Notice and Note ~ Section 3

One of my favorite parts of summer is being able to read professional books.  I find that it rejuvenates my love of teaching and gets my mind thinking about the upcoming year.   Luckily, I have many blog friends who think the same thing!

The first book study that I’m joining is Notice and Note hosted by Melissa over at Dilly Dabbles.  My original plan was to join each session, however, I’m getting a bit of a late start.  Better late than never, right?

Question 5: What is the Role of Talk?

“…teacher-centered classrooms see the student as the passive recipient of knowledge and not as a co-constructor of meaning.”  

One of my favorite parts of my 5th grade classroom this year was the amount of conversation that occurred.  Granted, we were loud but we had the best discussions!  And I say we because it wasn’t just me talking to the students.  I helped guide the conversation, but it was the students who were asking and answering each other’s questions.  It was amazing!  

This section goes on to share tips for improving student conversation in the classroom.  One that I would like to try next year is having students record their group conversations to share with the class and even post to a class website.  What a great way to add in technology as well.

This anchor chart from My Life as a Third Grade Teacher is a great resource to help students develop their conversations with each other.

Question 6: What is Close Reading?

I’m not going to lie.  When I first heard about close reading, all I could picture was a student holding a book really close to their face.  As I’ve learned more about it, I’ve realized that this is not the case.  I think that close reading is very easily misinterpreted.  As a result, it can take away from students’ enjoyment of their reading.  I found this statement to encompass exactly what close reading should be:

“Close reading should suggest close attention to the text; close attention to the relevant experience, though and memory of the reader; close attention to the responses and interpretations of other readers; and close attention to the interactions among those elements.

This has definitely opened my eyes as to how close reading should be approached in my classroom.

Hop on over to Dilly Dabbles to read more thoughts about Notice and Note!