Baby reads program

A typical school situation: a seventh grade girl was asked to read "The Silver Prince", she tried it and threw the book at the wall.

The girl, in principle, reads, and the program "Tales of Belkin" or Shakespeare went with a bang. But "Prince" - not for any gingerbread. Muddy, boring, nothing is clear. And in general, all attention is now occupied by the "Game of Thrones".

My parents - my friends - asked me what to do. I, without hesitation, said: "Do not force!" - and reminded them of the rights of the reader, which were formulated by the French writer and teacher Daniel Pennac: the right to read anything, the right not to finish reading, the right to stick into any place in the book ... Well, if it is really necessary, then you can limit yourself to a brief retelling. nine0005

He said something, but still decided to discuss it with his colleagues in literature (we have a special Facebook group for this). The topic touched: we all come across children who do not want to read a particular book. If it is non-program, then fine - but what if it is in the program? If we need to go through it? If you pass a test on it, a text test, an essay?

School curriculum in literature: what should teachers do?

How should we, teachers, be? Act according to Pennack? But then it is easy to imagine how half the class will refuse to read one work, and half the class will refuse to read another. And he will feel in his right. But how to organize common work then? And what to do with some single blockhead who will not read anything at all and will insist on the freedom of such a choice? nine0005

The right of a child to choose books to study at school is very difficult to realize given the in-line nature of education - this is clear. Separate lessons devoted to their books are possible and even necessary, but they are separate. In an ordinary lesson, in front of the eyes of all its participants, there is a common text, and the point is precisely to see this text from different points of view, correlate them, enrich your understanding by understanding others.

What if this text is of no interest to me at all, if I don't feel like reading it after the first two pages? “Well, you know,” some teachers say, “you don’t want to — you’ll be patient. Don’t you learn some formula in physics or chemistry because you don’t like it? Or do you not pass annelids in biology? You pass like a pretty one. And let's not mess around here. Because it's in the program." nine0005

Other teachers start looking for approaches to the child, trying to interest him ("Write me why you don't like this book? Try to explain it"; "Let's make a book trailer for this book"), recognizing the very lack of interest as normal. But does the tactic of teacher enticements always work? And most importantly, why drag him, not by washing, by dragging him into this book, which is not dear to his heart?

Summer reading list, children and parents

The teachers in this story have their own problems and their own choices. And what about parents? They are worried that the child will get an F, will not comply with the rules, will cause the wrath of the teacher. They begin to press, fight or bargain. "Well, we read, sometimes I can't through it - and we are alive. Come on and you." The outcome of this struggle is unpredictable, but rarely leads to benefits for the child. As a rule, a book read under pressure will remain negatively labeled for many years (however, there are exceptions). nine0005

There are other parents: they are often justifiably dissatisfied with a particular school or school in general and are happy to accuse her of the absurdity of the requirements. Violent reading is one of the convenient targets here. Therefore, such parents not only do not force the child to read, but also go to download rights to school: why is this or that in the program? This is not age-appropriate (exorbitant volume, it’s so sad that my daughter is crying, why injure children, an idiotic book, it’s boring and creepy, but did the teacher herself read? - underline as necessary). nine0005

And, of course, children have their own difficulties in this situation. It is good when there is contact with adults and when you can explain your feelings to them. It's good to have someone to talk to. And if not? Or if the attitudes of adults are so rigid that it is more expensive for oneself to reveal oneself? And is it easier to lie, pretend, read the retelling, somehow survive the test? We, as teachers, can be relentless and calmly compose a test for knowledge of the text ("What tree species rustled in the park when the hero declared his love to the heroine?") - but we, as parents, can resent the similar tasks of our colleagues when our their own child gets a two or three for such a test (“What difference does it make that lindens and ash trees were rustling there?”) - or not to pass this test at all as readers (“Oops, were there trees at that moment?”). And, of course, this story in each case turns one way or another. The more important it is to pronounce its different "sides". nine0005

Child does not read. What to do?

