children reading and writing || structure encourages independence in reading and writing

Structure Encourages Independence in Reading and WritingAuthor(s): Ruth HubbardSource: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 40, No. 2, Children Reading and Writing (Nov., 1986), pp.180-185Published by: Wiley on behalf of the International Reading AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20199342 .

Accessed: 28/06/2014 10:23

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Wiley and International Reading Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Reading Teacher.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.220.202.141 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:23:30 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=black

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ira

http://www.jstor.org/stable/20199342?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


Structure encourages

independence in reading and writing

A classroom environment with a predictable pattern and room

for student choices can help children become eager readers and writers. The role of the teacher changes, too.

Ruth Hubbard

A successful teacher is like an accom

plished poet. Poets need structure for their work; the message is created

through choices within a prescribed framework of meter, rhyme, and line. But even in the strictest confines of a

sonnet, there is infinite choice: The content may be earth-bound realism or

flights of fantasy, the message hopeful or despairing, the mood frivolous or

ironic. And a successful poet imparts not one message but many; through the poet's words, readers learn more

about themselves, for they make choices in interpretation. The poet

may not be present to explain "the" in

terpretation, so readers must be inde

pendent learners and create "an"

interpretation. Then the poem is born anew with each new reader, with each new reading.

Teachers, too, provide needed struc

ture in their classrooms, then open choices to their students limited only by the students' experiences and imagi nation, which they constantly work to

expand. Patricia McLure and Leslie Funkhouser are two such poets in their classrooms. Both were part of a 2 year research study at Mast Way Elemen

tary School in Lee, New Hampshire. This study traced the problems edu

cators solve as they learn to teach writ

ing and reading from the same

philosophical perspective (Graves et

al., 1984). As the emphasis in these classrooms shifted more to the proc ess, the teachers found their roles

changing.

Leslie Funkhouser, grade 2

"My role is different now-not less, but

different," Funkhouser explains. "It's less if you think of the teacher as au

180 The Reading Teacher November 1986



thoritarian, the one who needs to

present all the information. Now, the children in my classroom are teaching each other more than I'm teaching them. I think they could do just about

anything without me because it's been made clear what is expected of them."

Every day students in Leslie's class follow a predictable routine ?a full

morning of reading and writing in a

pattern the children can depend on. At 8:30 when they enter the classroom, everyone in the class, including Leslie, takes part in the reading workshop.

Everyone reads and writes a reaction to his or her reading in journals.

Leslie begins with a 10 minute quiet reading time in which she, too, reads a

book of her choice. Then she circu lates among the students, holding brief individual conferences during which she and the children discuss both the content of the books they read and their actual reading process. She also

meets daily with small groups of chil dren who bring the books they are

learning to read to share and discuss with the group.

Just as the fixed form of a sonnet or

sestina actually helps the poet write a

poem (Wallace, 1982), the structure of Leslie's class creates an environment

conducive to learning. In this atmo

sphere, divergent thinking is stressed. The children do not answer set work sheet questions, struggling to match their readings to "the correct interpre tation" expected by a teacher's manual.

Instead, they explore different ways of

looking at their stories, share favorite

passages, and talk about their reading experiences. These numerous options help her children become independent learners. One of the responsibilities the children must learn to handle is that of choosing a book.

On the first day of school Leslie ex

plained both the routine and the choices open to her students as she sat

crosslegged on the floor in their midst. "You have to help me choose what

I'll read this morning," she told them. "What we will do in the morning is read. I will be reading for about 10

minutes and you don't disturb me.

Then I will come around and help you."

She gestured to a pile of books in her

lap, then held up a list of titles. "I made a list of some things I might want to read today. First, there's Time maga zine, because I'm interested in the election this fall." She held up the mag azine showing the portrait of Ferraro. "I want to read about G?raldine Fer raro 'cause I think M?ndale made a

good decision, but I need to know more about it."

She displayed and discussed her other choices, too?an issue of 3-2-1

Contact, Mouse Soup, and a child's

published book from a previous year. "You'll be picking a book to read now, too," Leslie concluded. "How will you decide what to read today?" (Leslie of ten demonstrates her processes as a

reader, writer, and above all learner, in this way.) More than simply modeling book choice, Leslie explained what she was doing and asked for input from the children.

