Wednesday, September 26, 2007

What to do about conversation?

This might be a long post, but I am seeking advice and opinions. After we have our independent reading time in reading workshop (and I conferenced), we have a sharing time where after seeing it modeled at an Ellin Oliver Keene conference I attended, students share anything they learned about themselves as a reader or something other readers should know. Then students can respond to the speaker before moving on to a new topic.

Question - Is it wrong for students to then ask the speaker, what their favorite part was, favorite page, why do you read those books? I guess these questions won't always come up, especially after we start some deeper comprehension strategies...maybe I'm just expecting too much right now and these questions really do go along with the sharing.

Today I didn't necessarily pay attention to the clock and almost 20 minutes had passed while we were in our sharing time. Some of it, I am loving...I just wonder if asking those questions all of the time is defeating the purpose? Any ideas???

3 comments:

Sarah Amick said...

I think those are great questions for kiddos to be asking. Are you limited on time? I think if you guided them they could ask those questions with their reading partner too. Also, they could join partnerships to ask those questions.
I think it is awesome that they are asking such relevant questions. I just sometimes want to keep sharing time short and sweet so that I enjoy it too!

Jen Barney said...

I agree with Sarah... There is a book called Knee To Knee... and it discusses this! I am not sure of the author, but have read some of it. This may help! I will get back to you on the author.

Jen Barney said...

Hi it's me again... The book is called, Knee To Knee, Eye To Eye... Circling in on Comprehension. It is by Ardith Davis Cole