Here are some excerpts from the comments in the Facebook discussion (their authors are mainly literature teachers and responsible parents). Maybe they will help you see the problem from a new perspective, or relax and accept your inner feeling, or, conversely, feel like arguing. And in any case, they will show that teachers and parents are people too. Thinking and doubting, not agreeing with each other on everything. And they, too, were once children. nine0005

• A thirteen-year-old child may be intimidated by the volume of a piece, the language may be very difficult. I read "Dubrovsky" with my daughter - I was surprised how difficult this prose seems to modern children. If there is no way out, read the retelling and criticism. They will discuss it in class, maybe they will get interested and read it later. No one died because some work was not read. But forced reading discouraged thousands of children from reading the classics.
• The experience of "throw the book because the bullshit is unbearable" is also very valuable. nine0041
• If it doesn't work, I recommend an audiobook. There and in abbreviation, and you can listen anywhere. They go in the car - turn it on and listen.
• Do we ourselves finish reading a book that "doesn't work"? And did they always do everything they were supposed to? Why do we require them?
• But this option will not work: "I have not read this book, but I have read this one and I can talk about it, write, etc."? This is the default in our school.
• In my opinion, it's priceless when you can tell a teacher that you've read 50-100 pages and you can't do more - and get not a deuce for it, but only a friendly discussion of what-how-why. nine0041
• I just started "Fathers and Sons" this year by telling the students how I didn't read them in the 10th grade, how I got a three for my essay, how I was ashamed in front of my beloved teacher, how I disliked Turgenev since then. And I began to understand what "Fathers and Sons" was about not even at the university, but later, when I began to teach.
• In general, yes, it must be admitted that "the book does not go" is a very important moment in the reader's experience, but we do not know how to talk about it. And few people build "bridges" between what they like and what they don't like. But a brief retelling also seems dubious to me. nine0041
• After all, it is not at all common among us that a child who is not going well would come with this to the teacher. And the teacher may not even guess what and to what extent "did not go" for each of his students throughout the entire period of study. The verification system is deceiving (maybe you copied it or read a brief retelling?). You can't talk heart to heart with everyone. Many sit like in a tank - and prefer something like that for a C grade, just to fall behind. But the main thing is that the thought of coming to the teacher with this almost never arises. It's like opening cards to the enemy. Or here's why: you reveal to him that "Game of Thrones" is better, so he will come up with a task for you to sit and compare them with the same "Prince of Silver", and even write about it coherently and open your soul. That is, it will creatively load me in a way that I will not load if I keep silent and read a short retelling. nine0041
• And if you try to start the lesson with some kind of exchange of impressions about the text and the process of reading it? Without any evaluation and (even more so!) testing. And most importantly, everyone in the class must be sure that no sanctions will come, regardless of the outcome of the conversation. Much can be revealed as a result of such communication.
• A very important topic has been raised. In fact, it is about the freedom of the individual and the meaning of reading in one bottle.
• About the freedom of the individual in education and (more broadly) in society is a very difficult topic. Because it is not clear where to draw the boundaries of freedom. The school schedule is no longer free. Why does everyone have to start at nine or half past eight? I do not want. Well, what will we do with the child who said so? Let's say you want it. Here's your schedule and go. But if you want to "overwhelm" here, why can't you "overwant" in the case of reading as well? Read it when you have to. Or vice versa - if in reading we allow freedom, why not allow it in relation to the schedule, the choice of a teacher, in relation to sat half a lesson, did not like it - got up, left. And there will be nothing for it. Freedom is a threat to the operation of the system. nine0041
• Well, from the point of view of the process, the collective training of 25 people at the same time at the same pace at the same pace is generally not a very successful form (including the need for everyone to start at nine). Another question is, what is it, anyway, to live with it somehow. But a little more flexibility in the choice would not hurt. Well, if about the system: my cousin happily studied for 4-5 on brief retellings and essays pulled from books and the Internet. Did it make any sense? She doesn’t like to read, but according to communication, I wouldn’t suspect a dislike for reading if I didn’t know. nine0041
• My experience of forced surrender of "War and Peace" after the 10th grade (by those who definitely did not read it) showed that most of the students then highly appreciate themselves for this. And they gradually become interested in talking about the book in the process of handing over. Lying on the couch and watching Channel One is always easier...
• This is important. By and large, by imposing and forcing, shaking the program and so on, we implicitly understand that there will be an alternative - not doing something else, not reading another text instead of this "non-going" text, but banal idleness. We force the student to do something so that there is no emptiness or ugliness. This is an important internal motive for our actions. But a person can say - leave me, why are you forcing me? What you consider emptiness or idleness may be important to me. And how to figure it out, really: is he lying on the couch because he is an idler - or because he is a philosopher? (At the same time, the First Channel absolutely must be turned off. Yes, and the Second too). nine0041
• How much did a girl read before she quit? There are books that cannot be read from the beginning. I myself had such a reaction three times to "It's hard to be a god" and to "Doctor Zhivago". I am warning students.
• Come on, we all pretend. What did everyone read at school? Then I'm the freak in the family. And Pierre Bayard also had a good book "The Art of Talking About Books You Haven't Read". When I read it, I just had a psychotherapy session. An excellent book, I must say. nine0041
• Still, I think our task is to give different dishes a try, and not to feed them to the end, to develop taste, and not cause anorexia, to teach how to satisfy one's own appetite without further harm to the body. Or, to take another metaphor, to conduct such a tour of the city that will allow them to return here themselves and take a walk with a camera and loved ones. And not to guide them along every alley, every rooftop or doorway. And are there any cities that we ourselves have visited in each alley? nine0041

