Chapter+5


 * __Chapter Five: Creating Conditions for Reading Partners to Talk Well about Texts__**
 * 1) 1. As Kathy opened this chapter, she talked about her own reading life in school as she was growing up. It sounded so familiar. I wonder how many of us connected to her story. I wonder how many students today still are experiencing that reading in isolation. Share your thoughts if you would like about this.

The note that reading is a social activity was not my experience in school. I was such an upstart that I needed connections. The only book during my early years that I had a discussion on was the Bible at home. Believe me my mom would walk away. She was concerned that I wanted a deeper understanding that she felt I shouldn't question the word. Other reading material was in isolation because it was diverse and a little beyond the experiences of my family and friends. But I wanted to know. Children are curious abot their world as I am. Creating a classroom of literate learners is so exciting.

Margaret Fox

Kathy’s description of reading in isolation was the exact model I was brought up with. I NEVER discussed books at school until I was in high school and college and at that point I was so intimidated that I didn’t talk because I thought everyone else new something I didn’t about the texts. I was always a good reader in the highest reading group but I got very bored with reading because all we did after reading was do the workbook pages that followed. I soon learned to read the questions first then hunt for the answers so I could be done. During fourth grade I seriously don’t think I read a complete story out of my reading basal. Since I got the answers right my teacher thought I was doing just great but I never learned to read deeply into the text in order to make inferences or connections. As a result when I got older and the answers were not given verbatim in the reading I did poorly. In a college literature class I remember the class discussing a story and the things people were getting from the reading made me think I had read the wrong story! I also remember thinking "How do you know the author meant that–why didn’t he just say that?" As an adult I would like to join a book club but I still have that lingering feeling that I wouldn’t "get it" like everyone else did therefore I still read in isolation but I do love to read! –Jodee Tuttle Chapter 5 Question #1 from Bobbi Friend – The story that Kathy shares about reading in isolation was very similar with me. I had the same experience in school when I was growing up. I read in isolation and loved to be alone with books. I was never asked to discuss what I read, but I was always able to comprehend what I read and answer questions about what I had read. I did struggle with standardized test questions about author’s purpose and interpretation questions because I was never asked to respond in that way. The first time I was asked to read and discuss what I had read was in the Honor’s Program in college at Grand Valley State University. I was asked to read the Iliad and the Odyssey and discuss their meaning. Wow! That was powerful. As an adult, my best reading is when I can talk with others about what I have read. We meet with a group from our church and have discussions about our Bible reading as well as other Christian books. When I am able to talk about what I have read, the meaning becomes much deeper and more personal. That is what I want for my students.
 * Respond Here: My experience was the same as Kathy's as well as Jodee's and Bobbi's. We never discussed books and I remember reading alone in our family room and in downstairs bedrooms on rainy days as a kid. I was in some reading group called bluebirds and my family didn't read so the books that I took out at the library or** **that were bought for me were always read in isolation. I don't remember talking about books probably until high school. We might have done some book discussions in middle school but if we did I do not remember so that must of not made that much of an impact on me! I now have been in several book clubs and thoroughly enjoy them! I trade many books with a certain group of book lovers and we have a great time informally discussing them :!! Thank goodness we can teach our children differently in school !!! SLG**

My school reading life was very similar the one Collins described - Round Robin and worksheets. My home reading life was just the opposite. My family read - parent read to kids, sibling read to siblings, kids read to teddy bears ... Our den contained a floor to ceiling book shelf on one entire wall. I can still see myself climbing those shelves for a book that was originally out of my reach. I was always placed in the middle reading group in school because I was so shy, and whispered while I read. I was so bored, and truly hated it but I couldn't wait to get home to really read. Fran Olesen

My home reading life was the same as so many that have already mentioned--being alone. I LOVED to read as a child when I was at home. I can remember staying up late at night, reading anything that I could get my hands on. I had my flashlight hid under my pillow, bed...so I could crawl under the covers and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I don't ever remember watching my parents read though. My dad always read the newspaper at night, but I never remember my mom picking up a book or a magazine to read. I often wondered where my love of reading came from??? When it came to reading in school, I think the feeling was the complete opposite. At school I always had to be responsible for reading comprehension and I can remember even in first grade how hard that was for me. I can remember my first grade teacher making me cry because comprehension was so hard for me. I just wanted to be able to read the words, ALL the words--ANY words...but I could never remember what I had just read!! I also remember when we had to take the standardized tests or any test that reading comprehension was always my lowest grade!! To this day I still love to read...for enjoyment. I love to read mindless books that I don't have to remember every detail in it. I often can read the same book more than once and get half way through it before I realize that I had alaready read it!! Jill

