One of my smarter colleagues suggested that the reason for that might be that I have not invited you all to comment. Or that I haven't shut up for a second to give someone else a chance. Consider this your invitation. Let's see...some questions to get it started.....what do I want to know about you? How about this.....
What are you thinking about all of this? The overwhelming reading? The offering of a workshop? The blog?
Or we could go in this direction: Why are you taking AP Lang?
What have you heard about it so far?
Here's another track: What is your reading life like? You know, the one that exists outside of school assignments? What do you read when you have the time? All of my juniors are currently in the middle of an "Independent Reading Experiment" where every they read what they want to read just because. Sometimes they write me letters about what they read. Reading those letters is my favorite "grading" because I learn about so many new good books.
Does anyone have an interesting "Fun Fact to Know and Yell" about any topic at all that you could share with us in this school environment?
Looking forward to some comments,
Mrs. McAllister
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Coming Attractions (to the tune of the end of the Pledge of Allegiance)
The Writer's Notebook
Independent and Student Selected Reading
And a Blogger account for all.
Independent and Student Selected Reading
And a Blogger account for all.
Friday, May 17, 2013
Bummer Summer Reading Test: The Importance of Close and Critical Reading
Every fall there are many students who become discouraged after the summer reading test. They mostly say the same kind of thing, "I READ the book. I don't understand why I did so poorly on the test." Okay, they don't use those words, but the message is the same. And here's the deal: I believe every one of them. I believe that they read the book. I also believe that students don't often know HOW to read a text like those assigned for AP Lang. Oh, they can look at each word on every page and get a general idea of what the book is about. But they don't really engage with the text.
So, I am offering a mini-workshop. I am offering this same workshop five times during exam week. Every day during the week of June 3, students are invited to come to West 13 where I will model for you the kind of close and critical reading that is the expectation of everything you will read in AP Lang. Not one person has signed up yet. But thirteen people viewed this blog last night and so I am writing this new post in the hope that tomorrow there will be at least one name on the lists posted outside my classroom door. Every time I look at those blank pages, I am saddened.
I understand you are busy. This isn't mandatory. But I think we can avoid a lot of heartache in the fall if you are willing to take just one half hour to observe close and critical reading. I can tell you to read carefully. And you can agree to read carefully. But what does that mean? What does it look like? That is what I am eager to show you in one of the workshops.
Whadda ya say? Be the first brave person to sign up. It'll be painless, I promise.
So, I am offering a mini-workshop. I am offering this same workshop five times during exam week. Every day during the week of June 3, students are invited to come to West 13 where I will model for you the kind of close and critical reading that is the expectation of everything you will read in AP Lang. Not one person has signed up yet. But thirteen people viewed this blog last night and so I am writing this new post in the hope that tomorrow there will be at least one name on the lists posted outside my classroom door. Every time I look at those blank pages, I am saddened.
I understand you are busy. This isn't mandatory. But I think we can avoid a lot of heartache in the fall if you are willing to take just one half hour to observe close and critical reading. I can tell you to read carefully. And you can agree to read carefully. But what does that mean? What does it look like? That is what I am eager to show you in one of the workshops.
Whadda ya say? Be the first brave person to sign up. It'll be painless, I promise.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Welcome!
This is the place--for now--where we will be discussing the summer reading text, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. You are not required to be here, but it may help you to more fully comprehend what you are reading and to integrate it into your schema. In case you are wondering, your "schema" is defined in Reading for Understanding by authors Schoenbach, Greenleaf and Murphy as "a personal library of knowledge, --based on a lifetime of reading and experience" (234). It is basically all of the stuff you have in your head to help you make sense of text and experience. The more stuff you have in your schema, the better equipped you are to think critically and solve problems.
It is going to be difficult for me to wait till June 27 to start, but I will do my best. In the meantime, if there is anything else AP Lang related you'd like to discuss, post it as a comment here.
This is the place--for now--where we will be discussing the summer reading text, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. You are not required to be here, but it may help you to more fully comprehend what you are reading and to integrate it into your schema. In case you are wondering, your "schema" is defined in Reading for Understanding by authors Schoenbach, Greenleaf and Murphy as "a personal library of knowledge, --based on a lifetime of reading and experience" (234). It is basically all of the stuff you have in your head to help you make sense of text and experience. The more stuff you have in your schema, the better equipped you are to think critically and solve problems.
It is going to be difficult for me to wait till June 27 to start, but I will do my best. In the meantime, if there is anything else AP Lang related you'd like to discuss, post it as a comment here.
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