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Some Good Stuff in Here

Hey All,

I've been pleasantly surprised so far reading Reality Checks. It's pretty easy to read, very specific and easy to understand, if not a little redundant. I'm a big fan of using real examples of classroom lessons to illustrate the concept. I'm planning on using the RAN instead of a standard KWL next year. The retelling chapter had good ideas in it too. My favorite chapter was the one on inference. I loved the conclusions that the kids came up with and the "Fact/This Makes Me Think/Why I Think This" worksheet in the appendix.

Posted by Philip Sheridan on July 11, 2006 4:56 PM |

Comments

I agree with what you said about including classroom examples in the writing. It's much easier to make connections with what the author is writing about.

Posted by: Laura Cochlin | July 12, 2006 12:27 PM

I am really enjoying it too. I had some real "aha" moments. I feel like it is a bit redundant too but the author may be doing that on purpose to drive in the point that we need to take the time to have kids reflect, share their ideas with each other, and we must model.

Sometimes I feel so hurried by the demands set by the district, state, etc...(all other invisible entities with a drawn fist) that I know I'm not taking the time to really take students deeper. Isn't it true that we need to remember more is not always better. I think that may be my mantra next year so that I don't let everything else rule over my classroom silently.

Aughhh!! I am really excited to try the RAN strategy with my students and also the inference section. I loved the examples given and am really looking forward to implementing some of them.

Posted by: Karla Harding | July 13, 2006 6:18 PM

Karla, you've hit on something that reading these books about teaching always does for me: remind me that my classroom is my own and that I can decide how much/how long/how deep my activities and assignments will be. Those top-down demands too often steal away my energy and distract me from my real purpose: my students and their learning today. Oh, and you are still rad.:)

Posted by: Kirsten | July 13, 2006 10:24 PM