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===//1. Jen used her beliefs about reading instruction to outline the majority of chapter 1 and introduce some essential elements of balanced literacy, differentiation, and small group instruction. As you read through the five reading tenets and their descriptions, what ah-has, connections, or challenges to your thinking arose for you?//=== Respond here:As I was reading through the five tenets in chapter one, I found it hard to choose any one of them as most important. As I approach reading instruction with my first graders I have to keep in mind the variety of reading levels they bring to me. My goal is to meet each one at their reading level and guide them along. I am excited to have the five reading tenets as my outline. After reading chapter one and thinking about how I work in my classroom, I felt very comfortable with the suggestions. Lower elementary seems to need differentiated instruction and one-on-one/small group instruction to be sure we are building success. Deb McLeod

While reading about the five reading tenets I found myself drawn quickly to the tenet" //follow predictable structures and routines".// As a teacher I need some security myself and as I venture forth into this new way of looking at reading I still need that piece that I feel I am comfortable with. Harry Wong is all about setting procedures and routines and I see that as my safety net. I was excited to see the "Recommendations" section at the beginning of the book. I have found myself at times in various lessons where I needed a trouble shooting guide to find a just right answer or strategy to help a student. This section will prove to be very valuable to me. I'm looking forward to finding ways to match instruction to each of my readers, and finding the strategies that will help them build towards independence. I guess I just realized that when they build some independence then my students and I can grow together faster. That's something to look forward to, the carrot at the end of the stick, to make this work meaningful! Mike

I think all of the tenets are important and as a teacher some of them are easier to tackle than others. The big "ah-ha" for me was in the section about teaching towards independence. This was an area I worked hard at as a teacher and pushed independence for all. I am the kind of person who wants to "do it myself" and I always respected that in my students. They are so excited when they are independent...but...it is really hard not to step in and do things for our learners. Now I am a principal and I see teachers working at different components of Jenn's tenets of reading. Many teachers in my school are involved in the Reader's Workshop and our students are really growing as readers. When I observe in these classrooms, I can overwhelmingly see kids who are engaged in their books...they value their time and variety of reading. I love this! I think the tricky part for some of my teachers is still in the independence category. They have great minilessons with fantastic strategy focus and the children are listening and ready to go...but then the minilesson goes on too long or the teacher steals their thunder but figuring out the ah-ha that the children would have figured out on their own...etc. I look forward to reading more and finding ways to help my teachers master each tenet. The cool thing about these 5 concepts is that in my building there are lots of teachers working on these and some are great at one and need to focus on another and as I observe, I can get great ideas for other teachers from their very own colleagues. Yay! I love what Mike said above..."I guess I just realized that when they build some independence then my students and I can grow faster together." Well said...it is easy as teachers to forget that our students can really help us set a great learning pace for the year if we just focus on helping them reach their independent level whenever possible! Carol Dawson

Chapter 1 from Bobbi Friend #1 The five reading tenets are all very important. The one that stands out to me, similar to Mike, is that of following predictable structures and routines. I am a very organized teacher and I always build my schedule to look the same day by day. I believe that reader’s workshop and small group instruction must be organized and predictable. Another of the five tenets that I feel strongly about is matching reading instruction to the individual reader. Working toward independence, teaching strategies explicitly so that readers become proficient and skilled, and valuing time spent, volume, and variety of reading are the other three reading tenets. In my past teaching, the point that I have missed is matching the individual reading in my instruction because I have done most of my instruction with my whole class. I have always used literature based instruction, but I have not used small groups and independent reading workshop until last year.

The Five Reading Tenets are all important inorder to move our students to Indepenent Readers. The areas I need to stress more are: matching the individual reader, value time spent, volume, and variety of reading. I want to look at my basal, the diversify. I have used small groups, but not strategy groups. I like this mode be cause I feel I will giving the students an opportunity to grow as readers. They won't be stuck in the A, B, C groupings as in the past.

Margaret Fox

I think the five reading tenets are all important to include in our reading instruction. I realize that there needs to "be opportunities for students to watch the teacher demonstrate, opportunities for the student to practice with support and opportunities to practice independently. I love to build the "scaffolding" for reading but don't always plan on how to take it away. I need to concentrate on helping them move towards independence quicker and without so much teacher dependence. I would love to conference with each child individually which is ideal but as it is mentioned on page 5 that one-on-one attention is not always realistic because of "larger class sizes, time and the increasing demands placed on students and teachers." Ronda

The five reading tenets seem to flow over into each of the books I've been reading this summer. This chapter had a lot of things that got me really thinking but I guess I really focused on "value time spent, volume, and variety of reading." I like to see my class reading a high volume of books and I ask them to read for 15 minutes each night at home and I have independent reading time in class each day. I liked the chart on page 7 which compares and contrasts guided reading and strategy lessons. I thought this was very helpful. The bridge analogy showing the work toward independence made a great visual for me. My favorite quate from the chapter is on page 10, "Instead of assessing to find what the student can't do, and then teaching to a deficit, I find what the student is already able to do and I teach ro move the student, always linking the new information with what is known." I just loved that quote. How many times do we look for what a child can't do and teach to that rather than putting our focus on what they can do and trying to take them to the next level. --Jodee Tuttle