In my memories my reading at school felt isolated. It wasn't bad in any way; it just didn't connect to anyone else. I remember sitting in a round robin reading group and trying to figure out which part I would read so I could make sure I read it right. I don't think I was paying attention to the other people in my group. I also remember SRA cards because I felt I was good at them and loved moving ahead. I don't remember anything specific I read at school (Well, I guess I do remember Sally and Dick and Jane) nor do I remember ever talking to anyone about what I read, although I'm sure I answered questions for the teacher. I do remember quite well the reading I did at home. The books I chose myself had a big impact on me. I still love them for the way they made me feel. I also remember reading to my little brother a lot which was very pleasurable. I am excited that my students will be able to talk to each other about books and their ideas. I think it will be powerful and will change their reason for reading and their response to it. I how they will remember reading in school? Krista Raffenaud

The isolation model is one I was very familiar in elementary. In 5th another girl and I (desk partners) read nothing by Judy Blume—mine you we had to buys those books—we raced and talked some about the books. It was not until High School that we talk about the books we read and I loved it! Same reason people talk about movies, TV show and join books clubs—to be part of a community and to have you ideas heard. KDN
 * 1) 2. Partnerships are a vital part of reading workshop. Read over the list of the seven rationales for having partnerships again. Did any of these seven stand out as more important than another? Explain.
 * 1) 2. Partnerships are a vital part of reading workshop. Read over the list of the seven rationales for having partnerships again. Did any of these seven stand out as more important than another? Explain.

The one I dwell on is "Partnerships offer more oppotunities for rereading and rethinking text. We don't go back to delve into the deeper thoughts. Over the week we can look at text from many points of view. I find we skim the surface. My instruction will be to revisit. I do this with movies. I may watch for entertainment. But I revisit because I want to know what did I miss. Children need this opportunity. Often they will say "I read it". I want them to move on.

Margaret Fox

After reading over the 7 rationales, I agree with Margaret. I think the one that stuck out as most important to me was the focus on providing opportunities for rereading and rethinking. I think the generation of learners we currently work with have a difficult time doing things twice for added learning or comprehension. They seem so focused on being done and donor value the process of digging deeper. For all I know that could be the way my generation learned too but I know there is a great benefit to all readers in knowing when they need to reread and rethink. Doing this in a setting where both kids are using this strategy just builds the confidence in each partner. It is a great reason to have a reading partnership! Carol Dawson

I read and reread pages 71-73. I really wanted to internalize the rationale for reading partnerships. I think I myself doubted the importance of reading with a partner and it really changed my thinking. I imagined partner reading time as chaotic and not a very productive way to practice reading. I was very wrong! I had very strong beliefs about not doing much partner reading (I was thinking maybe once a week I could take it). Now I am happy to say that I am committing to daily partner reading. For me personally I think the most important component from those listed is the idea that "partnerships help build children's stamina for attending to texts." The research clearly shows that readers improve by reading and anything we can do to keep them reading for extended time periods with just-right books will help them grow as readers. --Jodee Tuttle Chapter 5 Question #2 from Bobbi Friend – The seven reasons for making reading partnerships all make sense to me. Three of the seven had more meaning for me. The one that I believe is the most important is that partnerships provide opportunities for rereading and rethinking texts. In upper grades, quite often when students read there will be multiple meaning in texts and students will be able to discover those easier through partner work. Also, rereading and rethinking are valuable skills in all areas of the curriculum. The next reason is that reading partnerships support children’s growing listening comprehension and expressive language abilities. That is very important with higher grade levels because these are skills that employers look at. Colleges and employers as well want people who can communicate effectively and these partnerships will foster that growth. Finally, the last reason that stands out to me is that reading partnerships give children opportunities to solve problems and resolve conflicts independent of the teacher. This is an important lifeskill that can be applied anywhere.
 * Respond Here: All seven of the rationale made sense to me and I think each and everyone had/has a valid point. I have done partner reading but on a much more casual basis so these rationales really helped me cement my reasons why I think it is so very important for me to do in the room this year. I do feel that the idea about partnerships helping to maintain and increase their stamina for attending and engaging with texts is very important. As we know the more that children are engaged and reading texts at their own/independent level the more fluent they become, feel more confident, increase strategy and comprehension knowledge as well as helpthem develop a love for reading! I also like the idea about re-reading and re-thinking texts. Kids need to be involved and have opportunities to do the reading work; practice what good readers do and re-reading and re-thinking and looking at the text in a multitude of ways with a peer can do nothing but help them have more reading work practice while reading a good book with a friend! SLG**

Partnerships give the students the opportunity to "read to" and "read with" which are extremely important but it also develops life skills - "opportunities to solve problems and resolve conflicts independent (something that seems to be lacking in Washington). Partnerships also "provides each other a cheerleader, coach, helper" don't we all want or have that person who can encourages you, or show you how it is done or just be there for you? It gives you a sense that yeah I can do this. Plus it just makes things more fun when you can share. Fran Olesen


