I want to tell you about one of my students. D. entered my
Gr. 4/5 classroom in September. Although old enough to be in Grade 6, she is
reading several years below grade level.
D. started the
year as a “what else can I do during silent reading” reader. She looked around
the room. She ate snacks. She cleaned her desk. She poked her buddies. It was
clearly not a fun time for her, and I have to say a little painful for me to
watch.
I did notice one day when she found an “Arthur” book on the
shelf. She read it cover to cover. I found another “Arthur” book in my stock of
books. I passed it to her and said that I noticed how much she enjoyed the
series. I told her it was hers to take home and keep. I helped her find some
Arthur books in the library, but although she picked one up, she put it down
and took a different book instead. During silent reading, she went back to her
pattern of mainly avoiding reading.
I decided to pull her into reading through audiobooks.
Everyday during silent reading, I would let her sit at my computer and listen.
Most of the sites that I showed her had text and pictures as well. She’d sit at
the computer, immersed in the story, ignoring the rest of us.
Last week when I asked her to confer with me, she grabbed
“Stephanie’s Ponytail” a Robert Munsch book. She read, and I listened and
laughed. As we were discussing the book, I asked what she had learned about
herself as a reader. She said that she liked funny picture books, and we
decided that she could look for more Robert Munsch books in the library.
During reading a few days later, we were discussing genre
and the kids started making book recommendations for each other. D. surprised
me. She asked the kids for titles that she might like. She talked about herself
as a reader and asked for
books that had talking animals in them. They hopped up and pulled 4
different books from the shelves for her.
This week, she started reading books, really reading, and
has read to herself for half an hour each day. She got out a Mr. Gumm book from
the library and read 3 chapters the very first day. When we were doing research
in science, she chose her own book about polar bears. She studied the book and
made notes for over half an hour.
D. even read a picture book to the class.
D. is a reader now. And yet, on any scale that would test
this child, there would be very little growth to measure. She is far below
grade level and she still reads at about the same rate as she did in September.
She has language needs that are going to dog her through any formal testing.
How then do we measure growth? If it is true that assessment
is a motion picture, and not a snapshot, then you need to stay and watch the
whole movie. D.’s progress, and that of students like her, is magnificent, but
you won’t see it on a piece of paper. You need to spend some time with real
students and their stories. You will hear it if you step into their classrooms.
This November, I am celebrating picture book month. This is
the genre that sparked D.’s awakening as a reader. I am singing and dancing
because D. is reading. You can celebrate with us too. Just visit D. and ask her
to read to you. I hope you like Mr. Gumm.
* I wrote this post back in November, but it's only now that I have created a blog where I could publish it.
