of reading aloud simply becuase my students have difficulty decoding the text. Some of them can read the words but can't make sense of the meaning of the words. The parents of my future students should take attention to the fact that they should read and talk to their children. I would like for every parent to him Trelease's presentation.
I have known even before I decided to teach, that the students ability to perform in the classroom begins in the home. I can remember my parents having a different approach back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was, get a job now, (but dad I am only three give me a couple of weeks). This is probably why I do not read as much as I should. On the flip side of this we read to our children on a regular basis. It was common to have to tell them to put the book down and go to bed. The out come of this is, our daughter is a high school teacher and our son is in corporate management for the largest HVAC company in the US.
Jim Trelease, although entertaining, makes good sense, if his message could be delivered to the parents progress could be made. Maybe it could be made a requirement of obtaining a driver’s license.
SSR is inconvenient, but I make it happen because it can only help. Yes there are a few that do not take advantage of it as they should.
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