Group
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Initiators
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Summarizers
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Responders
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Illuminators
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1
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Michael Gillis
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Karin Logerquist
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Molly Nelson
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Ian Gorton
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2
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Nicholas Gaudette
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Jesse Vavreck
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Nancy Nair
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Laura Mayo
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3
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Kaylee Wiens
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Kris Latcham
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Paul Garlock
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Jonathan
Reeves
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4
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Sara Stein
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Erik Krueger
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Michelle O’Connor
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Sean Johnson
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A. In the "Who are you as a reader? What is your reading identity" Discussion Area (Comment section directly below this post), on the Day 2 Blog, please post YOUR PERSONAL READING HISTORY
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
After viewing the welcome video your first online assignment is to introduce yourself as a reader. Everyone has a "reading history." For some, reading has had mostly positive associations, with supports from which to build an even stronger identity as a reader. For others, being able to reshape a negative reader identity often depends on reflecting on personal moments or experiences that created reading barriers. When students reflect on AND SHARE their personal reading histories, they have an opportunity to view themselves and their classmates more generously, as "readers in progress," with reader identities they can understand and change. I am inviting you to introduce yourself in a new way. I know that you have been working together as a learning cohort for at least this semester and already know much about each other; however, I am inviting you to learn more about each other.
DIRECTIONS:
Create your own personal history of some key moments or events in your development as a reader. Respond to the following prompts, being sure to include both positive and negative experiences:
1. What reading experiences stand out for you? High points? Low points?
2. Were there times when your reading experiences or the materials you were reading made you feel like an insider? Like an outsider?
3. What supported your literacy development? What discouraged it?
Please post your reading history on the DAY 2 BLOG SITE, located under "useful links" in the comment section (located on the left side bar) for the members in your KSP 669 group to see. PLEASE HAVE READING HISTORIES POSTED ON OR BEFORE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 5:00 PM.
4. Read ALL your group members personal reading histories posted.
5. RESPOND with questions, clarifications, or general comments to at least 3 other colleagues IN YOUR GROUP. Your online response should be a discussion. Some questions that might direct you are: What did you learn about each other? What were some similarities in the barriers and supports you experienced? What were some differences or surprises?
Please post your response ON OR BEFORE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3 11:59 PM
Ok -I just realized there were 4 different sections... dah - I posted under group1 or 2... Sorry guys...
ReplyDeleteI found it and replied there. :)
DeleteThank you!! Sorry for the confusion.
DeleteI remember loving to read when I was younger. In elementary school, I was usually placed in the higher level reading groups. I typically felt comfortable reading in front of the class when I was called on to read. I think that being a good reader helped me want to read more. It wasn't something that I struggled doing so it made it easy for me to keep my nose in books.
ReplyDeleteI think this has changed as I have gotten older. As we get older, we usually have less choice about what we get to read. In high school, the books we read in English class are chosen for us. Then when I went to college I really started to dislike reading because all I had time to read were textbooks and not all the classes I had to take were enjoyable for me. I can remember dreading reading anything because I felt it was boring. As I am back in school now, I find it a bit easier to read textbooks, especially those that are about the content area I will be licensed in. Sometimes as I am reading FCS related textbooks, it makes me feel like I am getting an inside scoop about things that I know others that are studying different content area classes are not getting. It can sometimes be challenging to relate to others in different content areas because I have not read what they have read and we don't always understand each other's content area.
As an adult, I have enjoyed reading when it is a book by one of my favorite authors. However, as my husband and I started our family, it has been challenging to do much reading for enjoyment, especially now that I am back in school and have to do required readings. I do like to keep up to date on things that are happening in the world by reading the paper online or reading articles that may have something to do with what I am teaching. I am sure that my love for reading will come back strongly again after I have completed this round of schooling.
As a child, I did not enjoy reading and it was because it did not come easy to me. I knew that it was important and I was read to a lot by my parents, so that did help with my love of words and how the English language is used to express thoughts, feelings or ideas. That said, I found myself becoming very discouraged by more successful readers in my life such as my younger sister and this did make me feel like reading was not for me. Over time, I found myself falling for books on tape and I would listen to literally hundreds of them in the course of a year and this is what made me the communicator I am today. I would listen to everything from The Jabberwocky and Edgar Allen Poe to Ramona Quimby books and The Chronicles of Narnia.
DeleteLater on in life, my love for reading and listening to books on tape stalled and that was largely due to the fact that college assigned so many readings that I was not interested in, that I become burnt out on reading for fun. I often took the learning resources for granted and I soon felt the sting of a college career spent “simply getting by” and I promised myself that I would become more invested in my learning. As I worked post college, I found myself reading for fun for the first time in my life and it was very encouraging to see that I could truly enjoy reading and it was this that made me believe that teaching and education was something I truly valued.
Yes, it is difficult while raising kids, going to school, working, and trying to maintain life. There is not enough time in the day to sit and read for leisure although, in the evenings, I like to read a few pages of whatever book is the latest on my Kindle. It helps me unwind and think about something completely non-stressful.
DeleteWhen we have time to vacation, I look forward to the drive time and the down time so that I can read for entertainment. My friend and I once read six books each when we were on vacation with our spouses for the week!! It was HEAVENLY!
With so much required reading now, I still try and take my morning treadmill time to read for my enjoyment. Whether it's a murder mystery, light comedy, or just random articles, I try and keep at least a half hour here and there for reading whatever spurs my interest.
