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The speaking and listening skills promoted by Paideia seminars are also the
key to engaging students in more rigorous reading, writing, and thinking.
Laura Billings Melissa had been piloting 6th grade Our conversation with Melissa gave
and Terry Roberts Common Core instructional units that us new insight into the role of formal
T
we had developed in partnership with discussion in classrooms that help
he Common Core initiative the Literacy Design Collaborative.1 The students meet the standards. Because
calls for implementing units featured a Paideia seminara the Common Core standards include
fewer, tougher standards formal, text-based dialogueas well as explicit anchor standards for speaking
for literacy instruction. Seen extensive practice in close reading and and listening (see p.70), we had already
from a students perspective, the writing process. As Melissa told us, been arguing that faithful implemen-
the standards ask a lot in terms of effort Were asking our students to read very tation of the standards must include
and focus. As educators, we have to ask difficult texts and then throwing equally formal classroom dialogue. Now,
ourselves, How can we motivate students demanding writing tasks at them. we began to realize that practice in
to care enough about what they read and Many of our students would struggle to speaking and listening might also be the
write to put in the hard work necessary to succeed without talking about the text key to engaging students in more rig-
in a seminar. [Typically] we ask for a
meet these higher standards? paragraph, and were lucky to get a sen- orous reading and writing. Thats why
Spoken dialogue offers one key. This tence. We ask for an essay, and we get we are working closely with a variety of
point was brought home to us in 2010 half a page. But if theyve participated in a educators through the Literacy Design
when we interviewed Melissa Hedt, seminar and discussed the text at length, Collaborative to pilot Common Core
the literacy coach at Asheville Middle then we can jump-start the writing related units of study built on a con-
process by having them write about what
School in Asheville, North Carolina. they heard and said in seminar.
sistent instructional plan: (1)multiple
close readings of a text that is rich in The discussion does not happen in
ideas, relevant to the curriculum, and The goal is that isolation, however. To produce the
open to interpretation; (2)formal dis-
cussion of the ideas embedded in the
students learn to greatest benefits for student under-
standing, it is combined with extensive,
text; and finally, (3)planning, drafting, read, think, and write close reading of a challenging text
revising, and editing student essays in (before the seminar) and the full writing
response to the text. about complex topics process (after the seminar).
ASCD / WWW.ASCD.ORG 69
ASCD / WWW.ASCD.ORG 71