I can see how the five tenets are weaved throughout all components of the reader's workshop in the classroom, which is probably why it leads to improved student achievement. I feel I do well with following "predictable structures and routines" with my intervention sessions. I provide opportunities for shared reading, phonics instruction, independent reading, and writing usually in the same order every day. Our job is to "teach strategies explicitly so that readers become proficient and skilled", and I feel like it's an area where I can always improve. I love to see a chlid's reaction when he or she has been struggling with some aspect of reading and my explicit instruction helps them. It's almost as if they're thinking "well why didn't someone tell me that in the first place!" In addition to monitoring my instruction for its efficacy, I feel a challenge is to "teach towards independence." Sometimes with students who struggle, I think they are given so much "to" and "with" by teachers that they never get to the "by" stage of learning. As well as Rhonda, I would like to work on helping them become more independent, and less dependent. ~ Stephanie Benedict

An ah ha for me was the “value time spent, vloumne and variety of reading” tenets. I know this to be important. But sometimes I am so happy that they are reading and processing in strategies I for get to stress diversity of genres. Some people have the gift of loving to read varied genre but if we are honest adults also can get stuck in a genre. KDN

===//2. In the beginning of chapter 1 there are a few specific examples of reading instructional formats described. Thinking back to your years in school, which example best illustrated your experiences: Mrs. Pinkham’s class/Jen’s experience, Jen’s student teaching example, or a different format altogether?//=== ===//Do you think your own reading history impacted your early teaching, whether because you wanted to emulate pieces of the instruction you received, or because you wanted to avoid passing on the same messages that you received as a student reader?//===

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Respond here: My reading instruction was the same as Jen's. My class read from basal readers and answered the questions after each story. I can't remember phonics instruction. Some of my teachers divided the class into groups and others did whole class instruction. I hated reading out-loud and always stumbled. I was focused on reading correctly and ignored trying to comprehend. I loved to read independently and was so excited when I could order books from the scholastic flyers my teacher sent home. My parents didn't verbally stress the importance of reading but did set an example by being readers. I enjoyed reading more on my own, out of school than in class. No pressure from others! Today I see my students approach reading as a chore. They don't read at home as much as they should. So many of them has so much going on in their out of school lives that reading is last on their minds. Each year I work to change that thinking. I want my students to love reading on their own! I won't take away my student's feeling of safety by making them read out-loud in front of others. I am building their confidence in their abilities. Each time a student reads to me they leave me knowing they are a reader. I can't imagine my reading instruction being anything like my elementary experience. Deb McLeod=====

My reading began in the basals of "Dick and Jane". I can remember at first being excited to learn how to read those stories, but then the reading challenge didn't grow as fast as I did as a reader. I remember striving at first not to be in the low group, and then later striving to be in the top group. I remember watching my Dad, a factory worker, reading the newspaper every Sunday but never reading a book. I couldn't understand why he didn't read more, but he felt it was important for me to read. My Mom would buy Reader's Digest condensed books and I learned that to read these harder books I had to become more independent. I just couldn't wait to move at the teacher's pace anymore if I wanted to read all of those stories. I guess that shows that although I feel safe and secure wwith structure, and pace, I also acknowledge that many of my readers need their independence too. Mike

My reading instruction started out just like Mike's. See spot run...like Jen discussed in the chapter...my teachers always split readers into many groups. I was always in the high reading group and reading was pretty much something I did at school only but it was really easy for me. Then I went to 4th grade. My 4th grade teacher, Mr. Johnson, was cool. He was my favorite. He had fun math competitions and really encouraged us to be independent readers. He had special days where we could bring any snack from home and read all morning at our desk. I thought this was great. He also let us know that our report card grade for reading would be stongly based on how many minutes we read at home. We had to log our time and the minutes had a grade correlation. Well...as I mentioned earlier, I mostly read at home. So...the straight "A" student received her first "F" in reading from her favorite teacher ever. It was eye opening, embarrassing and also, my parents were less than thrilled. From the moment of opening my report to find my big fat "F" until this day, my thoughts and attitude toward reading have done a complete 180. I realized how important reading at home and outside of school was. I don't remember Mr. Johnson talking about how important it was but he sure showed me that my extra reading would be a life necessity and may be directly connected to my future success in school. I started reading at home, on the bus, in the car, everywhere. Then...I was hooked! I believe Mr. Johnson was ahead of this time in the teaching of reading for the early 80's...I am thankful he ditched the old __Dick and Jane__books and encouraged us to have independence and personal interest in our reading. I have tried to model his reading attitude throughout my teaching. Help children set goals. Help them grow independent. Give them the time and tools to have success. Hold them accountable for their actions. Carol Dawson Chapter 1 from Bobbi Friend #2 My reading history was similar to the one in Mrs. Pinkham’s class. Fortunately for me, I was a bluebird and I loved reading. I do not feel that the way I was instructed shaped the way I teach. My college training was that of a language arts major and my background was whole language. I have always used literature as a basis for teaching reading, but whole language was much less structured than reader’s workshop is. There was not much accountability on the part of the students or the teachers because teachers tended to teach what they liked and what was important to them without taking into account the individual’s reading ability. Because I have always been a reader, I feel very fortunate to be a teacher of reading. I want my students to fall in love with books and I think that is what has shaped my teaching more than the way that I was taught.

