In my classroom, there is a lot of book discussion, but it is not quite the same as described in the article by Almasi. Almasi talks about students leading the discussion and talking about topics they are interested in. I do not see that in my classroom. Instead, the teacher gives the students a worksheet with some questions about the book and after answering those individually, they discuss them as a class. It is a little more formal than the discussion in the Almasi article, but I do not see it as the bad recitation format described by Almasi. The questions asked in class are not simply comprehension questions. There is no right or wrong answer and the questions are open-ended. For example, while reading the book about Columbus one of the questions that the teacher asked was “Are you surprised that the queen let Columbus go on one more expedition after everything that happened? Explain and provide evidence backing up your thinking”. There are two sides to this question and as long as students defended their answers, they got credit for them. That is what most of the discussion questions are like in that class. I can pick out several different discussion types from the list on page 10 of the Triplett and Buchanan reading that I see in the classroom on a weekly basis. I often see predictions, personal connections, and vocabulary discussions. Depending on the book and the amount of pictures it has, I have also seen picture talks.
I think that in order to have response centered talk, a teacher needs to scaffold by providing the basic rules of a discussion. Page 325 of Weinstein and Mignano gives some good guidelines for students to use during the discussion. I think some of the most important ones for students to be aware of before a discussion are: everyone should have a chance to talk, students should listen to each others’ ideas and respond, and students should ask each other clarification questions if they do not understand something.
As far as learning resources go, I believe the type of book plays an important role in response-centered talk. In our classroom, the students are reading several different books about Christopher Columbus. This topic has many sides to it, so it fosters discussion. Books including issues of ethnicity, race, or gender also provide very useful topics for discussion. Basically, it is important to choose literature which includes a lot of topics to talk about, literature that fosters discussion.
There are a couple of students in the classroom that I am in who never raise their hands. I think that may be why the students write out the answers to the discussion questions. This gives the teacher some feedback as to whether or not the students have a good understanding of the text without the shy students having to raise their hands. At the same time, it is good to encourage everyone to participate and I think that classroom environment plays a big role in that. If students do not feel like they are being graded on their responses, they will be more likely to participate. Also, as with Courtney in the article by Triplett and Buchanan, if students can connect to a book more (if it matches their interests) they will be more likely to speak up. That is one to get quiet students more involved in the book discussions.
It sounds like our classes are pretty similar when it comes to discussing books. I don't feel like the book discussions in my class are like those that Alamasi explained, but I also don't feel like they are like the recitations that were described either.
ReplyDeleteLast semester I seen my CT focus on senses. Those were the only worksheets that I have seen about books. They were charts with an eye, ear, hand, and heart at the top. The students were supposed to write about the things the different characters seen, heard, touched, and (emotionally) felt throughout the story. That last column was always the one that students struggled with the most, but I feel like it was the most important.
I definitely agree with you about the type of book being discussed. I recently observed the class discuss a book about Martin Luther King Jr. and it brough up a lot of discussion about fairness. It made me realize that it also depends on the class. I grew up in a town that was almost all white. While I know we realized the issues, we couldn't make any connections when it came to race. When these personal connections can be made, I think the discussions are much more in depth and meaningful.
Last week, in a small reading group, I observed my CT flip through a book with three students. They discussed the pictures, but did not try to read it. After that, they wrote a couple sentences about their predictions, about what they thought the story was going to be about. They then shared these with each other and my CT. One student, feeling intimidated, did not want to share or write. While the rest of her classmates have been in the spanish immersion program, this student just started this year, in the second grade. My CT asked if she would like to share with me first and that made her feel a little more comfortable sharing out loud. So, I can relate to having students in the class who don't raise their hands. I think speaking in spanish is a big factor. My CT recently read a book in English and allowed the students to respond and discuss in English. This produced much more discussion.
I've also noticed one student who makes impressive connections and will raise her hand often. She is the one who my CT is questioning Dyslexia. This is evidence that it is important to give students many different opportunities to share opinions.
I feel so disappointed in my classroom and the lack of book discussion that occurs. What grades are your classrooms? Mine is a 2nd/3rd split. Students rarely read the same story together. Most of the reading that takes place is individually after they get their work done.
ReplyDeleteI really liked these articles and using discussion to engage students in different ways to learn about and investigate a story. Students have very different learning styles so for some worksheets will be easier for them, but discussion will be important for all students to work on. I wish I saw more of it in my classroom right now.
I agree with both of you about the type of books being discussed and that they have to be varied, multicultural, and from many perspectives. I like what we talked about last week too, as far as using multiple different books on the same topicor theme for students to compare.
In order for benefitial discussion to occur in the classroom, norms and respect need to be established to create a happy safe environment. Students should feel free to share their ideas without being scared about what others might say to them. If all the students can learn to let out their ideas and be open to many things, then they will discover things about literature, discussion, and others.