The End of Readicide
This is my last post, covering chapters 4 and 5 of Kelly Gallagher's Readicide.
In chapter 4, he talks about how to find a "sweet spot" of giving students enough instruction on academic reading. Throughout the book, he emphasizes how overteaching reading--breaking a book into a million small pieces to be analyzed--kills students' love of reading, and can ruin classics. He says to find a balance between smaller chunks and larger chunks where students aren't interrupted. Any student will get frustrated if you hand them an academic text with no guidance, and any student will get frustrated if you guide them too much.
So, what to do?
He devotes a lot of time discussing the importance of framing. This includes activities like reviewing difficult and archaic vocabulary, discussing the background of the novel, and giving students a preview of the final exam question. I like how his exam questions often compare situations to the book to real-life, current issues. For example, if you teach To Kill a Mockingbird, it's a good to talk about racism in today's society. I've learned while teaching German, and I think this applies to any subject, that making the topic relevant to the students' real-world experience helps them to learn.
Another suggestion that stuck with me is to begin by framing the text, letting students read a larger chunk of it on their own, then breaking into smaller chunks for second-draft reading in class. I remember my own English teachers doing this in high school.
In the last chapter, he calls for an end to the abundance of standardized testing, and also he wants changes to what testing there is. Multiple-choice tests should be replaced with essay questions, for example.
There is also the often-cited comparison between Finnland in the United States. Finnish kids don't start school until seven, have much less homework, and don't do much standardized testing. Our society isn't as homogenous as Finnland's, but I agree that there is still something we could learn from them.
I thought Gallagher made many excellent points that I will try to keep in mind and integrate into my own teaching style. I would recommend this book to any aspiring English teachers, especially high school teachers. It is a fairly short read with a lot of information and suggestions for creating a classroom environment that will instill a love of reading in our next generation.
In chapter 4, he talks about how to find a "sweet spot" of giving students enough instruction on academic reading. Throughout the book, he emphasizes how overteaching reading--breaking a book into a million small pieces to be analyzed--kills students' love of reading, and can ruin classics. He says to find a balance between smaller chunks and larger chunks where students aren't interrupted. Any student will get frustrated if you hand them an academic text with no guidance, and any student will get frustrated if you guide them too much.
So, what to do?
He devotes a lot of time discussing the importance of framing. This includes activities like reviewing difficult and archaic vocabulary, discussing the background of the novel, and giving students a preview of the final exam question. I like how his exam questions often compare situations to the book to real-life, current issues. For example, if you teach To Kill a Mockingbird, it's a good to talk about racism in today's society. I've learned while teaching German, and I think this applies to any subject, that making the topic relevant to the students' real-world experience helps them to learn.
Another suggestion that stuck with me is to begin by framing the text, letting students read a larger chunk of it on their own, then breaking into smaller chunks for second-draft reading in class. I remember my own English teachers doing this in high school.
In the last chapter, he calls for an end to the abundance of standardized testing, and also he wants changes to what testing there is. Multiple-choice tests should be replaced with essay questions, for example.
There is also the often-cited comparison between Finnland in the United States. Finnish kids don't start school until seven, have much less homework, and don't do much standardized testing. Our society isn't as homogenous as Finnland's, but I agree that there is still something we could learn from them.
I thought Gallagher made many excellent points that I will try to keep in mind and integrate into my own teaching style. I would recommend this book to any aspiring English teachers, especially high school teachers. It is a fairly short read with a lot of information and suggestions for creating a classroom environment that will instill a love of reading in our next generation.
I agree with you that it is very important to make a text relevant to students' real world experience. They feel more implied and are more willing to participate and give input.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of framing too: the book I am reading talks about enactment strategies and also mentions the idea of framing. It is important to guide students while giving them a bit of freedom with the activities your doing.
And I completely agree with the standardized testing issue. It is too binary and doesn't allow the students to be creative at all. Also, they can have luck and get the good answer without knowing what it is about.
Nordic country have very different systems, that's true. Everybody does it at his/her own rythme, but the tend to stay in school pretty late compared to other Europeans or Americans. So that's something to take into consideration too.
Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend!
I recently read a book called The End of Average which talks about why standardized testing and homework are not only ineffective, but detrimental. Did your book discuss any ways we can be instrumental in curtailing the ridiculous amount of testing? Did the author have any recommendations about changing testing besides replacing multiple choice with essay questions? I'll probably use this book as a reference if any families or schools leery about me not issuing homework. It's funny how that idea can make some people nervous even though the evidence if overwhelming that it rarely does more than stress students out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post!