T.C. Roekle is a highly respected educator who has solid leadership experience with a focus on innovative strategies to raise student and staff performance at the building and district level. T.C. is a member of the National Speakers Association; she has addressed thousands of educators at State and National Education Conferences, Technology Conferences and school communities.
I remember the struggle, the confusion, and the sheer length of the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”. It could have been because I was newly in eighth grade and we were required to read all those words. Could it have actually taken an entire semester? Does that sound right to you? Well, if not, it seems that way, to put it simple… I wasn’t ready for it and I don’t think I will ever pick it up again.
Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post says: “Although fluency had long been identified by experts as important, it then became a hot issue.” In two articles on reading fluency she shares opinions from experts in the field and ideas from successful practice.
In Quest for Speed, Books Are Lost on Children
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102300928.html
Evans Middle School, in Ottumwa, Iowa, was declared a school in need of improvement in reading in 2004, and Principal Davis Eidahl said he adopted a program focused on reading fluency using a model constructed by Rasinski aimed at improving comprehension. The article includes a fluency chart from expert Tim Rasinski of Kent State University,
But, is it all about speed?
Assigned Books Often Are a Few Sizes Too Big
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102300949.html?nav=hcmodule
Many teachers exclude graphic novels and comics from reading lists, even though a graphic novel was nominated for the National Book Award this year. And Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said he learned to read through comics after his schoolmaster father disregarded others who said the comics would lead to no good.
What about visual learners?
What Do you Think?
Should kids read Shakespeare or the comics? Graphic novels or "The Catcher in the Rye"? Many reading experts say they should read everything – but only when they are ready to understand what they are reading.
TELL US YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Other Websites of Interest:
Reading in Content Areas for Teachers
School improvement network provides complete professional development solutions for public & private schools. Reading in content areas teacher development solutions.
www.schoolimprovement.com
Teaching Reading Program
Discover a research proven way to raise student literacy and test scores by building your students' academic vocabulary.
www.ascd.org
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To read or not to read. Again find the interest and motivation. For kids to read they have to be able to play the story in their minds. If they can not connect to the story, interest and comprhension will decline. If this pattern continues it is possible we will train our kids to disconnect from what they are reading; removing the true joy of reading.
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