 * Of these 7 rationale, 3 of them stood out to me as the most important, and the areas I would probably stress the most with my students. These three are 1)partnerships provide opportunities for rereading and rethinking texts. 2)partnerships support children's growing listening comprehension and expressive language abilities. and 3)partnerships provide time to talk about books in authentic ways. These 3 seem the most important to me because these seem the most important for being able to carry authentic reading skills into real life, but it also seems like there are not enough opportunities to have practice with these. I especially want kids to have chances to engage in real conversations about their reading. I know for most of my students, this almost never happens at home. This allows for the real enjoyment and understanding of what is read. Numbers 1 and 2 focus on rereading, thinking, and listening comprehension, all of which will make kids better learners in high school, college, and on the job. These are skills to be successful in life. **
 * --Kristy Weberg-- **

This question is a little challenging for me to answer. When I first read the book I made notes by several of the reasons because I really appreciated them. Some children just seem to rush through a book without as much absorption as I want, so I like her point that it gives children a chance to reread and therefore rethink. That is important and is sometimes missing. I also think the practice of speaking and listening is so important. In addition I made notes by the section about it being authentic. That is exciting to me and makes me think that partnerships can help bridge the gap between school reading and other reading. Finally, I had "great!" written by the last point that partnerships give children opportunities to resolve conflicts without the help of teachers. What a skill! Thanks Fran for the reminder that it also just makes things more fun when you can share. Krista Raffenaud

The one that speaks to me is “reading partnership support children’s’ growing listen comprehension and expressive language abilities. This one is so tied to a need in our district vocabulary. The practice with expressive language with other would help expand the student’s vocabulary. The listen comprehension with a partner can also expand a student ability to retell and put into to use the new vocabulary learned in the partnership. Kdn Chapter 5 Question #3 from Bobbi Friend – Forming partnerships was something that I struggled with last year. I am going to use Kathy’s advice, as well as what the data states, to develop teacher-assigned, long-term, ability-based reading partnerships. In order to create this, I will need to take some time at the beginning of the year to know what partnerships will be the best so I will have temporary ones at the beginning of the year before I develop the more permanent ones. I plan to be careful to be sure they are matched in ability because I can understand the frustration that occurs when one student is higher than the other. The higher student gets tired of helping the struggling reader, and the struggling reader gets tired of feeling like they are not good enough. I think that if I have good partnerships, I will try to keep them for up to a semester. I will be willing to change them, however, if I run into difficulties.
 * 1) 3. There are different ways to form these partnerships in your classroom. Share your thinking as to how you form or would form them in your classroom.
 * Respond Here: I will be forming partnerships based on what Kathy suggested and what Bobbi is going to do . I will develop long -term, ability based, student/teacher data partnerships. I will put these pairs together after I have had an appropriate amount of time to assess them at their reading level, and see what social/emotional needs are going to come into play. I will have to be flexible and be willing to change partners as needed, so the first grouping of partners I think will most likely be temporary, unless I do a fantastic job pairing and have a wonderful, cooperative room. Time will tell what will come! SLG**
 * Respond Here: I will be forming partnerships based on what Kathy suggested and what Bobbi is going to do . I will develop long -term, ability based, student/teacher data partnerships. I will put these pairs together after I have had an appropriate amount of time to assess them at their reading level, and see what social/emotional needs are going to come into play. I will have to be flexible and be willing to change partners as needed, so the first grouping of partners I think will most likely be temporary, unless I do a fantastic job pairing and have a wonderful, cooperative room. Time will tell what will come! SLG**

I like the ideas of forming partnerships that are long term, ability based, and with my input. Of course at the beginning of the year there is so much to assess that I can see that they might start out on a rotating basis. At this time I can mainly assess social needs of the students and see who can work with who and who can't. As my reading level assessments are completed during the first part of the school, I am sure that a more long-term partnership will be assigned. I can see how this would be very beneficial to the children. Not only will they become comfortable with their partner but their ability to build comprehension as well as strategies for making them support eachother. I know even as an adult that I feel more comfortable with one person rather than different people all the time.Jill

I agree with the author regarding the value of creating long term partnerships...she states, "when teachers switch partnerships often, the instruction is often overly focused on partnership management issues.". As s principal, I really zero in on classroom management during reading instruction. I am looking for groups or individual students who are engaged in their learning and a teacher who is involved in the rhythm of conferring, guiding, helping everyone have success. This becomes very difficult when the management is out of whack. The predictability and regularity of a long term partner makes perfect sense...readers know what to expect from their partner...they build a conversation "history" with each other and they don't need ton worry about who they may have to work with next...this makes book discussions s little more comfortable. As an adult, I enjoy the familiarity of discussing books with my long term book partners so it makes sense that a child...new to the concept...would enjoy this too. Carol Dawson