My early reading experience was "Dick and Jane", "See Spot Run". The teacher was always right so if that's what she wanted. What she didn't know if something had "print" on it, in French and English. I wanted to better understand my world. I can only remember getting my reader, reading it cover to cover and filling out sheets. During those years I always felt I can do more if I were the teacher. I made connections in a segregated curriculum. I know my first years of teaching I played with the idea of reading being an art form. I worked hard at bringing the joy of reading to my students. I've been around for a long time. I've done whole group(basal), whole language, etc. Well we're back to accountabity for me and my students. I spread the joy of reading but getting to understand the "Reading Workshop" has caused a new excitement that tells me I'm on a better track in building a community of literate students.

Margaret Fox

I can' t remember much about my early reading experience so I know it doesn't shape the way I teach now. What sticks in my mind is when my third grade teacher read the little house books and I fell in love with them. I didn't want her to stop reading and couldn't wait for the next day when she would read again. She helped me to gain a love for reading with how she presented her books. I hope when I read books in my class that I get children hooked on reading and that they develop desire to read outside of the room too. I want to pass the message to my students that I will do my best to match their individual needs and move them towards independence without them feeling uneasy about their journey. Ronda

I was always in the top reading group and I loved to read but I hated the fact that reading "time" consisted more of workbook pages than actual reading. I hated the workbook pages!! As an adult I know that there are skills I have to teach my class but I always try to find a way to teach without workbook pages. There are so many other ways to teach skills without just assigning a list of workbook pages. I lost the love of reading sometime in elementary school--and didn't enjoy reading until I was an adult and could read books I chose for pleasure. My hope is that whatever I do as a teacher I am able to create a love of reading! I want to turn them onto the joy of reading! In kindergarten, I, like Margaret learned to read with dear old Dick and Jane. At the time I didn't care that they weren't great literature I was just thrilled that I could read! I remember how proud I was that I could take the book home to read to my family.--Jodee Tuttle

I, too, had the same experience as Jen. I was in the middle or top reading group with the same kids pretty much year after year (I only graduated with 37 people, 2 sections of each grade in elementary school) We read out of a basal and answered questions in a small group. I remember having a silent reading time, which was my favorite because I got to choose the books I read. My friends and I would exchange good books and have little conversations about them. I also remember doing SRA in our "free" time and competing to be the farthest in the series. I was chosen to go to a small group to read Junior Great Books where we were challenged to do deeper thinking and read harder texts. I remember feeling bad for the lower readers, watching their reluctant faces as they went back to group or had to read aloud the class, and not liking that everyone knew who was struggling. And, sadly enough, the same elementary kids who were in the top reading groups graduated at the top of the class, where as the kids in the lower reading groups graduated in the bottom of the class. As a teacher, I really wanted to make second grade a safe place for all learners to feel good about themselves and embrace their abilities. I knew kids needed to be reading books at their own level for extendend periods of time, and I remembered how much I cherished silent reading time, so I developed a library that would cater to all needs. I tried not to label the books with reading levels to alleviate the problem of everyone knowing the high and low readers. It didn't. I learned that creating a classroom community where everyone is respectful of learning differences, supportive of each other, and aware that reading at thier own level was the best way to improve their reading was a good remedy for this problem. As a Title I teacher, I have to pull kids out of the class to come work with me. The rest of the class is well aware why the students are working with me. So the teachers create supportive communities and we both work together to instill confidence in the reluctant readers so bad feelings won't hinder their reading progress. ~ Stephanie Benedict

I remember little about reading in elementary. I was excited about reading but I quickly figure out I was in a low or lower group—boring. We also did not move groups. My parents where always diligently checking on my progress at school, assisting on more, but they had trouble finding my dyslexic problem. Even making sure in 7th grade I was moved to reading out of English. It was later through my own coping and 60 pages a night in Law School that pushed me. I know that effects my teaching. My ability to see hole and strive to file them. KDN

//3. In addition to the questions and thoughts above, here is a place to post our own ideas and burning questions about chapter one, if any...//
I love what the author says on page 10..."Just like the scaffolding around buildings under construction, there needs to be a plan for how to take it down." This really makes me think how important it is for educators to have an independence "exit strategy". It is usually so much easier to do the work for the child in our busy days when they are taking more time to do or think about a task at hand. As teachers, do many (any) of you plan ahead for the move to independence or do you just wait and see when you think the right time comes and then kick them out of the nest? Do you think there is more value in planning which day to kick them out of the nest ahead of time to make sure you don't over do it with too much help like the author mentioned? Carol Dawson

Chapter one had so many strong points about small group instruction. Creating a balance between deliberate strategy instruction, support to students in their area of learning, and as the author states on page 10, " I decide on a teaching point that is a slight stretch beyond what the student can already do independently". Deb McLeod