Posted on 02/24/2008 11:20:47 AM PST by SoftballMominVA
Early Tuesday morning, teens grabbed books about plane crashes, car wrecks and professional wrestling before settling into plastic lawn chairs to read.
This is “my favorite station because I get to read what I want to read,” whispered 13-year-old Ekara Cowles , one of 70 students selected for a pilot reading program at Oscar Smith Middle School last fall.
“Before this I didn’t want to read and I didn’t like math,” Ekara said . “Now I like to read and I’ve got a C in math.”
Travis Riggins, 14, added, “Before this, I didn’t read, I didn’t focus and I didn’t participate in nothing.”
...
Officials said student performance will continue to be measured individually through the end of the year, when officials will determine if Read 180 works for Chesapeake’s students.
Sitting with a book about a blackout in his lap, Travis already knows.
“I can express myself now,” he said.
“I feel smart.”
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
One mountain at a time - No use having proper grammar if you read significantly below grade level
LOL! Reminds me of Evelyn Woodheads Sped Reeding Course.
The principal at my daughter’s elementary school instituted something similar to this a few years ago, where those reading above their level spent time in the classrooms of that level, leaving some teachers to be able to focus on those reading below level.
Unfortunately, because it was working so well, a few parents insisted their children be skipped a grade (which is against district policy in general) and so the district forced the principal to scrap the program.
Thanks to creative thinking and innovation by staff, something similar still exists and continues to work :)
If these kids are motivated, their grammar and spelling will improve as they read.
ping
There’s no surer way to put kids off reading than forcing them to read “Moby Dick” or “Last of the Mohicans” when they are at a much lower level.
Some think-tank program like this was put in place at some of our county schools recently. They were *simply shocked* to find that students did more reading when they were allowed to select books they liked that were at their level of reading competence! Who’da thunkit?
The librarian at our local branch and I had a good laugh over it ... although it’s really not funny that it takes a specialist to convince whoever’s in charge that giving students books they can’t read about subjects that don’t interest them is a losing proposition.
I wish there had been such a specialist around to tell that to some of my HS English teachers :)
What product?
I can't find were it describes what "Read 180" is - how it's structured and how books (magazines, comics) are selected.
It costs 42K per school to set up - what does the money buy. Why, if the school already has a library does it cost additional money? Sounds to me like the kids get to select their own reading material - fine, but why not say so? If thy do, why the $42K cost?
Is there anyone who wonders as I do; "what does it take to get the educational community to tell us what they are doing with, and to, our kids"?
This is a very basic concept of reading and reading development and I am shocked that it is considered revolutionary when it is so basic.
What does it buy? It buys the computer program, an extensive library of matching books that are considered “hi-interest, low-level”, accompanying tests for comprehension, and the site license to use it in multiple classes.
I faked my way through some of the high school reading, too. Classic novels weren’t written for teenagers. They’re “classic” because large numbers of adults bought them and read them, voluntarily. Some younger people will like some books - I loved “Pride and Prejudice” in high school - but many will be put off a lot of great writers.
I’ve been reading novels by Willa Cather and Henry James in the last few months, and I’m about to hit the library for more Edith Wharton, as soon as I finish the biography of her I checked out yesterday. I did like “Ethan Frome” as a teen, but nobody else in my literature class did!
I wonder if the company gives discounts to districts that get positive news coverage. When a district I work with started the program, they gave our paper the full court press to do a story on Read 180. Another district just started the program and they are pushing for a story in the paper.
I think kids become better readers when they are allowed to free-select their materials (within some boundaries of course) than when ASSIGNED a book. There are so many ways that reading instruction could be made better
But based on my experience and my training, Read 180 is a good program.
Shakespeare was definitely NOT my cup of tea....and I faked my way through both “Pride and Prejudice” and “Jane Eyre.”
Alas,a t this time of the year my reading list consists primarily of introduced legislation and tax codes...........SIGH
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.