What a great idea to read while on vacation! That could be something fun to do while sitting on the beach or something. I also really like your idea about taking your workout time to read something that you like instead of using it for required reading. I usually end up reading for school if I'm on the treadmill. I think I may have to try what you do instead.
DeleteReply to Kaylee:
ReplyDeleteI completely relate to your difficulty enjoying reading when it's something that is required by you for your coursework because even though this is content that interests us and inspires us, it is not something we found on our own to read and enjoy and for me that is a great deal of the love for reading (i.e. the discovery of new characters, information and plots). I think we all know that this plays an even bigger impact on kids because unlike adults, they can't always suspend judgement regarding a reading and this makes the lack of choice in their world even more important than it is for us. That is why we should always be looking for ways to build on the reading interests of individual students and make it their own discovery rather than something that is simply required. That's not to say we can avoid this completely because there will always be an element of "required reading" in our assignments and we have to be ready for the battle that exists between kids who just hate to read and those that simply feel limited by required texts. As for the kids who "hate to read", I think telling your personal stories of finding a love for reading, can be the most powerful way to make a difference in their point of view.
I agree with you in saying that we need to find the interests of our students so that we can encourage and engage them in reading. It's not going to be easy and sometimes, like the rest of the world, they will be required to read things that do not interest them. It will be tough at some points to get them to absorb the information we may need them to grasp.
DeleteIn the music field, my students do research on composers, various musical eras, and different genres of music. I know it doesn't spur the interest of all of them, but I try adding things like having them make a short video clip on the subject at hand, or I will try to integrate a challenge like creating a musical game that has to do with the specific genre we are learning about. Tying music in with their other subjects sometimes makes it more challenging for the students, but other times, it gives them more information so they learn more and retain the information better. Students are encouraged to read by doing the research and finding the information. I think this helps solve that issue of kids who really have an issue reading and grasping information from text books. It gives them other avenues in which to read the information. I feel the many facets of media encourage kids to read more and more. They enjoy the trivia by texting, and they seem to be ok with getting an email that has a question specific to their group. They get to research (as a group) which creates a little competitiveness and gets them reading more without them realizing it!
I really like what you are saying about making sure that we are allowing students to read more than just what is required. This can keep their interest in reading growing instead of not liking it because they don't get to read something that they choose. My youngest is in 5th grade and her teacher is offering a BBQ at her house at the end of the school year for all those students that read 600 minutes or more in a month 6 out of 7 months. My daughter likes to read, but this has really motivated her to do her reading. This was the first month that they had to turn things in and when she realized that she was quite a bit behind, she was reading 1.5 hours a day just to make sure she got her minutes in. I think that her teacher is on to something as it is working with my child!
DeleteThis may come as a complete shock, but I hated reading. As a boy I avoided reading like the Black Death. I would read what I had to, but never read for pleasure. I did enjoy reading text books as I enjoyed learning. Even as an adult I would meet people and they would tell me about a book they read and a phrase like, “and I just couldn’t put it down”, or “a real page turner” would eventually fall out of their mouths. All I could ever do is stare at them as if they were speaking a foreign language. I had no frame of reference, I always assumed they were lying. They could have said, “…and that was such an enjoyable root canal I had the dentist do one more for the sheer pleasure.” It would have made as much sense to me as not being able to put down a book. Then one day it happened to me. Off and on throughout my life I would endeavor to read a book, it never took. I would lose interest, invariably I would come across a six page essay in the middle of a chapter that described some ornate desk complete with filigree, and sateen handles, embossed with leaf gold hammered by sightless monks in the Swiss Alps at an altitude of 8,568 feet only in the morning before the autumnal dew would dissipate from the Kelly green grass that was planted one blade at a time…well you get the idea. But as I said one day it happened to me. I picked up the DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown. I could not put the book down! I was up till 2 am for several nights because I had to see what was next. I read other books by that author since and have found other authors I enjoy. Now I do read for enjoyment. I get it.
ReplyDeleteOk - I've responded to this 4 times and it keeps deleting... grrrr One more time...
DeleteI get where you are coming from Paul. I didn't really find reading a book for enjoyment intriguing at all. Finally as an adult, married... raising a family, my sister brought a bag of books to me and insisted I would 'love' them. Finally one day, I started one and I really did get 'sucked' in! First time ever! I don't remember the name of the book but it was a light hearted book. Reading should take me into another world that everything is peachy... my opinion. This one did. Anyhow, after that, I did reach more books by a MN author and started to try other genres like murder mystery (which are my favorite at the moment). I did eventually join a book club with other staff members just to challenge myself to read other books that I normally wouldn't even touch. In short, I've discovered I do not care for sci-fi or books or fantasy. In my youth, I believe being required to read was the issue for I'd rather be out socializing which was 'much' more important. Now as an adult, I love to read for fun on a cold winter day in front of the fire place or while I'm sitting on the beach on vacation. (Once on vacation, my friend and I read six books each in a week which was monumental to me!)
I think I have more of the opposite problem now. I can think of a million things I would rather do than read a book. When I was younger I read all the time, but it is harder to motivate myself to do that now. I do hope that this will change after I finish school. With this being said, the last series I read without putting them down was Hunger Games. I have actually read through them all a few times as I really enjoyed them. I do actually like to read the book before I see the movie. It is rare that the movie actually captures the same story that is in the book.
Delete