Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice"
to the Tuesday Slice of Life sponsored by Two Writing Teachers.
Savor, my OLW, found me a week ago last Saturday on January 4, my mom's birthday. I wanted to write a thoughtful and reflective post today about my OLW. I've twirled ideas all week long, kept a list near my computer, and even pondered writing a poem about how I'll savor 2014. But tonight I find I'm too tired to write this post. I still have some emails to answer, a lesson plan that needs tweaking, and a bed that is calling my name.
So I'll share the best moment of my day that occurred during a quick reading conference with a student. My Mock Newbery unit goes contrary to my gut instincts about choice since students read from a list of Newbery possibilities selected by the children and teen librarians of King County Library System. As I chatted briefly with a student and looked at her genre list, I could see that this unit had kept her from pursuing new genres of her own choosing. I apologized, reminded her that we were almost finished, and that soon she would be choosing her own books again. She reassured me that even though she's been reading assigned titles, that they are all good books and that she has enjoyed reading each of them. Her smile reminded me that projects like this are worth the effort.
With a little luck, one of our titles might be selected for the 2014 Newbery Award or as a Newbery Honor. However, regardless of the outcome on January 27th, this student's response about the good books she's been reading was a moment that I'll continue to savor!
So nice to see you incorporating your OLW in this moment with a student. I agree-- it is a battle between choice and exposure. I always think, these units that force choice to some extent are not always and forever and part of growing is exposure to the new things. We never know what we might like unless we get a chance to savor a little of it! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteRamona, I Look forward to reading your OLW reflection post later, but your post about savoring these reading moments is spot on!
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice story to hear, Ramona. You should also savor that she felt safe enough to share her feelings about missing choices. Sounds like a very good conversation!
ReplyDeleteOur days rarely go exactly as planned but you did get to share an encouraging exchange with a student and gave a glimpse into your classroom life. I am glad your OLW found you aand that it was your Mom's birthday seems like a gift!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful moment to savor, Ramona. As Linda said, she certainly felt comfortable being honest about her reading life - bravo to you!
ReplyDelete