39
Classroom Close Up
An Interview with Eric Litwin
conducted by
Young Fans of Eric
I started adding music and movement to engage children, then they started to read and comprehend
Allowing students to self-select texts for independent reading is also critical for creating an environment that embraces the joys of reading. Students must be provided equitable access to texts that allow them to read leisurely and apply literacy skills taught previously by teachers. For example, content area teachers can choose to immerse English learners with books in their native language, giving readers a chance to build literacy and facilitate the acquisition of a second language.
Social Justice and Equity
Part of our joy for teaching and learning can also be seen through our sharing of relevant and authentic literacy experiences with classmates, relatives, and various audiences. To begin the heavy-lifting around this worthwhile work, teachers can select texts that students can connect with. This is an essential first step in creating curriculum that is accessible to students. More importantly, text selections must be varied enough to give learners of all reading levels a selection of texts best-suited to their skill set and individual needs. This is true for all students, including English learners; and, while it is our belief that access to appropriate instructional materials should guide one aspect of our instructional planning, we also know that student interest and inquiry will often foster student motivation and engagement around more challenging and complex texts that are either self-selected by students or assigned by the content-area teacher. To balance both purposes, students must have access to rich classroom libraries that tell students “we value you as readers and writers and this is the class where you will thrive.” Students need to see their lives and experiences reflected in the texts across all content areas.
Commonly referred to as “Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Doors,” the work of Rudine Sims Bishop (1990) reminds us that students will often have experiences that require taking on different perspectives and views. In other instances, literature will self-affirm what students already know about their own lives, like a reflection staring back at the reader. When it comes to “sliding doors,” ask yourself: how am I cultivating instruction so that my students can experience stepping into a new real or imagined world to feel a sense of belonging? We assert that the place to start would be to ensure that students are seen in the texts and curriculum across content areas.
Allowing students to self-select texts for independent reading is also critical for creating an environment that embraces the joys of reading. Students must be provided equitable access to texts that allow them to read leisurely and apply literacy skills taught previously by teachers. For example, content area teachers can choose to immerse English learners with books in their native language, giving readers a chance to build literacy and facilitate the acquisition of a second language.
Social Justice and Equity
Part of our joy for teaching and learning can also be seen through our sharing of relevant and authentic literacy experiences with classmates, relatives, and various audiences. To begin the heavy-lifting around this worthwhile work, teachers can select texts that students can connect with. This is an essential first step in creating curriculum that is accessible to students. More importantly, text selections must be varied enough to give learners of all reading levels a selection of texts best-suited to their skill set and individual needs. This is true for all students, including English learners; and, while it is our belief that access to appropriate instructional materials should guide one aspect of our instructional planning, we also know that student interest and inquiry will often foster student motivation and engagement around more challenging and complex texts that are either self-selected by students or assigned by the content-area teacher. To balance both purposes, students must have access to rich classroom libraries that tell students “we value you as readers and writers and this is the class where you will thrive.” Students need to see their lives and experiences reflected in the texts across all content areas.
Commonly referred to as “Windows, Mirrors, and Sliding Doors,” the work of Rudine Sims Bishop (1990) reminds us that students will often have experiences that require taking on different perspectives and views. In other instances, literature will self-affirm what students already know about their own lives, like a reflection staring back at the reader. When it comes to “sliding doors,” ask yourself: how am I cultivating instruction so that my students can experience stepping into a new real or imagined world to feel a sense of belonging? We assert that the place to start would be to ensure that students are seen in the texts and curriculum across content areas.
References
Appleman, D., & Graves, M. (2012). Reading better, reading smarter: Designing literature lessons for adolescents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Beck, I.L., & McKeown, M.G. (2006). Improving comprehension with questioning the author. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Brown, J.S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning.
Educational Researcher, 18 (1), 32-42.
Bruner, J. (1983). Child's talk: Learning to use language. New York: Norton.
Daniels, H. (2002). Literature circles: Voice and choice in the student-centered classroom (2nd ed.). Portland, MN: Stenhouse Publishers.
Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility. Alexandria: ASCD.
Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2008). In a reading state of mind: Brain research, teacher modeling, and comprehension instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34 (10): 906–911.
Mahn, H. (2003). Periods in child development: Vygotsky’s perspective. In A. Kozulin, B. Gindis, V.S. Ageyev, & S.M. Miller (Eds.), Vygotsky’s educational theory in cultural context (pp. 119-137). New York, NY: Cambridge.
Myhill, D., & Warren, P. (2005). Scaffolds or straitjackets? Critical moments in classroom discourse. Educational Review, 57(1), 55-69.
Ness, M. (2017). Think big with think alouds, grades K-5: A three step planning process that develops strategic readers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Oczkus. L.D. (2018). Reciprocal teaching at work: Strategies for improving reading comprehension (3rd Ed.). Newark, DE: ASCD.
Palincsar, A. S. (1998). Keeping the metaphor of scaffolding fresh-A response to C. Addison Stone's "The metaphor of scaffolding: Its utility for the field of learning disabilities." Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 370-373
Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1: 117–175.
Panadero E. & Alonso-Tapia, J. (2014). How do students self-regulate? Review of Zimmerman’s cyclical model of self-regulated learning. Annals of Psychology, 30 (2), 450–462.
Pearson, P. D., & Fielding, L. (1991). Comprehension instruction. In R. Barr, M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research Vol. 2 (pp. 815–860). New York: Longman
Pearson, P. D. & Gallagher, M.C. (1983). The instruction of reading comprehension, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 317-344
Rodgers, E. (2004). Interactions that scaffold reading performance. Journal of Literacy Research, 36, 501-532.
Rodgers, E., D’Agostino, J.V., Harmey, S.J., Kelly, R.H., & Brownfield, K. (2016). Examining the nature of scaffolding in an early literacy intervention. Reading Research Quarterly, 51(3), 345–360.
Rogoff, B. (1994). Developing understanding of the idea of communities of learners. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 1 (4), 209-226.
Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stone, C. A. (1998). The metaphor of scaffolding: Its utility for the field of learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 344-364
Tharp, R.G., & Gallimore, R. (1991). A theory of teaching as assisted performance. In P. Light, S. Sheldon, & M. Woodhead (Eds.), Learning to think (pp. 42-62). New York: Routledge.
van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher–student interaction: A decade of research. Educational Psychology Review, 22(3), 271–296.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Winne, P. H. (2017). Cognition and metacognition within self-regulated learning. In B. Zimmerman and D. Schunk (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance (52-64). New York: Routledge.
Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17, 89-100
Zimmerman, B. J. (1986). Becoming a self-regulated learner: Which are the key sub-processes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 11(4), 307–313
Dr. Bill Kerns is Assistant Professor of Education with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate coursework. . His university teaching specialties are in the areas of English language arts, literacy, assessment, and philosophical foundations of education.
.