In the next half hour, Leslie's stu dents discussed the kinds of books they liked to read, helped her decide on the Time article, then browsed through the classroom as if it were a library or bookstore.

In Leslie's classroom, cartons of

books line the walls, rest in chalk

trays, and spill out of baskets. WHAT WILL I CHOOSE TO READ? asks

the bulletin board, the words cut from

bright multicolored paper. A world of

possibilities surrounds the question: pictures and title pages from children's

books, covers from the magazines Cricket and World, and even a wallpa per covered book called Butterflies, a

legacy from one of last year's second

grade authors.

Some children found it easy to make a selection, like Joshua. "I've read this

Structure encourages independence in reading and writing 181



book before and I really like it a lot."

His neighbor Alisha chose her book

because of the illustrations. "The pic tures on the cover looked really neat.

Lookit!" Jaime knew she wanted to

read another book "about Ramona, be cause I've read one of the books about

her before and I liked it." For some children, however, choos

ing a book is difficult. "I looked at the

books, Ms. Funkhouser, but the words are too hard," David told her.

Leslie led him to one of the baskets

of books. "I'll show you. There are

some easier ones in this basket. Or

maybe you'd like to read with someone

else."

David rummaged through the stack, drew one out, and eagerly thumbed

through the pages. "Oh, I can read

this," he told her and returned to his seat.

Leslie looked around to see if any one else needed her help and saw a

forlorn Michael. "Can't find a book," he told her.

"Who could help you find a book?"

"Well, maybe someone else who

likes dinosaurs."

"Well, I like dinosaurs," Jeff told Mi chael. "This is the book I chose."

Nicky chimed in. "I know about

flesh-eaters. I have this book called Dinosaur Times.

" The three pored over

the dinosaur books together. The other component of reading

time is the reading journal. Johanna, a

confident second grader, explained the

journals in this way. "Michael is doing

ajournai right now. He writes the date, then he writes down the book, then he

writes down the author. And then what

he does is, he tells you the information

about it, or he tells how he likes it, or

what he doesn't like about it, or what's

funny or sad, or whatever he wants to

write about it. And then he puts it in

his journal folder." "This is what people do after they do

their journals," Johanna concluded.

"They keep reading until writing time."

Reading into writing

Reading flows into writing time. The children's reading folders are replaced by writing folders and the routine fol

lows the familiar pattern. At the begin ning of quiet writing time,

everyone ?including Leslie ?writes and just as the children choose books

they want to learn to read, they choose the topics about which they will write. Stacks of paper, lined and unlined,

plain and colored, are available for

them to use, as well as an assortment of pencils, pens, crayons, and mark ers.

Leslie also circulates among the stu

dents, discussing the stories they are

writing. Each day, Leslie also holds a

small group conference, when the chil dren respond to each other's writing.

If the children need help, they are

encouraged to turn to each other to

think through a problem, exchange ideas, and talk about their writing.

"I've found that they do very well

working for long periods of time with out me, because they have the option of moving, for one thing," Leslie ex

plains. "They have the freedom to go wherever they want in the room to read or to write."

When the environment is created to

accommodate many sharing activities, it is not necessary to have one perma

nent desk. Classroom space needs a

different arrangement, with the pur

pose to "facilitate movement within the room and to allow grouping so chil

dren can work together and interact in

accordance with principles we have

known for a long time: that we learn

by doing, that learning is an active

process, not passive" (Laughlin, 1977).

The morning closes with an all-class

sharing session in which two children share their writing and two share their

reading. Classmates respond with both comments and questions. During a re

cent sharing time, for example, Jamie

chose to share the book Max with his




classmates. He sat in the Author's Chair and read the simple tale. "Com ments or questions?" he concluded.

"I like how you read it," Buddy be

gan.

"Me, too," Nicky chimed in. "Why did you choose to read it?"

"'Cause I like cats,"

From here the conversation turned to speculation about why the author chose to write the book ("He probably has a cat") and stories about the chil

dren's own cats. Some questions were more challenging, like Danielle's.

"Why do you think the cat thought the rat was bad?" she asked.

"Well, he lived in the house with the

rat," Jamie decided. "I guess he got to

know what he was like."