5 easy ways to teach your child to understand texts

Schoolchildren who are said to be “better at math” often read poorly. Although the point, perhaps, is not at all in humanitarian abilities or the presence of dyslexia, but simply in the fact that you need to work well with the child. Edition Edutopia told in detail how best to do this.

Why reading problems need to be addressed right away

When you start talking about reading problems, the first thing that comes to mind is small children with poor phonetics who struggle to decipher letters and make themselves understood. And there are people - schoolchildren and students - who think they can read, but in reality they experience a lot of difficulties with understanding words, images, conclusions, reasoning. nine0005

If a child is good at deciphering a text, we usually assume that he is a good reader. But at the same time, the teacher may notice that the child freely "decodes" the text, but does not understand it. One way or another, both children who cannot decipher and children who do not understand what is deciphered are all children with reading problems. However, the latter are much less noticeable, and their problem escapes the attention of adults much more often. The child begins to fail tests and generally does not understand half of what is taught in the classroom. nine0005

That's when the real trouble comes, and most often it's already in middle and high school.

The sooner you start solving this problem, the better. But it is better to remember that a complete correction requires not just practice - for example, reading passages and asking questions on them - but using an integrated approach that includes several important things.

The following comprehension skills and strategies can be used for the entire class. Teachers can help students choose reading material that matches their current vocabulary and abilities so that in the classroom, children read the text and work at levels accessible to each of them. nine0005

What to do if a child does not understand what he is reading

1. Recent studies show that reading comprehension difficulties may stem from poorly developed spoken language, which develops long before a child begins to learn to read. It turns out that students who have problems with reading comprehension also often understand fewer words spoken in oral speech, that is, less than what they hear. They have poor conversational grammar. So, to deal effectively with reading comprehension problems, educators may need to adopt an approach that teaches vocabulary and comprehension first in spoken language and only then in written language. nine0005

2. Children who have poor reading comprehension often suffer from a small vocabulary, so it is useful for them to devote a lot of time to learning new words. One of the ways is a multisensory approach: for example, pictures, mind maps or mnemonics. Improving general language skills increases the likelihood that they will understand the words they encounter in written text. Since it is not possible to know and remember every word, the child should be taught different types of context clues and how to use them to determine the meaning of unknown words. nine0005

3. As soon as a child has enough vocabulary to understand every word in a text, he finds it difficult to keep his attention and follow all the details or, for example, access indirect information and the hidden meaning of the text .

In this case, the educator can teach the child several cognitive reading strategies that will help: annotation, SQ3R, and KWL diagram among them. They help:

• to learn to discuss what they read or to activate the knowledge gained while reading the text; nine0041
• develop and ask questions about what has been read;
• draw parallels between two texts or between what the child saw and read;
• make predictions about what will happen next in the text;
• highlight keywords that will later help answer questions;
• think aloud.

Each child can choose exactly the strategy that works best for him. Extracting deeper meaning from a text using strategic thinking can be useful not only for reading comprehension, but also for writing. nine0005

4. Have students engage in peer learning - this encourages the child to take the lead and think about their thought process while reading. Teachers can use peer learning during class discussion, with a text that is read aloud and then with a text that is read in groups. Students should divide into four types and then alternate among themselves.

• Participant 1. The one who asks the question. He asks about parts of a lesson, discussion, or text that are unclear or confusing to help connect with previously learned material. nine0041
• Participant 2. Someone who will record important things - for example, details from a text or important points of a discussion.
• Participant 3. The one who will answer the questions asked by the first participant and will be responsible for ensuring that the answers to these questions are clear to everyone.

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