 * I would most likely form ability based partnerships, as suggested by the author. For the most part, I would assign these partnerships, but I would be open to what students have to say about who they would like their partner to be and consider their thoughts. The other main factor I would consider is how kids work together and the skills they bring to the table. After you have gotten to know students, it is much easier to place them with partners, because you just kind of know what will and will not work. I also agree with having long-term partnerships because I think it allows the kids go deeper in their thinking with each other, just like its good for them to stick with a topic for a length of time. After awhile they will begin to know how they think together and how they can talk to each other to help each other grow. Collins says that when kids are paired for a stretch of time, they are more likely to invest in developing conversations further and solving their reading problems together. **
 * --Kristy Weberg-- **

My groups are fluid teacher-assigned, ability-based partnership - changing when one of the partners ability jumps over the other and/or the relationship hinders learning. Fran Olesen
 * 1) 4. We need to expicitly teach our students how to be good partners. Kathy gives us seven teaching points we can use so that our partnerships are successful. How could you reinforce these in your classroom and what could you do to make sure these teaching points remain effective and "stick". Explain your thinking.
 * Respond Here: I love Kathy's seven points/rationale for why we should make reading partnerships. This question is a tough one however, as it involves a lot of monitoring and really in some instances trying to get into the students' heads to see what they are thinking. As I read over these seven points and as we discussed them above in number 2 the only true way that I can think of to make these vital points stick are to do the following; Ask kids questions; what are they thinking about the text and how do they respond to the deeper questions. Monitor what they are reading, what they are saying, are they rereading and rethinking texts. Join their book clubs and sit on with them and model with your participation.. Observe their stamina ; is it increasing? If some of these points are not being met or kids are not doing them, then I**
 * will need to re-visit and model more through mini lessons. I will also need to teach explicity and with fidelity! SLG**
 * 1) 5. Kathy presents her "Three C's of Partnership Instruction": cooperation, conversation and collaboration. After looking over Figures 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3, discuss what you are thinking.
 * Respond Here: I am thinking that the 3 C's really represents a ground level basis for what teachers would truly like to have happen in their rooms everyday. How wonderful to have kids CONSISTENTLY (key word :) ) cooperate, collaborate and converse appropriately with each other on all levels. Basically, I am thinking that Kathy's 3 C's represent much more than just reading partner goals. I would like and hope that my kids could do the c's in all content areas and with daily activities. It would be wonderful if my learning clubs (homebased groups) could always practice the 3 c's. I am definitely using that terminology in my room this year ! WOW! What a great way to put it in simplified terms! SLG**
 * 1) 5. Kathy presents her "Three C's of Partnership Instruction": cooperation, conversation and collaboration. After looking over Figures 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3, discuss what you are thinking.
 * Respond Here: I am thinking that the 3 C's really represents a ground level basis for what teachers would truly like to have happen in their rooms everyday. How wonderful to have kids CONSISTENTLY (key word :) ) cooperate, collaborate and converse appropriately with each other on all levels. Basically, I am thinking that Kathy's 3 C's represent much more than just reading partner goals. I would like and hope that my kids could do the c's in all content areas and with daily activities. It would be wonderful if my learning clubs (homebased groups) could always practice the 3 c's. I am definitely using that terminology in my room this year ! WOW! What a great way to put it in simplified terms! SLG**

What I am thinking is that this can be the foundation of building a community of learners not just for reading partnerships. I am also hoping Collins will come out with another book (well several books - one for each level) detailing her "three-phase partnership curriculum." Fran Olesen


 * I appreciated the 3 C's to help me understand simply what to focus on with partners and improving partnerships. I can also see myself using these 3 words with older students, because they will be understandable to them as well. Collins talks about how to focus on teaching the skill of cooperation by teaching basic conversation etiquette throughout the day. There are always lots of opportunities to do this. And of course how to teach this specifically would vary with grade level. Next Collins talks about teaching Conversation, and she says this will probably be the longest of the 3 C's. This is the kind of talking about books that we are constantly modeling to show our comprehension of what we have read. We do this in interactive read alouds, during mini-lessons, and we even model this during conferring one on one. Now we have to help kids transfer this same kind of talking into a conversation with their partners. The last C is Collaboration and this is what kids will need to put into practice when they are working with their partners to understand their reading, talk about it, and possible create something from it. Some kids will do well with this right away, some will struggle but we have to teach kids to discuss, elaborate on, and defend their thoughts on their reading in a way that allows them to still work well with their partners and grow from it. **
 * --Kristy Weberg-- **