Daily sessions like these support the children and also nudge them forward.

They have the freedom to ask and to

respond to those challenging ques tions. As Zintz and Maggart (1984)

point out, "A great deal of wisely used freedom is necessary if the teacher is to encourage different behaviors, keep natural curiosity alive and working, and provide the educational resources

children need to keep learning, ques

tioning, and problem-solving."

Patricia McLure, grade 1 Patricia McLure's class has the atmo

sphere of a productive studio work

shop. When the 6-year-olds enter her class at 8:30 in the morning, they go directly to their writing folders. They choose what they wish to write about,

what type of paper they will use, and where they wish to write. There are

various places to sit and work-long tables, round tables, and individual desks the children can move together. At the front of the room is a large car

peted meeting area bordered by a well stocked class library.

Plants and microscopes, scales and

weights, polliwogs and hatching chicks-every available shelf and wall

space beckons exploration. As in Les

lie's classroom, stacks of paper, single sheets, and stapled booklets are availa

ble, as well as a variety of writing utensils. The walls are covered with

the children's experiments, notes, pro

jects, graphs, and artwork. Because she wished to establish a

community in her class, Pat encour

aged them from the start to turn to

each other for help. One morning, Stacy chose a long

oblong table at the rear of the room.

With her back to the rest of the class

room, she was writing alone. She read

through her 3-page piece and looked at

the picture she had drawn of her brother.

"Danny. I have room for that." She wrote 'd-a-n-n-y' on page 2 of her

booklet. She was no longer alone at the table. Missy and Amanda were writing

with her. Stacy continued to work on

her piece, speaking aloud as she did. "I'm going to write on the next page 'I love my dog Waddles.' Hmm. I don't know how to spell Waddles."

"Say 'Waddles'," Amanda suggested. "/w/.../w/..." Stacy mouthed "/w/

... /w/..." and wrote W.

"Now /ah/," said Amanda. "I think that's A"

Stacy wrote the A, then alternately mouthed sounds and wrote letters. "Watols" she carefully pencilled on her

paper.

In another part of the room, Renee

put down her pencil and leaned back in satisfaction. Holding her book of sta

pled papers, she looked around the room and saw that Mrs. McLure was

busy conferring with Joshua about his

writing. Renee was eager for an audi ence and help on her piece, so she turned to her neighbor Andy.

"Andy, I just finished my chick

book," she explained. "You tell me if it's all right-if I should add anything or leave anything out." Then she read The Baby Chick while Andy listened

attentively, nodding his head and com

menting, his own writing set aside for




the moment to help his classmate. Later in the day, Joshua and Missy

went together to the carpeted meeting area. Joshua chose a book from the li

brary, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, and began to read. The two huddled to

gether over the book as Joshua read aloud.

"Now I'll read you one." Stacy reached for Betsy the Baby Sitter, and

when it proved a little difficult, Joshua

helped her with words he was familiar with. Together they chanted the

phrases they knew and searched for

picture clues for the harder parts. Students like Amanda and Stacy, Re

nee and Andy, and Joshua and Missy know how important a community of learners can be. Kohl (1973) stresses

the importance of the peer support sys tem as a cornerstone of good teaching. "It is possible to think of teaching...as

more akin to guiding and assisting an

other person than pouring knowledge into him or her. When a baby is learn

ing to talk, he or she is surrounded by innumerable guides who have mas tered the skills to a greater degree than the baby, but none of them knows all there is to know about talking."

Just as free verse has "invisible nets and trellises" (Wallace, 1982) to guide the content, Pat's fluid classroom has

underlying structures which the chil dren have internalized.

"The hand's on the twelve. Time for

the meeting area." With those words, Kim put away her writing folder and

headed for the meeting area where the

class always meets at 9:00 a.m. With out a word from Pat, the first graders were all closing folders, shuffling pa

pers, and returning crayons to boxes.

The routine has been established; by the 3rd week of school they know what to expect.

This is the time of day that Pat as

signs chores to her students. Then the

children share their writing and re

ceive questions and comments from

their classmates. Even at the beginning

of the year, the children's simple sto ries?often pictures with one line of

text?prompt active participation from the whole class.

