Friday, September 26, 2008

"Oh, just leave us alone!"

This week has been a truly great week. We have truly been into the schedule, we have met together as small groups, whole group, and we have been reading! We received two packages from Scholastic Book Clubs where I spent all my classroom PTA money on books for my pumpkins. I showcased them all from the boxes and we made it quite the spectacle. We got some really great titles that my kids are thrilled about reading! Here is the problem:
Twice this week I have pulled up next to some kiddos ready to confer about their books. Ready to hear what they have to say about their connections, their inferencing, etc... They don't want to confer! They don't want to talk, my talking to them is pulling them up from under the water! I have kids asking if they can take books out to RECESS because apparently the 20 minutes I have squeezed into our schedule for reading independently is not enough for them! Conferring is the last thing they want to do because they are to into their books! (I even had eye rolling!)
What would Carl Anderson say? How about the great Debbie Miller? Any ideas?

3 comments:

Katie Dicesare said...

Let em read!! I haven't conferred with my readers yet. I am still on the floor supporting their curiosity in new baskets and finding and loving books. I think it is ok. I I think a lot of the comprehension work we do in 1st at the beginning of the year is during read aloud. I find myself naming and modeling comprehension strategies that I know later kids will embrace independently. I am no Debbie or Carl but I can't help stand by what I believe is right for my own kids. Each group of kiddos is different, right?

Kathy Douglas said...

And you wonder why your DIBLES scores are so high???!!! You might do a mini lesson on what your job is when I pull up beside you. You might also talk to them about how you honor their reading time, but you want to make them even better readers and talking to them-just the two of you-helps you do that. Your kids are smart...they will "get it"! See you soon! I want to spend time in your room just watching!

Jen Barney said...

I would just let them read. I do that quite often too Sarah- I just walk around and see what they are up to.
I did do a mini on conferring expectations last year. It went really really well & helped out. I also have days where I just let them come to me-