Creating+the+Confidence+to+Respond

Chapter 13, “Creating the Confidence to Respond,” from// When Kids Can’t Read //

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In Chapter 13, “Creating the Confidence to Respond,” Kylene Beers discusses the challenges teachers face in encouraging student participation in the classroom. Eliciting thoughtful responses stems not only from creating an engaging lesson with appropriate texts, but also by establishing a safe environment in which the students feel comfortable and confident. Addressing the social and emotional needs of students, the teacher must create an environment that encourages risk and minimizes student embarrassment or loss of respect among peers. =====

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 1. “Keep high expectations,” but help the students be successful (260). Provide students with the tools (such as Smart Words) in order to competently work with a text. =====

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 2. “Create a classroom that encourages risk” (263). Because students will avoid embarrassment at all costs, the teacher must create a safe environment to invite student participation. To help create a welcoming environment, have students learns each other’s names. =====

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 3. Help students “embrace difference,” “celebrate diversity,” and do not allow negative, alienating or demeaning comments in the classroom (265-266). =====

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 4. Provide various options for the students to participate, such as a personal response log, response notes, small group discussions, larger literature circles, classroom discussion, online discussions, or reflections to teacher. When students are active members, they invest in the class; their learning experiences become meaningful and valued. =====

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 5. Encourage an aesthetic stance—that is, appreciating or “living through” the text—and an efferent stance—gleaning knowledge from the text. Provide the students with opportunities to responded using both stances (268-270). =====

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 6. Help students move through the reader stages to develop an appreciation of literature by providing then with many opportunities to read. Keep the students’ stages and corresponding // purposes //for reading when preparing lessons. Teachers cannot force the students to progress from one stage to the next. =====

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 7. “Use appropriate literature.” That is, use texts that properly challenge the reading levels of the students, and choose young adult literature over classics. ===== 8. Provide time for silent reading in class.  9. // Aliterates //—people who know how to read but choose not to read—often struggle with finding time to read, motivating themselves to search for new books, developing a value for or enjoyment with texts, and maintaining positive attitudes towards reading because of textual difficulty.