Nathan sat in the Author's Chair. "A landwalker can walk through a moun

tain," he read, then carefully displayed his picture in a slow arc to the children

sitting at his feet. He was barraged with questions. "Is it like a space ship?" "Is it very strong?" "Have you watched it walk through a

mountain?"

Through the questions and discus

sion, the children learned that a

landwalker is a battery powered toy made of steel, able to walk through toy mountains and puddles, and it's "too delicate" to bring to the beach.

"You shouldn't even put it in a pud dle, if it's battery powered," Jason

warned.

"Usually, you'd be right," Nathan

countered, "but the batteries are in the head. Its feet go through the puddle. It's a robot."

Two more children share daily ?a

large group experience which not only strengthens the classroom community but exercises the important listening and speaking skills vital to Pat's writ

ing and reading program.

Choosing motivates learning After the children share their pieces, the class begins its second working time, when the children typically have two tasks to be completed. One day, for example, Pat said, "Six of you may

work at the math table on your pattern books. I would like the rest of you to choose a book to read, then write a

sentence about it in your reading fold ers. Remember to make time to work

on both projects." "It's important for them to make de

cisions and take responsibility," Pat ex

plains. "I've set it up so I know they'll do both. But then they make a decision and have to follow through on both.




There's something to the motivation of

making a choice. If you have some say in what you'll do it gives you a better

feeling about it. They're taking part in the decision about how they're spend ing their time."

Reading aloud to the class is an im

portant component of Pat's program, and this reading occurs at various pre dictable intervals ?right after recess, for example, and at the start of the afternoon session. Some of the same

picture books and poems are repeated often so that the children can chime in on the soon familiar lines and pick up the books themselves to read with con

fidence during reading and free choice times.

In October, when the children's

thoughts turned to Halloween, Pat read Old Devil Wind (Martin, 1970).

"One dark and stormy night, Ghost floated out of the wall and he began to

WAIL," she began, her voice rising and

falling with the words as they twisted and turned across the page. The chil dren were entranced by the rhythm of the words and by the fourth refrain, ea

ger, excited voices mixed with Pat's to

chant "It was a dark and stormy night" and to recite the events in this cumula

tive tale.

"What a fun book!" Jill exclaimed when the reading was over, as she chose one of the three copies from the class library.

This is one of the books the children return to often. Chris chose to read it several days later, turning to Roger for

many of the parts he didn't remember.

As they chanted the last pages of the book together, Joshua joined the

group, third copy in hand. "Can you read it with me now?" he

asked. The boys pushed back their chairs so Joshua could join in, and ea

gerly read and recited the now familiar strains.

Pat and Leslie find that their roles have changed and become more col laborative and that the teacher's best

guides are the learners themselves. In this new role, the teacher is not the ini tiator of all activity; instead he or she has the responsibility to create a struc ture and an environment conducive to

learning, provide resources, present options, and demonstrate strategies to

help children become independent learners. Pat and Leslie see themselves as motivator and model, guide and

helper, audience and editor...teacher

and learner.

Hubbard is a doctoral candidate and conducts research on the links between the reading and writing processes in the Writing Process Lab at the Univer

sity of New Hampshire in Durham.

References Graves, Donald, Jane Hansen, Ruth Hubbard, and Ann

Marie Stebbins. Children Who Write When They Read, Durham, N.H.: Writing Process Lab, 1984.

Kohl, Herbert. Reading: How To. New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, 1973

Laughlin, Catherine. "Understanding the Learning Envi ronment," Elementary School Journal, vol. 78 (Novem ber 1977), pp. 127-28.

Martin, Bill. Old Devil Wind. New York, N.Y.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970.

Wallace, Robert. Writing Poems. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, 1982.

Zintz, Miles and Zelda Maggart. The Reading Process, the Teacher, and the Learner. Dubuque, Iowa: William C. Brown, 1984.

The fairy tale confirms what the child has been thinking all along?that it is a

cold, cruel world out there and it's waiting to eat him alive. Now, if that were all the fairy tale said, it would have died out long ago. But it goes one step further. It addresses itself to the child's sense of courage and adventure. The tale ad vises the child: Take your courage in hand and go out to meet that world head on.

Jim Trelease




children reading and writing || structure encourages independence in reading and writing

Documents