Ask Pam

Pam Allyn is the Executive Director of LitLife. Her expertise in the teaching of reading and writing encompasses both the most struggling learners as well as the most fluent readers and writers. She speaks regularly before a wide range of audiences, including teachers, administrators, parents, students, librarians, special needs teachers, and content area practitioners. Please feel free to ask your questions here.

Question:

Hi, Pam. Do you have any thoughts on using leveled readings in the mainstream middle school English classroom? 

Michael, middle school teacher

Answer:

Hi Michael!   Thanks for writing. I feel very, very strongly about your question: my response is a resounding YES. I am very concerned with how little leveling I see at the middle school level. The lack of it there is killing kids' interest in reading: the more advanced readers are suffering for weeks on one book, and the struggling readers are struggling to complete books well above their levels. It is really a serious problem. If you are interested in leveling this year in your school/classroom, let me know. I would like to help you make that happen any way I can, or at least to ask you to keep us posted on what you are using and how it is going.   There is very little literature on this out there. My favorite writer of professional books for middle school is Kelly Gallagher. I really believe what he writes! Read his books, and let me know what you think.   All my best,   Pam

Question:

Do you have any great suggestions for how to help ELL learners feel more comfortable as they are learning to read and write in classrooms where the majority are reading and writing well?  

Sarah, fifth grade teacher  

Answer:

There are many beautiful read alouds which will create community in your room and be of such value in helping your ELL students learn English, as this language pours over them. The pictures will help scaffold your students and draw them into the conversations. Make sure they are sitting near you so they can see the pictures easily. Also, there are so many important and evocative read alouds representing stories from around the world. Be sure to include stories from the cultures and languages of your ELL students, so they can be the experts, and so that their background knowledge is helpful as they are working so hard to decode all the language around them.   In addtion, it is critical to organize your day around a whole/small/whole teaching format so your children have opportunities to be all together with their peers, but also you will have intensive opportunities to work with them in leveled texts, in multilingual texts, and on their own writing.   Finally, celebrate their small steps publicly so all your students can join in the incredible miracle of watching someone incorporate a new language. Don't fear the bumps in the road; truly celebrate the moments of downhill speed. I guarantee you that all your students will be affected by your enthusiasm, and this will carry your ELL students forward in a very powerful way. Good luck! Buen suerte!   Pam

Question:

The teachers in my school have been talking about how to integrate test prep within the reading and writing workshop. We don't want to give up the workshop, but realize that we need to cover various aspects of the test. Is it possible to integrate it into the model yet still keep moving forward with it? We realize that short text would be a good opportunity for this. Where is a good starting place for teaching short text and where can we get high quality short text to teach with? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Joan P., Principal, Westchester County, NY

Answer:

In response to your excellent question:

The best way to think about how to prepare students for the test is to separate out the skills involved.  If listening and taking notes is part of your state assessment then you need to ask yourself when will you explicitly teach these skills prior to the test. This can easily be done inside of your read aloud.  

Remember to read aloud from more than novels.  Consider short non-fiction pieces, poetry and other short text.  If you want to try this, assign response partners on the rug to listen together, and talk to each other as you read.  Graduate to asking students to listen with a particular type of question in their minds.  They can turn and talk to their partner as you stop, and then together they can plan a written response for independent practice.   

Eventually you can move your students to taking notes instead of talking to their partner, and crafting their own independent response.  Study what makes a good constructed response together - What is your point or answer?  What text example will you use to prove your point?   

We have also found that multiple choice questions on state assessments are often very similar from year to year and correspond to the types of genre that students are asked to read.  If you study prior tests with your students, the way you would study any genre, they will quickly discover not only how the test is organized (which will help them be prepared on test day) but also what kinds of questions to expect.

If your reading workshop practice in the fall includes a review of key genre (tests often feature poetry, informational nonfiction, biographical profiles and short fiction), and if you ask your readers to identify the genre they are reading each day, you will ultimately be able to make the connection for them between the genre they are reading and the types of questions they can expect to be asked.   

Reading magazines is a great way to practice this. Students can practice reading multiple short selections in one sitting and can even be asked to design their own multiple choice test questions to accompany their favorite articles.  This allows for test prep to be done in a more engaging, student friendly approach. 

Question:

My son enjoys reading, but he has a very hard time reading academic texts.  Is there anything I can do to try to help him become better at this important task?

Ranjith T., Parent, Indianapolis, IN

Answer:

Academic texts are challenging to so many students, even those comfortable reading other materials.  I often feel it is really the texts themselves that pose the challenge, not the competency of the reader.

I encourage teachers and parents to ask the child: what is feeling hard for you?  What is preventing you from reading this with enjoyment?

Then the child should be offered some strategies to help begin alleviating some of these challenges.  These include:

   -- chunking the text (reading parts, then taking a break, then reading more)

   -- putting post-its at places he or she wants to think more about or wants to ask            you questions about later

   -- reading the the section headings first and then going back so that the child has          a better sense of the whole of the text before digging in.

Hope this helps!  I know it is not easy, but the best thing is for your son to consider you an ally, and feel your empathy.

Question:

I spend a lot of time teaching science and social studies in my fifth grade class.  How can my teaching of reading and writing help my kids in the content areas more directly?

Kate A., 5th Grade Teacher, Westchester County, NY

Answer:

By adding the concept of "majors" and "minors" to our literacy teaching, we can deepen our connections to the other subject areas we teach.

For example, when we are doing a nonfiction unit of study in writing, we can major in the study of the genre itself, but we can minor in the study of notetaking, reserving a specific number of lessons each week for this skill.

Then, when we are teaching inside our content areas, we can make direct reference to this skill, and apply it to our content areas.  Our students will see the practical benefits of their writing instruction, and you will be pleased to see how they adapt their skills in writing to the work they are doing in science and social studies.

Look for more information on major and minor courses of study in upcoming months on our LitLife website.

Question:

I have never felt comfortable teaching writing workshop. Would it be okay for me to start by doing it one day a week? I have heard people say you have to do it every day in order for it to be successful.

Debbie M, 3rd Grade Teacher, New York, NY.

Answer:

Like just about everything, it is much easier to get something going when you are doing it more frequently. Think about your own life: anything you want to do well, you have to do often. That being said, though, I have a tremendous empathy for your anxiety, and therefore, my suggestion would be that you start "small" but "frequent", meaning that you might want to implement a writing workshop time for literally ten minutes a day for the first month or so, until you and the kids feel more comfortable. It is just like physical exercise: writing and teaching writing are disciplines, and so, even bits of time done regularly are going to feel healthier for you than waiting long stretches and then trying to take on too much.

For more information on teaching writing, I suggest authors such as Nancie Atwell, Regie Routman, Judy Davis, Lucy Calkins and Don Graves. They are all wonderfully inspirational, yet full of practical advice for you in your first steps. Also, check back on our website as often as you can, so you can download some of our lesson plans and units to try for yourself.