In the articles about Kidwatching the consistent thread is
that it truly fine tunes and guides your teaching. What we notice about our
students can come through so many elements of the day, and I appreciated these
three articles for expanding my view of the various ways kidwatching can be
conducted. It is true that kidwatching is ongoing from the moment they come in
the door the first day of school. I am learning to be more aware of
opportunities for informal, spontaneous observation, and I hope to develop
better ways of recording observations. I find that to be a bit challenging. I
have appreciated the guidance in creating a notebook for conferencing with the
students during Independent Reading. I intend to do the same for writing. I
loved the suggestion to at times even tape a child and let them listen to see
what they notice about themselves as a reader! I think that would give them an
insight into themselves that could be quite motivating. I also see value in
using something like the Burke Reading Interview to gain perspective on how
they each view reading and themselves as readers. I would certainly agree that
we cannot use a better tool to construct our curriculum to meet kids where they
are and strive to move them forward than kidwatching!
I am so glad you are committing to keeping a writing conferencing notebook! You will be able to keep a record of their progress throughout the year and be able to use it to make decisions on where they are and what they are ready to learn! I agree that reading interviews are a great way to find out how students view themselves. I cannot wait to hear all you learn from using these!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you Terri. It is so important for us to be able to get to know our students as readers to better assess and meet their needs. At the same time, it is important for our students to know where they are as readers as well.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things to do during independent reading time is to hand out echo microphones to all of my readers. I purchased these at the dollar store and they have been so worth it. My students love to use expression while reading into the microphone and often self correct as they hear themselves pronounce words. You are welcome to borrow them anytime.
Terri-I agree that what we observe and know about our students is so important in guiding our instruction and determining how we teach . Record keeping can also be a challenge for me. There are so many things that I observe each day and it is impossible to write it all down. I also keep a notebook for conferencing notes for both writing and independent reading time. This helps me stay organized and focused. I have found that checklists and class rosters are also helpful. Finding a system that works best for you just takes time. I also liked the idea of having students listen to themselves read.
ReplyDeleteHi Terri,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your view of kidwatching and how you have learned several strategies from the articles assigned to help hold on to the evidence gained from kidwatching to guide student learning and your instruction. I, too liked the idea of having students listen to themselves read to self-assess themselves as readers and use the interest inventories and interviews to determine what they learned about themselves as readers. Thank you! Sincerely, Dawn Mitchell