A maze is a path or collection of
paths, from an entrance to a goal
through which the solver must find a
route. A labyrinth can have more than
one path.There are also special puzzles in which the walls and paths can
change during the game!
Maze solving is the act of finding a
route through the maze from the start
to finish. Some maze solving methods are designed to be used inside
the maze by a traveler with no prior
knowledge of the maze, and others
are designed to be used by a person
that can see the whole maze at once.
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As teachers who want to make
our reading meaningful and engaging to all of our students.
This can feel like a maze sometimes as we try to find routes
that will get us to the “finished
work” that we want our students
to be. Like a maze, we need patience to try a variety of paths
and to find that one path that
leads our students to a new
discovery. You are going to feel
at times lost in what feels like a
maze; where rules and research
seem to change what you already know. You are going to
want to see the whole thing
from above, to see the reading
process from start to finish because you are tired of hitting
“dead ends.” Take heart, you
will find a way as you stay
committed to the process you
will find those paths that lead
your readers one step closer to
the finish.
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Differentiated Instruction For Reading.
You will notice from the picture above,
that our students start from various
points, but all students need to finish their
race. Each student comes with different
gift, our job is to maximize those
strengths to help our students succeed in
their race. Student races will be assessed
differently as will successes. Not all students will finish at the same time in this
race, and the finishing points might differ.
The only common thing is that we are all
running in the race. To help our students
run their race, our readers will need to talk
about what they learned, and what strategies helped them to create meaning. You
will need to really know your students
and what motivates them. Plan rest stations to review their progress and to find
out how they overcame challenges. Be patient, let them talk, sometimes they will
need to run together in a small group to
learn the skills needed for them to be
successful. Don’t be afraid to talk about
your own race, tell them how you think
when you read, Sometimes they will learn
by doing, other times, by listening, other
times by talking about their reading. At
points along the route, stop and see what
they have learned and what part of the
journey they found most difficult. Design
activities/groups to practise those areas
of need. Show them how to run, assure
them that you are with them in the race.
Instruction For Our
English Language
Learners.
Remember that our ELL’s come from all over
the world and bring with them a wealth of
knowledge and experiences that are unique
to them. We need to invest time in understanding what these strengths and experiences are and connect them to ideas in English. This will create the necessary connections for our ELL student to connect to ideas
and learning goals in our classrooms.
ELL students need visual clues that help our students feel confident in a new place. Remember
that ELL can feel overwhelmed by the challenges of
learning a new language, so visual clues help new
learners to access previous knowledge while learning something new.
Remember, the best way to learn a new language is in context. Keep watering the soil,
giving feedback and checking for understanding. Celebrate growth!
Boys’ Literacy.
Use diverse Literacy
Resources!
T appeal to our boys, we need to rethink our approach to literacy and what resources are engaging to
our boys. “In essence, none of the boys in [Wilhelm
and Smith’s] study rejected literacy. What they did
almost universally reject was ‘school literacy.’” (Hyatt, 2002, p. 12). Boys do not reject opportunities
to read and interact with texts. Our challenge is to
find out what interests our boys and to ensure that
we provide access to these resources in our classrooms.
We need to approach boys’ literacy with a positive attitude and a sense of adventure. Boys
want to be on an adventure where the outcomes
are unpredictable. They want to engage in the
battle alongside the hero. We need to help them
to experience the text by bringing stories to life
through Readers Theatre, through Read Alouds
where we as teachers. bring the story to life
through our expression. They need to express
their literacy through art, poetry, and music.
Allow time for boys to talk about their reading and encourage them to talk about their
reading experiences with a male role model
who will help them celebrate their learning.
We need to celebrate what we have in common
and what makes us different. As teachers, we
need to celebrate this diversity by understanding
that we can bring a wealth of reading and online
material that enhance our understanding of important issues.
Using poetry and themed books can bring to life the
cultural diversity that exists in our world. We come
in contact with other cultures through every communication medium, so it is our responsibility to
educate our students about what makes these cultures unique. Through these studies, we have opportunities to make comparisons to our way of life
and history. Many opportunities are afforded to connect to other subject areas as we explore the themes
presented in diverse resources.