Dylan Okimoto's List: Instructional strategies

• "Why this book? What's worth reading in it? What's worth teaching from it?"

  • I want books that have current issues and engaging characters and storylines. Current is important for students to more easily connect with the issues.
• relevant to today's students
• well written
• strong in
• characterization, plot, point of view, dialogue, conflict;
• universal theme
• speaks to the students' interests
• exemplifies a genre
• grade and ability appropriate
• state standards
• objectives
• supports
• address a universal concept to which students can relate
• finding one's identity

  • Does this meet the standard for a theme?
    universal (got it)
    phrase (got it)
    textual support (depends on book)
    intended by author (how does one determine this, anyway?)

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• “Research has shown that reading ability is positively correlated with the extent to which students read recreationally.”

  • But how to increase recreational reading is the question...
• So I advocate leaving most of independent reading to homework, with teacher and parent approved novels serving as the sources of that reading. Students can still choose any reading text within the clearly defined parameters described above.

  • How do we recognize performance with grades?
• graded on their discussion of the daily reading by their reading partners-typically, but not exclusively, parents

  • When do you collect these reading assignments? How do we verify that parents are actually doing it in a timely fashion?
• I have the discussion partner, usually a parent, guardian, or grandparent, grade the quality of the daily discussion and sign off on a Reading-Discussion Log each week. I count this homework as about 15% of the student’s overall grade.

  • Okay...collect it once a week and record how many signatures/discussions took place. 4 pts/week?

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